Royal Nepal Airline Corporation (RNAC) employees have demanded that the Lauda Air plane that has been leased for 18 months be sent back immediately. They state that this deal is not in the country's interests and fear that if the plane is not returned immediately, there is very little chance of RNAC surviving in the near future.

In a press conference organised yesterday, the Nepal Airlines Pilot Association (NAPA) and the RNAC Employees' Union stated that leasing the Lauda Air aircraft has placed a extra financial burden of almost Rs 110 million per month on RNAC.
NAPA general secretary Yuvraj Kumar Bhattarai and Badri Bahadur Karki jointly stated that the earlier Boeing 767-300 ER RNAC had leased for 10 years cost Rs 850-900 million annually, but the Lauda Air plane would cost RNAC Rs 1.34 billion, a cost the airline cannot bear.

According to them, RNAC can function adequately with three aircraft and the fourth one was not needed at all. In fact, it has become a burden on the RNAC. According to the agreement, if the aircraft needs repair, a replacement plane will not be sent over by Lauda, and the RNAC will have to pay $7,000 per day for repairs. Although it has been stated in the agreement that it will cost only $3,350 per hour to lease the plane, if actual costs and other hidden costs are taken into consideration, it works out to over $5,000 per hour.