Biman to purchase 3 aircraft from Canada

KMA Hasnat: The Biman Bangladesh Airlines has taken an initiative to add three Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft to its fleet to operate flights on both domestic and international routes.

To this end, the national flag carrier will place a government-to-government (G2G) purchase proposal before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday.

The aircraft, from the Dash 8-Q400 series manufactured by Canadian aerospace and transportation company Bombardier Inc, are twin-engine, medium-range turbo-prop aeroplanes, each with 70-80 seats, according to sources.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism moved Biman’s proposal seeking a waiver to the mandatory provision of tendering process under the Public Procurement Act, as it prefers to procure the aircraft through negotiation without any tender.

Biman already has two Dash 8-Q400 aircraft in its fleet on rental basis, at a monthly cost of $168,000.

The airliner took lease of these aircraft for five years from Egypt’s Smart Aviation Company in 2015.

Purchase of the two aircraft will cut down Biman’s monthly cost to a great extent, the proposal says.

It also reasons that procuring the aircraft is necessary as a total of seven aircraft will be withdrawn from Biman’s fleet by 2022 as their lease agreement will expire by then.

The Biman proposal said it has a fleet of 13 aircraft of which six are owned by it while remaining seven were taken on lease from other international companies.

Two of the leased aircraft are of Dash8-Q400NG series which have been running on the domestic routes among Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Saidpur, Jessore, Barisal and Cox’s Bazar and the international routes between Dhaka, Kolkata, Katmandu and Yangon.

“But Biman requires more such Dash8-Q400NG aircraft for operating services on such routes as there is a huge demand from passengers. That’s why Biman moves for purchasing the Canadian aircraft,” said the Biman proposal.

At present, Biman is operating seven domestic and two international flights – to Kolkata and Kathmandu – using the existing Dash 8 Q400 aircraft.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already given their vote of confidence for the purchase of Bombardier aircraft, sources said.

risingbd/Dhaka/Dec 19, 2017/Hasnat/AI