Biman Bangladesh is starting negotiations with Boeing for purchasing four more Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Last year the national carrier secured two 787-9 aircraft after Hainan Airlines cancelled the order. The airliners were purchased for half the advertised ticket price of $249.9 million.
Now the growing airline is set to purchase Vistara from India deferred four airframes leading Boeing to offer airframes ZB806, ZB807, ZB808 and ZB809 to Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
Aviation analysts believe Biman and Boeing are likely to conclude the major contract on the basis of the price and terms of the previous two 787-9 acquisitions.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines is maintaining a fleet of 2 Boeing 787-9, 4 Boeing 787-8, 4 Boeing 777-300, 6 Boeing 737-800 and 2 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400.
The airline is set to receive three more Dash 8 Q400 aircraft by June this year. It is also negotiating to purchase two more airframes after receiving an order from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada.
Biman has leased four of the six Boeing 737-800 including two from ALAFCO for 6 years and two from GECAS for five years. The aircraft are configured for seating 162 passengers each and ply domestic and regional routes.
The carrier also leased one Dash 8 Q400 on a five year lease from Smart Aviation. The aircraft will be returned to the owner after Biman receives its own aircraft.
The stellar growth of the long sick national carrier has given hopes amongst the aviation community it will be transformed in to the “Emirates of South Asia”. Its on-time arrival increased to 90% with an international average of 80% measured on the basis of arrival/departure of flight within 15 minutes of schedule. Its profits have also increased to BDT 2.18 billion for FY 2018-19.
The Bangladesh government has provided the national airline with a mission to become one of the top Asian airlines. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) is also constructed several new airports across the country in the hopes of turning Bangladesh in to an aviation hub. Construction of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) worth $2.5 billion.
Mitsubishi and Fujita of Japan and Samsung of Korea were awarded to construct the terminal under a consortium.
The new international passenger terminal building is set to have a floor area of around 2.25 million square feet whereas the existing two terminals of the airport have space of around one million square feet together.
The expansion of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will increase the airport’s annual passenger handling capacity from the current eight millions to approximately 20 million, and cargo capacity from 200,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes.
It will also be possible to monitor all operational works of the new terminal from a single control room. Terminal 3 will also have cargo import and export processing facilities and a new VVIP terminal.
It will have 115 check-in counters, including 15 self-service, 66 departure immigration counters, including 10 automatic passport control counter, 59 arrival immigration desks, including five automatic check-in counter and 19 check-in arrival counters, while 16 arrival baggage belts will be set up. There will also be 12 boarding bridges and conveyor belts each. The three-story terminal building was designed by Rohani Baharin from CPG Corporation (Pvt) Ltd Singapore. The construction work is expected to be completed within 48 months from commencement.
