Guna Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
— GUA —
Founded
  • 2009 (2009) (first iteration)
  • 2021 (2021) (second iteration)
HubsTribhuvan International Airport
Fleet size7
Destinations10
Parent companyGuna Group[1]
HeadquartersBaneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal[2]
Key peopleRajendra Shakya (Chairman) Diprash Shakya (Managing Director)[3]
Employees100+[4]
Websitewww.flyguna.com
Guna Airlines Beechcraft at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu

Guna Airlines Pvt. Ltd. (Nepali: गुण एयरलाइन्स) is an airline based in Nepal operating domestic scheduled flights from its base at Tribhuvan International Airport. Guna Airlines was initially formed in 2009, when it was part of the Guna Group a Nepalese conglomerate of companies.[5] After ceasing operations in 2013 and transferring its operations to Simrik Airlines, the airline restarted operations in 2021 while retransferring operations back into the initial airline company.

History

The Guna Group began as a small gold shop known as Guna Jewellers in Patan in 1984 and has since grown to a multi-industry company. In 2009, the group launched Guna Airlines.[6]

In 2013, Guna Airlines ceased trading due to financial difficulties and was acquired by Simrik Airlines for NRs 350 million.[7] Simrik Airlines used the Brand of Guna for some more time before renaming and repainting the two Beechcraft 1900 aircraft, that were previously operated by Guna Airlines.[8]

In 2020, first reports appeared stating that Guna Airlines would be reestablished.[9] In early 2021, the airline announced that it would buy five BAe Jetstream 41 from Yeti Airlines to restart operation under the brand name Guna Airlines.[10] For this, chairman Rajendra Shakya invested 1 billion Nepali Rupees into the company.[4]

On 16 September 2021, operations began again with regular flights from Kathmandu to Pokhara and Bharatpur,[11] after which it gradually increased its network.

In early 2023, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal suspended all operations of the airline as it was unable to pay salaries of its staff.[12] Later, the authority also stopped any aircraft sale of the company.[13]

Destinations

Guna Airlines offers scheduled flights to the following destinations, all of which are suspended as of March 2023:[12][13]

DestinationAirportNotes
BhadrapurBhadrapur Airport
BiratnagarBiratnagar Airport
KathmanduTribhuvan International AirportHub
JanakpurJanakpur Airport
NepalgunjNepalgunj Airport
Pokhara Pokhara Airport Terminated
Pokhara International Airport
BharatpurBharatpur Airport
SiddharthanagarGautam Buddha Airport[14]
TumlingtarTumlingtar Airport
Birendranagar Surkhet Airport[15]

In its previous iteration, Guna Airlines also operated scheduled mountain sightseeing flights from Kathmandu to Mount Everest.[16]

Fleet

Current Fleet

Guna Airlines' fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of October 2021):

Guna Airlines fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
BAe Jetstream 41[17] 5 — — 29 29
Beechcraft 1900C[18] 1 — — 18 18
Beechcraft 1900D[18] 1 — — 18 18
Total 7

References

  1. ↑ "GUNA GROUP:Chasing Gold Standards". Spotlight Nepal. April 8, 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  2. ↑ "Contact". Guna Airlines. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009.
  3. ↑ "flyguna.com".
  4. 1 2 "यतीका पाँच जेटस्ट्रिम जहाज गुणलाई हस्तान्तरण, गुणले दसैंसम्ममा सात जहाज संचालनमा ल्याउने". Nepali: Bizmandu. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Guna Air hits start button". The Himalayan Times. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "gunaairlines.com". gunaairlines.com. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  7. ↑ Sunir Pandey. "High costs, low fares - Nation - Nepali Times". Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Simrik Air takes over Guna Airlines". República. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  9. ↑ "Guna Airlines to operate its service again on Nepal Sky". Aviation Nepal. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "यतिसँग खरिद गरेका जे ४१ जेटस्ट्रिम जहाजलाई उडान भर्न गुण एयरलाइन्सलाई अनुमति" (in Nepali). News 24 Nepal. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "Guna Airlines to start flights from Thursday". Online Khabar. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  12. 1 2 "CAAN stops all Guna Airlines flights until further notice". República. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Guna Airlines fails financial audit, cannot sell or fly jet stream aircraft". República. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "Guna Airlines launches flights to Bhairahawa". Guna Airlines. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Guna Airlines announces resumption of Kathmandu-Surkhet flight from January 30 (Magh 16)". Guna Airlines. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "Flight Schedule". Guna Airlines. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009.
  17. ↑ "पाँच जेटस्ट्रिमबाट फेरिँदैछन् यतीको लोगो, यही साता गुण एयरलाइन्सलाई हस्तान्तरण गरिँदै" (in Nepali). Bizmandu. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Guna Airlines - Fleet". Planelogger. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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