Come 2020 and Drukair- the national airline will have one more airbus added to its fleet, expanding its international route to Dubai and Japan.
The new airbus, A3-20 is said to be bigger than the current aircraft A3-19 series and has a carrying capacity of 140 passengers.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Drukair, Tandi Wangchuk said “We have noticed that the number of passengers taking flights is increasing every year. So the decision to purchase an additional aircraft was made.”
The airbus which will cost approximately Nu 3bn is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2020. Drukair is also mulling the purchase of one additional domestic aircraft to ensure reliable domestic flight operation. The finance ministry has approved procurement proposal of new ATR-42-600 on subsidy earlier this month. The ATR will cost around Nu 1bn and is expected to be flown into the country by July next year.
“Drukair presently operates with one aircraft, ATR-42-500. This aircraft is nearing 15 years of age by May this year. One thing is that aging aircraft has its own technical problems which we have seen in the last few months. So Drukair and its board decided to operate with two ATRs,” the CEO added.
The airline company is also anticipating selling the current domestic aircraft (ATR) and getting another one on lease. This means there will be two ATR aircrafts including the new one to operate domestic flights.
Source: Bhutan Broadcasting Service Mar 22, 2018