GMG Airlines was an
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. It was the country's first, and until recently, the largest private airline having been established in 1997, with its head office close to Dhaka airport in Nikunja-2
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, Bangladesh. It operated both domestic and international flights. Its primary hub was
Shahjalal International Airport
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport ( bn, হযরত শাহ্জালাল আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর, Romanized: ''Hôzrôt Shahjalal Antôrjatik Bimanbôndôr'') ( formerly VGZR) is th ...
, located in Dhaka. In 2009
Beximco Group
Bangladesh Export Import Company Limited ( Bangla Transliteration: বাংলাদেশ এক্সপোর্ট ইমপোর্ট কোম্পানি লিমিটেড, romanised: ''Bānglādēsh ēkspōrṭ impōrṭ kōm ...
bought a major stake in GMG Airlines. In October 2012, India provided a temporary maintenance and operational base at
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an international airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the Kolkata Metropolitan Area and is the aviation hub for eastern and northeastern India. It is located approximatel ...
in Kolkata. With no overseas assets, by 2012 GMG Airlines' only international flights were to
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
, Nepal. On 28 March 2012, GMG announced suspension of operations pending acquisition of new fleet. It expected to resume operations later in 2012 but has remained suspended well into 2019.
The company slogan was ''Explore.''
History
GMG Airline was established in 1997 and started domestic operations on 6 April 1998. It was founded by two brothers; Nini Sattar and Shahab Sattar, owners of the GMG Industrial Corporation. International services were launched six years later on 8 September 2004, with service from
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
to
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
.
GMG began regular flights to
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
and
Kathmandu
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, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
on 20 October 2006. It started services to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
on 24 January 2007. The airline started its operation to the Middle East with daily flights to
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
on 1 February 2008. In July 2010, GMG initiated flights to
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
and
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
.
The airline also served
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
and
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
as well as domestic stations
Jessore
Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...
and
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
![GMGAirlines-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/GMGAirlines-01.jpg)
In February 2008 the airline added a leased
Boeing 747-300
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
to the fleet starting wide-body operations, this proved to be a White Elephant in an era which saw Global economic problems and an unprecedented peak in oil prices, thus causing a substantial loss to the carrier, the 747 was eventually phased out after just five months of service.
On 17 June 2009, the largest conglomerate of Bangladesh, BEXIMCO took a 50% stake in the airline, re-branding it and raising service standards to a higher level.
On 28 March 2012, GMG announced they would suspend all operations in preparation for re-fleeting the airline. It expected to resume operations later in 2013 but years later in January 2022, this situation remains unchanged.
In 2013, India provided temporary maintenance and an operational base at Kolkata. With no overseas assets, GMG international operations consisted solely of flights between
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
and
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
in 2014.
As of 30 May 2016,
Sonali Bank
Sonali Bank Limited ( bn, সোনালী ব্যাংক লিমিটেড) is the principal state-owned leading public commercial bank in Bangladesh.
It is the largest bank in the country. Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui is the chairman of the ...
said GMG Airlines owed the bank over
Tk 2.28 billion.
["Sonali Bank to put up businessman Salman F Rahman's home on auction". ''Financial Express'' (Dhaka, Bangladesh). 29 July 2016.] Sonali Bank attempted to have an auction of owner
Salman F. Rahman's home, which was collateral for the loan.
[
According to CEO Sanjiv Kapoor " MG'soperations will be temporarily suspended with effect from Mar 30, as we await the delivery of new-generation aircraft, clear legacy issues, execute the rightsizing and organize ourselves better to take up the future challenges". GMG has stated it is planning to adopt a new business strategy in light of rising fuel prices and changing international competitive environment through a 360 degree restructure of its strategy, organization, fleet, and business model. It will redesign its route network to focus on higher yield, higher growth domestic and regional routes using new generation narrow-body aircraft.
]
Destinations
At the time of closure in March 2012, GMG were operating internationally to Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, as well as domestic services between Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
and Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
.
Fleet
As of March 2012, the fleet consisted of the following aircraft, though only the Dash-8 were operational at the time:
GMG previously also had one Boeing 737-800
The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...
(with winglets), one Boeing 747-300
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
and three Boeing 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
, besides additional Dash-8 and MD-82/83, at different stages of the company's operational history.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gmg Airlines
Defunct airlines of Bangladesh
Airlines established in 1997
Airlines disestablished in 2012
Bangladeshi companies established in 2012
2012 disestablishments in Bangladesh