Nepal Airlines (RA, Kathmandu) remains determined to complete the sale of its only B757-200(C) despite many procedural setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, daily My Republica has reported.
The flag carrier continues to negotiate with the selected buyer, CSDS Aircraft Sales and Leasing. It tentatively sold 9N-ACB (msn 23863) in December 2019 for USD5.7 million after two previous attempts of finding a new buyer through a public auction proved unsuccessful. Although the US-based trader paid a 5% deposit in January 2020, the formal sale contract was never signed.
"CSDS has been in constant touch with us for the last eight months and we have sent the final agreement to it after multiple requests from the company," General Manager Dim Prakash Poudel said.
Earlier, the carrier blamed the COVID-related lockdown for the delay, explaining that travel restrictions prevented CSDSe representatives from heading to Nepal.
The 32.7-year-old B757-200(C) is one of only six extant units of this unique variant and was exclusively operated by Royal Nepal Airlines/Nepal Airlines during its deployment (four more B757-200(C)s are operated by ATI - Air Transport International on behalf of the United States Air Force and one ex-Air China aircraft is stored at Roswell airport, the ch-aviation fleets module shows). The Nepal Airlines' unit was retired from service in October 2018 and has been stored at Kathmandu airport ever since.
Nepal Airlines also operated two B757-200s, which were retired in 1999 and 2016, respectively. Its current jet fleet comprises exclusively Airbus aircraft, including two A320-200s and two A330-200s.
