New air deal with India to boost Bangladesh's private airlines
Monday, 18 February 2008
Mushir Ahmed
Bangladesh's latest air deal with India will allow the country's private airlines to spread their international wings and consolidate their position in a competitive market, the civil aviation chief said.
Dhaka and New Delhi last week signed the new air deal, which eased restrictions on Bangladeshi airlines to fly to cities other than New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, civil aviation authority chairman Shakeb Iqbal Khan Majlish said.
"Our private airlines will be greatly benefitted from the latest deal. All of them have sought more frequencies to India and the expansion of the routes will make it happen," he said.
The deal increased the weekly frequencies from 31 at present to 61, with new cities like Chennai, Lukhnow, Jaipur, Hyderbad and Bangalore joining the list of new destinations.
Dhaka was keen to sign a new air services deal with New Delhi after GMG and three new private operators have pressed for more routes to India where half a million Bangladeshis travel a year for treatment, tourism, pilgrimage and education.
Presently Bangladesh's state-owned carrier Biman and the private airlines GMG fly over 30 flights a week to India, while Indian national carrier Air India and the private carrier Jet operates 17 flights a week to Dhaka.
Largest Bangladesh airlines GMG has been seeking seven more weekly flights to Kolkata and several more to the Indian business hub of Mumbai.
Officials said the company, which embarked on a huge expansion plan, had to share codes with Air India to raise its frequencies to 26 a week to India.
Newly launched United Airways and the Best Air have also sought new frequencies to India, as they have found out making money is impossible in the domestic routes.
Best Air said they have received seven weekly flights to Kolkata after the Indian deal and would also get three more weekly flights to Chennai very soon.
"The civil aviation authority has already given us the go-ahead following the agreement," Best Air spokesman Tito Siddique said.
The company, majority owned by Kuwait's Al Aqueeq Aviation, has leased a Boeing 737-200 to operate in the domestic route. It is going to hire another Boeing 737-200 aircraft next week, Siddique said.
It will also lease two 299-seater wide-bodied Airbus aircraft 'very soon' to fly to Chennai and regional destinations such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and southern Chinese city of Kunming, he added.
Another entrant United Airways said it would also get some frequencies in India.
"We have already applied for frequencies to Kolkata. We hope the latest deal will make some slots available for us," United Airways director Ferdous Alam said.
"We are now operating in the domestic routes. But it is impossible to make any profit in domestic operation because the routes are very small and the traffic very thin," he added.
United Airways have leased one Dash-8 aircraft to operate in domestic route. Another Dash-8 aircraft will join its fleet this week, while it is going to add an Airbus 300 'very soon' to fly to regional destinations.
The civil aviation chairman said the deal would also allow the operators of both countries to enjoy at least four weekly 'fifth freedom' flights.
Under the fifth freedom rights, airlines from either side can carry passengers to destinations other than the two.
Bangladesh's latest air deal with India will allow the country's private airlines to spread their international wings and consolidate their position in a competitive market, the civil aviation chief said.
Dhaka and New Delhi last week signed the new air deal, which eased restrictions on Bangladeshi airlines to fly to cities other than New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, civil aviation authority chairman Shakeb Iqbal Khan Majlish said.
"Our private airlines will be greatly benefitted from the latest deal. All of them have sought more frequencies to India and the expansion of the routes will make it happen," he said.
The deal increased the weekly frequencies from 31 at present to 61, with new cities like Chennai, Lukhnow, Jaipur, Hyderbad and Bangalore joining the list of new destinations.
Dhaka was keen to sign a new air services deal with New Delhi after GMG and three new private operators have pressed for more routes to India where half a million Bangladeshis travel a year for treatment, tourism, pilgrimage and education.
Presently Bangladesh's state-owned carrier Biman and the private airlines GMG fly over 30 flights a week to India, while Indian national carrier Air India and the private carrier Jet operates 17 flights a week to Dhaka.
Largest Bangladesh airlines GMG has been seeking seven more weekly flights to Kolkata and several more to the Indian business hub of Mumbai.
Officials said the company, which embarked on a huge expansion plan, had to share codes with Air India to raise its frequencies to 26 a week to India.
Newly launched United Airways and the Best Air have also sought new frequencies to India, as they have found out making money is impossible in the domestic routes.
Best Air said they have received seven weekly flights to Kolkata after the Indian deal and would also get three more weekly flights to Chennai very soon.
"The civil aviation authority has already given us the go-ahead following the agreement," Best Air spokesman Tito Siddique said.
The company, majority owned by Kuwait's Al Aqueeq Aviation, has leased a Boeing 737-200 to operate in the domestic route. It is going to hire another Boeing 737-200 aircraft next week, Siddique said.
It will also lease two 299-seater wide-bodied Airbus aircraft 'very soon' to fly to Chennai and regional destinations such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and southern Chinese city of Kunming, he added.
Another entrant United Airways said it would also get some frequencies in India.
"We have already applied for frequencies to Kolkata. We hope the latest deal will make some slots available for us," United Airways director Ferdous Alam said.
"We are now operating in the domestic routes. But it is impossible to make any profit in domestic operation because the routes are very small and the traffic very thin," he added.
United Airways have leased one Dash-8 aircraft to operate in domestic route. Another Dash-8 aircraft will join its fleet this week, while it is going to add an Airbus 300 'very soon' to fly to regional destinations.
The civil aviation chairman said the deal would also allow the operators of both countries to enjoy at least four weekly 'fifth freedom' flights.
Under the fifth freedom rights, airlines from either side can carry passengers to destinations other than the two.