De Havilland Canada will deliver another 5 Dash 8 Q400 turboprop powered regional airliners to Biman Bangladesh Airlines by 2021.
Bangladesh’s civil aviation and tourism state minister Md. Mahbub Ali confirmed three aircraft will be received by June 2021 and the remaining at a later time after meeting the Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka on 12 February 2020.
Earlier on 10 September 2018, Biman signed a contract for three new Q400 turboprops with the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) valued at a list price of $106 million. Those aircraft are due in Bangladesh by May-June of this year.
“We are very pleased that Biman is expanding its Q400 fleet with this order for three new aircraft,” said François Cognard, VP, Sales, Asia Pacific. “The Q400’s greater seating and cargo capacity really set it apart from the competition. Furthermore, the Q400’s mix of turboprop economics and jet like performance were the best match for Biman’s mix of short and long-range routes. Operators coming back for more Q400 aircraft really validates the benefits of the aircraft’s unique characteristics.”
“We are very excited about adding these Q400s to our fleet. We currently operate two Q400s and without hesitation, we can say that these aircraft are ideal for our domestic and regional operations,” said Mr. A M Mosaddique Ahmed, Managing Director and CEO, Biman Bangladesh Airlines. With its outstanding economics, comfort and operational flexibility, the Q400 will allow us to offer high frequency services within Bangladesh and neighboring countries.”
“We are extremely pleased to be supporting Bombardier in selling their Q400 aircraft to Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd.,” said Ian McLeod, Vice-President of Business Development and Sales for the Canadian Commercial Corporation. “Canada and Bangladesh enjoy strong bi-lateral ties through trade and investment, development cooperation, and people-to-people links. Increasing the capacity of the national carrier supports these efforts and the economic growth of the country; improving their lives of Bangladeshis by increasing their access to domestic and international destinations.”
Based on the listed price Biman would have to pay almost $180 million for 5 new Q400 turboprops if ordered by 2020.
Biman is expanding its fleet of aircraft to 50 by 2030. It recently became the first south Asian airlines to induct Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Biman is also seeking to purchase aircraft from Airbus in an effort to diversify its fleet. It hopes diversification of the fleet will ensure better opportunities for its ground engineering personnel and allow it to offer maintenance services to other airliners in Bangladesh. Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the National Flag Carrier airline of Bangladesh. Its main hub is at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and it also operates flights from its secondary hubs at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. The airline provides international passenger and cargo services to Asia and Europe, as well as all domestic routes inside Bangladesh. It is starting new routes in Japan, US and the Asia-Pacific.
