Kamrun Nahar
The Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BBA) is going to add another Dash-8 aircraft to its fleet under a dry lease agreement for three years, a senior Biman official said.
The national flag carrier signed an agreement with Bombardier Inc., a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft, last week. The new aircraft is expected to arrive in the country in August this year.
With this 74-seater, three aircraft will run on seven domestic and two regional routes, including Kolkata and Yangon, the official said.
Seeking anonymity, the official declined to divulge the financial side of the agreement and the amount of maintenance cost.
Another drawback of the dry lease (depending on the lessee and lessor) is whether the aircraft will be returned in its present condition after the agreement expires. That kind of deal involves a substantial amount of money.
For example, Biman brought two 777-200 ER from Egypt under the dry lease and it had to suffer and compensate a lot as the deal was unfair and against the country's interests.
Biman sources said Dash-8 aircraft will be brought with a view to enhancing the supply side as the number of both passengers and routes has increased over the years.
Besides, it will help improve the Biman's on-time departure performance significantly, they added.
Moreover, operation of flights on domestic routes with three Dash-8 aircraft will reduce pressure on 737 NG. As a result, Biman will be able to operate the 737 on some international routes, they said.
When his comment was sought, General Manager (public relations) of the BBA Shakil Meraj told the FE that new Dash-8 would help enhance the capacity of Biman to provide the travellers with better service.
If one Dash-8, out of the two, remains grounded, the strength is reduced by 50 per cent, hampering smooth operation.
Another top Biman official told the FE that Biman has already signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Bombardier Inc. to purchase three Dash-8 aircraft on government to government (G2G) basis.
The final agreement will be signed soon. The aircraft will be supplied one year after signing of the agreement.
Canadian Corporation of Commissionaires (CCC), a state financing agency, will finance the three new aircraft.
These three Dash-8 aircraft will replace the previous three brought under lease, the official said.
He further said Biman has already hired 24 cadet pilots to operate the Dash-8 aircraft soon after they arrive in the country.
The BBA has brought one 777-300 ER and one 777-200 ER under the wet lease from Fly Global of Malaysia. But the Malaysian company has a shortage of pilots.
On the other hand, Biman's pilots cannot fly those aircraft without approval from the Malaysian civil aviation authority.
The Biman official refused to comment on whether any of the aircraft, brought from Fly Global, is grounded due to pilot shortage.
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