CORPORATE PROFILE

Buddha Air started its operation in 11 October 1997 with one Beechcraft 1900D, six commanders, six co-pilots flying out to five destinations within Nepal. Today the company has four Beechcraft 1900D, three ATR 42 and and one ATR 72. All commanders have logged in at least 4000 flight hours in the Beechcraft and over 8000 hours in total. The company has also established and obtained approval of Beechcraft 1900 type rating training of the flight crew members and flight dispatcher from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal with the objective of keeping the crew updated in respect to the aircrafts. All Buddha Air crew members have instrument rating endorsed in their license while cockpit and cabin crew members are provided refresher courses on safety aspects of the flight and in providing a comfortable flying experience to passengers.

Board of Promoters

Buddha Air is a family owned operation. There are three proprietors (promoters) in the board, the Chairman Mr. Surendra Bahadur Basnet, the Managing Director Mr. Birendra Bahadur Basnet, and Promoter Mrs. Sunita Sijapati Basnet.

Board Chairman Surendra Bahadur Basnet was born in Dingla, Bhojpur on 1 January 1929 in a simple Nepali family. After moving to Biratnagar where he received his primary and higher secondary education he was sent to the Varanasi Hindu University in India as was the custom of the days. He completed his LLB, BSC and then his MA from the University before returning to Nepal to practice law.

Mr Basnet was appointed a judge in the Supreme Court of Nepal in 1964. Two years later the then King Mahendra appointed him the Election Commissioner of Nepal with the responsibility of conducting the country’s first general election. He was later appointed Minister of Education and Law as well as the Minister for Finance and Industry. In 1970 he became the first chairman of the Press Council of Nepal. He served in various government commissions in the capacity of the chairman and or a member until 1990. After more than four decades of an illustrious career Mr. Basnet retired from civil service to manage his privately owned Bahumukhi Krishi Farm in Dangihat, (Morang). However not being one to lead an easy retired life he formed Buddha Air with his sons and has been leading the organization successfully as its Chairman since 1996.

Birendra Bahadur Basnet, eldest son of Mr. Surendra Basnet, born on 6 July 1964, received his primary and secondary education from Budhanilkantha High School where he inculcated the fundamental values of life which he would implement in, one of Nepal’s most prestigious institutions. After finishing his graduation from Tribhuvan University, he started working in his father’s farm in Morang from 1984 to 1992.

He initiated Buddha Air together with his father, brother and wife, and is successfully running the company as its Managing Director. He is also a Board member of Shikhar Insurance Company since 2005 as well as of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal since 2008. He is an active member of his alumni association the Society of Ex Budhanilkantha Students and was its General Secretary in 1982 and an Executive Member in 1983. Having come from an agricultural background he has initiated community development through assistance to farmers in his native Morang people, assisting to establish a farmer’s cooperative there. He is married to Sunita Sijapati Basnet.

Sunita Sijapati Basnet was born on 03 May, 1966. She did her Bachelor in Arts from the Tribhuvan University. She has been in the Board since 2007. She is married to Birendra Bahadur Basnet.

Buddha Air’s is able to run successfully these years because of coordination and cooperation among the board of promoters and the following departments.

Operations

Headed by : Devendra Bahadur Basnet, Operation Director and Instructor Pilot

The operations department is responsible for flight safety, accident prevention and training of the crew members. Two specialized divisions have been created for enhancing safety and providing quality training to crew members. The Chief of Flight Safety division is responsible for flight safety and accident prevention programs implementation. The Chief of training division is responsible for training and implementing the timely recommendations of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and in-house flight safety regulations.

Engineering

Headed by : Mohan Bahadur Thapa, Chief Engineer

Buddha Air’s engineering department is on of the largest and the strongest in the entire airline industry in Nepal. The department has 16 engineers, 29 technicians and 36 corporate staffs who serve as the backbone of the company. These people are entrusted with the responsibility to maintain each aircraft in an airworthy condition as stipulated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the aircraft operators manuals provided by the manufacturer. All engineers are provided with periodical refresher training by aircraft manufacturers and type rated there.

For assured rated effectiveness the department is subdivided into Maintenance, Maintenance Planning, Workshop, Quality Assurance, Technical Records, Library, Procurement and Stores. We have sufficient spare inventory worth US$ 3.5 million to run the operation smoothly. This includes no go items like a spare engine, main landing gear, nose landing gear, propellers, etc along with 100% availability of fast moving items in our stock. A computerized Engineering and Inventory system helps monitor and forecast maintenance an inventory schedules.

All our engineers are trained in the Raytheon Maintenance Training Center, Flight Safety International, Wichita, USA, Pratt and Whitney Canada and the Singapore Training Center. Buddha Air is the only airlines in Nepal qualified to carry out NDT requirements. All maintenance is done in our very own workshop and the company is in the process of constructing a state of the art hangar and workshop with an area of more than 30,000 sq ft.

