Khemkas Seek Tech Pact For Airlines

The Khemka-owned NEPC group is in talks with two foreign airlines for entering into a technical support agreement for the group's two airlines "" NEPC and Skyline NEPC.

The company is now holding talks with an European and a Far East-based company, Group director Raj Kumar Khemka said. The agreement is likely to be signed in a couple of months, he added.

Besides, the group is in consultation with Lufthansa for a code-sharing agreement, Khemka said. Skyline NEPC will purchase of two of the four aircraft, now on lease, from a Bavarian company in a couple of weeks, he said. The group has plans of adding seven more aircraft (80-seater jets) to its fleet by 1998. Of these, three would be Boeings or Airbuses, said Khemka.

 

The group hopes to pay up most of the 20,000 erstwhile Damania airlines shareholders by October. The NEPC group had acquired the Damania Airlines and rechristened it Skyline NEPC.

The group also has plans for wind-power generation in Maharashtra and intends to invest Rs 800 crore in the next couple of years to generate 200 mw of power. It already has a small presence in the state with an investment of Rs 5 crore for generating 0.5 mw of power.

The other group businesses like media and pharmaceuticals are also faring well, Khemka said.