Nepc Airlines Takes Off Again In South

NEPC Airlines, which resumed operations yesterday, will be a regional airline for the time being. All routes will be Southbound and even Skyline NEPCs Boeing will fly only in the south. The routes will be planned to avoid flying in the non-economic sectors like the north-east.

NEPC Airlines will begin operations with five Fokker aircraft, down from the original fleet strength of nine. Skyline NEPC is expected to resume flights in a months time, says NEPC India director Tirupathi Kumar Khemka.

The airline division of NEPC India, NEPC Airlines will soon be merged with Skyline NEPC. This forms part of the overall restructuring of the groups business, and airline operations are to be separated from energy. NEPC Airlines will be taken out of NEPC India and then merged with Skyline NEPC before the end of the current financial year, says NEPC India CEO Sundaresh.

Once the investment from the Canadian non-resident Indians amounting to $20 million actually comes in, the equity of the merged entity will exceed Rs 100 crore, up from Rs 60 crore. NEPC is willing to give up to 40 per cent stake in NEPC Airlines to the NRI.

By re-grouping the business activities, we can leverage our business individually and more effectively, he explained.

Giving details of the turn-around strategy, Sundaresh said costs have been cut down. By pruning the work-force alone, the company has managed to cut costs by almost Rs 1 crore a month, he said.

Apart from the Rs 3 crore that came in as debt with the takeover of Damania Airways, there are no dues: We have not even taken working capital loans.