Twin Otter shortage hinders fleet expansion

SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, APR 16 -

Nepal’s domestic carriers will likely have a hard time enlarging or replacing their ageing fleet as the good old Twin Otter is difficult to come by in the international market.

Experts said that the Canadian-built Twin Otter, a 19-passenger aircraft with STOL capability and high rate of climb, was the most suitable aircraft for serving Nepal’s remote and mountainous regions; but there were very few reconditioned planes for sale in the world market.

In addition, government restrictions on importing aircraft older than 20 years has hindered fleet expansion by domestic carriers.

Experts said that although Viking Air and Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation produce the DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 and the Harbin Y-12 respectively as an alternative to the Twin Otter, they were costly to operate on remote sectors. The Twin Otter made its first appearance in Nepal in 1970 as a replacement to the DC-3 Dakota, the workhorse of the then Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation.

“There are about 50 Twin Otter aircraft available if the government extends the age limit to 25 years,” said Dorji Tsering Sherpa, a travel trade entrepreneur. He added that out of the 844 Twin Otters produced from 1966-88, 588 were still flying in various countries.

Bhes Raj Subedi, chief of the Air Worthiness Division at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), said that although older versions were not easily available in the market, modern versions of the Twin Otter and the Dornier were being manufactured. However, the price of these modern aircraft is very high for Nepali operators, he added. Normally, domestic carriers lease second-hand aircraft for operation on remote sectors. “Technically, it does not matter how old a plane is. The efficiency and safety of any aircraft depends on regular maintenance. “NAC is flying Twin Otters that are more than 35 years old,” Subedi said.

A senior engineer of NAC said that the 20-year age limit was a very rigid criteria for Nepal’s domestic carriers.

Between 1972 and 1979, the Canadian International Development Agency donated seven Twin Otters to NAC. Among them, four are in operation, two are out of commission and one can be put back in service after maintenance, said an NAC official.

Among private airlines, Lumbini Airways and Skyline Airways possessed about 10 Twin Otters in their fleet, but the carriers did not last long. Presently, Yeti Airlines has seven Twin Otters out of which four are in operation.