Buddha Air retires oldest ATR 42

Buddha Air has decommissioned the first ATR 42-320 it acquired, after 16 years mainly serving Nepal’s domestic air routes.

The plane with call sign 9N-AIN with 47 seat capacity was one of three aircraft of the type bought by Buddha Air in 2008 at which time it only operated the smaller Beechcraft 1900D.

The plane with call sign 9N-AIN has ATR serial number 403 and was manufactured in 1995 and flew for Air Caledonia in the French Pacific colony till 2007 before being acquired by Buddha Air, Nepal’s largest domestic airline.

“This is a historic moment for Buddha Air and for Nepal’s aviation, since it is the first time that an aircraft has been retired after its full service life,” said Buddha Air’s Birendra Basnet at the farewell ceremony at Kathmandu airport on Tuesday.

Most other aircraft in Nepal are either sold or scrapped before they reach the end of their life cycle, which is usually 30 years for pressurised planes. The ATR 42 that was retired on Tuesday was 29 years old and was nearing its maximum stipulated 70,000 cycles of landings and takeoffs.

Buddha Air said it would cannibalise some of the cockpit instruments, landing gear and its Pratt and Whitney PW121 engines for its remaining two ATR 42, and the plane’s shell will be used by Kathmandu airport for fire and rescue drills.

9N-AIN made its last trip on Tuesday morning as a Mt Everest sightseeing flight with officials from ATR Singapore, CAAN officials, the airline’s financiers and some staff. After landing, the plane was towed straight to the Buddha Air hangar where it was greeted by two airport fire engines spraying water arches.

In attendance at the ceremony were Pawqan Tanwani of ATR Asia Pacific, Elsa Calley from the French Embassy in Kathmandu, Buddha Air staff including Birendra Basnet.

The other two ATR 42-320s that Buddha Air also inducted in 2008, 9N-AIT and 9N-AIM, still have service life left and mostly fly the Bharatpur and Simara sectors. They are also due to be scrapped soon.

Buddha Air sold the last two of its Beechcraft 1900Ds to a Canadian company last year. The planes were among four of the carrier’s launch aircraft when it started operations in 1977. Buddha air now has 17 aircraft, 2 ATR 42-320 and 15 ATR 72-500.