Marketing

Headed by : Rupesh Joshi, Executive Manager

The marketing department has played a vital role in generating market confidence backed by service you can trust. Surviving today’s cut throat competition would not have been possible without the 124 marketing staffs dedicated to the marketing department dedicated for reservation, front line marketing, attendants or loaders, the sales department, public relations and in corporate marketing. In addition there are a total of 98 employees in the sales offices located in Biratnagar, Dharan, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Bhadrapur, Janakpur, Simara, Bharatpur, and Dhangadhi.

Buddha Air marketing department has worked hard to ensure that passengers get the best service. We welcome feedbacks which are looked upon very attentively. We also regularly interact with tour and travel operators with the objective of making travel as safe, reliable, and comfortable as possible. Our in house trimester publication Buddha Yatra is in its third year with 15000 copies of every issue being distributed around.

Management Information System

Headed by : Rajin Ranjit, Executive Manager

The Management Information System prepares, executes and evaluates strategic operational plans. The division is also responsible for developing, operating and maintaining technology, software, and databases for planning and monitoring departmental and overall performance as well as generating, compiling and disseminating required information for the management to make decisions.

The entire system runs on eleven different modules to ensure regular availability of information, continuous development and full utilization of businesses for formulating strategies and policies and include: Finance and Budget Control, Revenue Accounting, Local Reservation, Comparative Market Research, Personal and Payroll, Human Resource, General Inventory, Operation and Crew Planning, Engineering Inventory, Engineering Planning, and Royal Club Frequent Flier. Each module is designed to meet the specific needs of the concerned department.

Finance

Revenue Division Headed by : Ganesh Raj Lohani, Executive Manager
Expense Division Headed by : Ramesh Kumar Luitel, Executive Manager

The department is responsible for developing and implementing financial policies, strategies, plans and programs, preparing annual revenue and expenditure budgets based on cost analysis, developing financial performance indicators, monitoring, analyzing and reporting financial status and information, collecting sales and handling cash and bank transactions, handling all payments as per the financial policies and rules, maintaining accounts of revenues and expenditures, preparing all required financial statements, including final accounts, checking sales revenues and control cash value documents of sales outlets, assessing and settling tax obligations and assist in conducting internal audit.

The finance department is today divided into the Revenue and Expense division. Each division works with its own accounting software keeping the rest of the management and staff on its toes encouraging them to work even harder to give the best. The Revenue division plans and coordinates revenue related financial functions working closely with external agencies as well as and other departmental staffs. Its primary task is to formulate and execute financial plans and policies, coordinate, control and disseminate information to all related departments, agencies, and partner organizations, as well as preparing its own plans and programs, supervising implementation, monitoring progress, motivating the general staff, and maintaining its internal database.

The Expense division has ensured that less than one percent bad debt remains outstanding while the Expense division keeps track of cost of operation measured by the hour with dynamic budget system. The division plans and coordinates expenses related financial functions by projecting annual expenses, preparing annual budget and coordinating with external agencies and internal departments. The division is responsible for preparing executing expense plans and policies in line with the company’s objectives, relaying information to the related departments on time, preparing the annual budgets, ensuring easy and timely payments to external parties as well as maintaining computerized book-keeping functions. The division explicitly works with other departments in preparing the annual budget and financial statements and makes recommendations on requisite changes in existing expense related policies to Executive Manager, Finance and Managing Director as well as coordinating with internal and external auditor to finalize annual financial statements.

Starting with an initial investment of more than USD 8 million which the company was able to payoff in six years, Buddha Air today is worth over USD 13 million. In 2007 – 2008 it earned total revenue of over USD 7 million. The projected income for 2008 – 2009 is expected to cross USD 10 million.

Buddha Air’s clean and transparent audit records enabled it to receive a loan of USD 10 million from the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank for the purchase of the two new ATR 42-320. A third ATR 42-320 has also recently been purchased and will be service. Also another 70 seat ATR 72-500 has been purchased with the help of IFC, World Bank.

Human Resources

Headed by : Mr. Khagendra Bahadur Basnet, Manager

The department’s primary responsibility is to plan and manage human resource functions to ensure regular availability, continuous development and full utilization of necessary human resources to get effective results from them while keeping them satisfied. More specifically the department conducts periodical job analysis, revising job descriptions and specifications, prepares staff recruitment and selection packages for various staff categories and administers them, organizes and coordinates staff recruitment and selection programs to make available the required staff as per the approved human resource plans and initiate, coordinate and organize employee movements such as placement, transfer, promotion and retirement as per the company’s needs and policies as well as staffs’ assessment and needs.

General Services

Officer in Charge : Mr. Ravi Thapa

Buddha Air’s General Service department provides maintenance, procurement, supplies and administrative support for the smooth operation of the administration. It is the department’s duty to prepare policies, programs, rules and procedures for providing logistics services such as non-engineering supplies, general maintenance and transportation, coordinate and monitor the implementation of logistics services policies, programs and rules, procure, store and supply non-engineering supplies, arrange for all general repair/maintenance works, and manage transportation and catering services.