Simrik Air takes over Guna Airlines

Chopper operator Simrik Air has taken over the management of cash-strapped Guna Airlines.Guna Airlines, owned by Guna Group -- a business conglomerate that promote Guna Colony, Guna Cinema, Guna Cooperative, among others, was in a serious financial crisis following stagnation in realty market.

Rajendra Shakya, chairman of Guna Airlines, had been preparing to sell the company after failing to repay bank loans.

A senior official of Simrik Air confirmed they had taken over the management of the airlines. "We have swapped the loan of around Rs 350 million before taking over the management," the official said.

Established in 2009, Guna Airlines was operating a fleet of three Beechcraft 1900s which was bought from Buddha Air. However, it had sold one of the aircraft for around Rs 200 million in 2010.

The airline´s operation started suffering from March after it failed to carry out timely maintenance of aircraft as per the requirement. The airline had suspended its entire operations from March to June, citing technical reasons.

Before suspending its flights, the airline was operating 16 flights a day to five different destinations. It was operating five flights a day to Pokhara, two each to Biratnagar and Simra and one to Bhirahawa. It was also operating six mountain flights a day.

Despite the takeover, the official of Simrik Air said they will continue to operate the airlines under the name of Guna. “We will decide whether or not to change name only after sometime,” he added.

This means Guna Airlines will continue to fly on its scheduled destinations under the new management as well.

“We will add new destinations later on considering the market demand,” the official said.

According to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Guna Airlines flew 95,503 passengers in 2011, down from 96,000 recorded in 2010.

Its market share in 2011 had stood at well over 7 percent.

source: republica,2 Jan 2013