Bhutan Airlines will lease two aircrafts from AerCap, a global aircraft leasing company and replace its existing fleet by mid of next year. To formalise the deal, the Bhutan Airlines signed lease agreement with AerCap in the capital yesterday.
The lease period of the airbus will be four years and commence immediately after Bhutan Airlines receives two aircrafts in June and July, next year. The carrying capacity of each airbus is 120 passengers. Bhutan Airlines reasoned that the replacement has been worked out since the current fleet’s lease period completes by July, next year.
“The new fleet will continue for another four years. We also need to now look for better equipment so this is the best equipment we could lease from AerCap,” said Phala Dorji, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Bhutan Airlines.
Officials from AerCap said the two aircrafts that they are going to lease out to Bhutan Airlines comes from a reputed airliner in the United States.
“The maintenance of the aircraft has been carried out well. The aircraft was delivered brand new to Frontier Airlines in United States and they have been flying around the United States for the last eight years,” said Senior Vice President of AerCap, Peter Anderson.
Bhutan Airlines or Tashi Air Private Limited began its first international flight from Paro to Bangkok in October 2010. The CEO said, the customers’ safety is given utmost importance since its initial operation.
“Bhutan Airlines has very good and highly experienced, dedicated professional maintenance engineers. So far, we have done very well in terms of safety and we have also got very excellent safety record, so safety is not much of concern,” added the CEO. “The aircraft leasing companies have also appreciated the way we have maintained the aircraft both in terms of safety and cabin configurations.”
The Bhutan Airlines also said the current two fleets are in good condition and can operate flights till their lease period phases out. Presently, the private airline operates daily international flights to four destinations. For domestic flights, it is likely to resume operation from March, 2019.
