FIA2024: Drukair Orders Airbus A320neo, A321XLR

DALLAS — ‍Drukair - Royal Bhutan Airlines (KB), the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan,  has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for three A320neo and two A321XLR aircraft.

Airbus projects that deliveries of the new aircraft will begin in 2030. KB intends to operate these aircraft out of Paro International Airport (PBH) and the new airport at Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC). Drukair will then increase its link to Australia, South East Asia, and Europe.

Drukair already operates four Airbus A320 Family aircraft consisting of three A319s and one A320. With its main office located in Paro, Bhutan, Drukair offers regular flights to ten global locations, five of which are in South Asia. Additionally, Drukair serves three domestic locations.

Comments from Drukair, Airbus

Tandi Wangchuk, Drukair CEO said, “We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter in Drukair’s history, which dovetails perfectly with development of the Gelephu Mindfulness City and work to expand the Gelephu airport. Our investment in these state-of-the-art aircraft underscores our dedication to supporting Bhutan’s vision of holistic and mindful development.”

Executive Vice President Sales of Airbus Commercial Aircraft business Benoît de Saint-Exupéry said: “We are grateful to Drukair for reaffirming their trust in Airbus to power their next phase of growth. Airbus has been a long-standing partner of Bhutan and we are extremely proud that our latest generation aircraft will be a part of the Kingdom’s next chapter of development, connecting the Gelephu Mindfulness City to the rest of the world.”

FIA2024 LIVE COVERAGE

The 2024 Farnborough Airshow takes place July 22-26, so stay tuned to Airways for our live coverage of FIA2024 from the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre in the UK.

Be sure to follow us for live updates on all our social media channels #FIA2024.