Additional aircraft for Drukair
To meet growing demand, the national airline may need another Airbus and a small plane
11 March, 2010 – As the country prepares to accommodate more tourists in another year or two, and with more and more Bhutanese able to afford trips abroad, Bhutan’s national airline, Drukair, is also gearing up for the challenges.
Drukair’s 2009 traveller profile showed that 63,667 passengers, about 54 percent, were Bhutanese and the remaining 46 percent, comprising 54,417 passengers, were foreigners.
To be inundated with such unprecedented number of tourists in years to come, Drukair officials said, meant increased frequency and heavier occupancy, for which the company was planning to buy its third aircraft, Airbus 319 for operation in 2011 or 2012.
Drukair’s general manager (commercial) Tshering Penjor explained that, going by the government’s projection to bring in 100,000 tourists, Drukair would have to take aboard 200,000 passengers, taking into account the to and fro journey.
“With two aircraft, which can operate for only certain hours, it’s difficult to achieve that target,” Tshering Penjor said. “Accordingly, we’re looking at a third aircraft.”
He said the company was in consultation with its manufacturing company in Germany.
To order an aircraft, he said the company had to first enter several rounds of negotiations on the cost of the aircraft, which could be about USD 40 million.
On reaching an agreement after the negotiations, Drukair would have to sign a memorandum of understanding with the manufacturing company along with a commitment fee.
“We have to place orders for an aircraft a year earlier, as it takes another year or so to manufacture,” Tshering Penjor said. “If we’re able to negotiate, we’re looking for a 70 tonne aircraft instead of a 60 tonne like the existing ones.”
Coming to payment for the aircraft, Druk Air officials said they would have to put it up to Druk holding and investments.
Apart from the Airbus, Druk Air officials are also mulling over bringing in a smaller aircraft with about 40 seats sometime in April to operate in place of the existing two aircrafts.
“Both existing aircrafts have completed six years and will be grounded for three weeks to one month for a complete structural check, including repaint,” Tshering Penjor said.
The small plane, he said, would be able to substitute for the two existing planes, considering that the following months of June, July and August were lean tourist seasons.
The small aircraft would also operate over short routes and provide daily services to Kathmandu and Kolkata.
If the company’s proposal to operate the domestic service in the country is successful, Tshering Penjor said the small aircraft would be used to fly passengers within domestic routes.
Besides buying new aircraft, Drukair officials said they were seriously considering opening a new route in Guwahati. “We have plans to make two flights a week in October this year between Paro, Guwahati and Bangkok,” Tshering Penjor said.
He also said that it was necessary to review the next best gateway to Bhutan, Hong Kong and Singapore, and that they were conducting independent studies on sustainability.
Source: kuenselonline.com