KATHMANDU, MAY 10 - 2013
Debt-ridden Agni Air has been taken over by new management in a partnership deal. According to a pact signed between Agni Air and start-up carrier Namaste Air, its fleet of three Jetstream 41s and two Dorniers will be operated under a partnership scheme for the next five years.
Under an agreement signed on Wednesday, Namaste will lease all Agni aircraft, but will only operate the Jetstreams in its livery. The Dorniers will bear Agni’s livery. Namaste will look after the entire management.
“We have decided to work together under the partnership model which will be a win-win situation for all three parties,” said Raju KC, chairman of Namaste Air. “The partnership agreement will be valid for five years.”
According to KC, all grounded jets have been sent for maintenance and operation of the two Dorniers will begin from the second week of June under Namaste’s management. The Jetstreams will come into operation by July-end.
Namaste is promoted by a group of investors from Pokhara. The carrier said that it would be operating flights to Pokhara, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Jomsom, Lukla, Dhangadhi and Bharatpur besides mountain viewing flights. “We have planned to go for full-fledged operation from September after adding two ATR 72s to the fleet,” KC said.
Agni Air has been grounded since mid-November. The carrier’s woes began when the bottom fell out of the real estate market as its key promoter Sudhir Basnet defaulted huge loans taken from different banks and financial institutions.
The consortium of banks that have invested in Agni has asked Namaste to submit its detailed business plan on Friday. Grand Bank, Sunrise Bank and International Leasing and Finance Company (ILFCo) have lent Rs 650 million to the troubled airline. “We have asked Namaste to submit its detailed business plan, including its strategy to repay bank loans,” said Anil Dhungel, chief executive officer of ILFCo.
Grand Bank, Sunrise Bank and International Leasing and Finance Company have lent Rs 650 million to Agni. A recession in the realty sector stopped Basnet’s cash flow which also affected the airline. The banks had given the cash-strapped carrier until mid-December 2012 to pay up or face foreclosure.
The carrier was then put up for auction by the banks in January after it failed to meet the loan repayment deadline. A seven-day auction notice was issued for Agni’s assets. However, the Appellate Court stayed the banks’ move after a complaint was filed suspecting ill motive to put the carrier into short auction.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
Debt-ridden Agni Air has been taken over by new management in a partnership deal. According to a pact signed between Agni Air and start-up carrier Namaste Air, its fleet of three Jetstream 41s and two Dorniers will be operated under a partnership scheme for the next five years.
Under an agreement signed on Wednesday, Namaste will lease all Agni aircraft, but will only operate the Jetstreams in its livery. The Dorniers will bear Agni’s livery. Namaste will look after the entire management.
“We have decided to work together under the partnership model which will be a win-win situation for all three parties,” said Raju KC, chairman of Namaste Air. “The partnership agreement will be valid for five years.”
According to KC, all grounded jets have been sent for maintenance and operation of the two Dorniers will begin from the second week of June under Namaste’s management. The Jetstreams will come into operation by July-end.
Namaste is promoted by a group of investors from Pokhara. The carrier said that it would be operating flights to Pokhara, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Jomsom, Lukla, Dhangadhi and Bharatpur besides mountain viewing flights. “We have planned to go for full-fledged operation from September after adding two ATR 72s to the fleet,” KC said.
Agni Air has been grounded since mid-November. The carrier’s woes began when the bottom fell out of the real estate market as its key promoter Sudhir Basnet defaulted huge loans taken from different banks and financial institutions.
The consortium of banks that have invested in Agni has asked Namaste to submit its detailed business plan on Friday. Grand Bank, Sunrise Bank and International Leasing and Finance Company (ILFCo) have lent Rs 650 million to the troubled airline. “We have asked Namaste to submit its detailed business plan, including its strategy to repay bank loans,” said Anil Dhungel, chief executive officer of ILFCo.
Grand Bank, Sunrise Bank and International Leasing and Finance Company have lent Rs 650 million to Agni. A recession in the realty sector stopped Basnet’s cash flow which also affected the airline. The banks had given the cash-strapped carrier until mid-December 2012 to pay up or face foreclosure.
The carrier was then put up for auction by the banks in January after it failed to meet the loan repayment deadline. A seven-day auction notice was issued for Agni’s assets. However, the Appellate Court stayed the banks’ move after a complaint was filed suspecting ill motive to put the carrier into short auction.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
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