Biman set to expand international routes

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FE Report The state-owned Bangladesh Biman Airlines is poised to expand its international network and flight frequency as two new generation Boeing aircraft are scheduled to join the fleet by next month, Biman officials said on Saturday. The first of the two Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft will be delivered by the aircraft maker Boeing within the next fortnight and the other by next month (November), they said. Each of the 463-seat aircraft will be put into operation immediately after their delivery by the Seattle-based U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing. "With the arrival of the first aircraft we will introduce Biman's direct flights to London, Rome and Milan from Dhaka," Tasnim Akter, assistant manager, public relations of Bangladesh Biman Airlines Ltd told the FE. These two aircraft are part of the 10 new generation planes Biman agreed in 2008 to buy from Boeing at $1.3 billion by 2019. "Biman, which now flies to 17 international destinations with its fleet of 11, mostly age-old aircraft, will expand its flight network to dozens of new global destinations," said Biman's spokeswoman, Tasnim Akter. She said the direct Dhaka-New York flight was most likely to be resumed along with opening of new routes when the second aircraft arrives in November. "Both the aircraft are being delivered ahead of the scheduled time," She added. Biman, which used to fly to 26 international destinations was forced to halt its flights to nine, including New York, Paris, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Brussels, in 2006 due to shortage of funds and aircraft, officials of the civil aviation and tourism ministry said. "When all the (ordered ) Boeing aircraft will be pressed into service Biman will have the capacity to fly to some 50 international destinations," Boeing said in its website. Initially Biman agreed to buy four twin-aisle 777-300ERs and four 787-8 Dreamliners and later it ordered for two more 737 aircraft. As per the deals the four 777-300ERs will be delivered by 2013 and four 787-8s by 2017. The two 737 will be delivered by 2019. Biman took a syndicated loan from several local banks to fund the deal, biggest in the history of the airlines of the country. The national airline also received a $277 million from the US-based J.P. Morgan - the world's leading financial services firm, to fund the aircraft purchase deals. Biman, which began as a government-owned national carrier in 1972, became Bangladesh's largest public limited company in 2007, but the state retained 100 per cent shares, as part of a rescue plan taken by the then army-backed interim government. "However, the order for new Boeing airplanes represented a major step forward in the airline's reorganization and growth plans," a statement of the Boeing said. Presently Biman faces competition from four smaller, local private airlines, one of which has extended its operations to include regional routes connecting Bangladesh capital Dhaka to Kuala Lampur, Singapore, Delhi and Dubai.