To meet the expanding demand for air travel in the coming years, national flag carrier Bangladesh Airlines is in the process of procuring new aircraft.
The company, which has a fleet of US-made Boing airplanes, has held multiple meetings with Europe’s Airbus about buying new aircraft from them.
However, if Biman operates a mixed fleet – comprising of both Boeing and Airbus, then the company will have to incur $150 million or Tk1,800 in extra costs in the next 20 years, according to a study by Boeing.
Boeing said the extra cost will be mainly on training, maintenance and managing spare parts.
It said if Biman operated a fleet consisting of 10 Boeing 787 and 10 Airbus A350 aircraft, more pilots would be required.
According to Boeing, airlines that have been operating already with a mixed fleet have a different model of business.
For example, IndiGo is buying Airbus to save on mixed fleet costs as they already have Airbus in their fleet. However, this will not apply to Biman, which only has a predominant fleet of Boeing-made planes – 737, 777 and 787 along with a few De Havilland Canada Dash 8.
According to an audit by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, the airports in the country handled about 1 million international passengers in 2022. By 2031, the number of passengers in Bangladesh airspace will double. To achieve this new passenger capacity, the national flag carrier will need a large number of aircraft.
Biman's purchase of aircraft from Airbus first came into discussion during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Bangladesh in September last year.
Since then on, Boeing has scrambled to try to sell its aircraft. Boeing has long been negotiating with Biman to sell new aircraft.
Apart from Boeing officials, US Ambassador to Dhaka Peter Haas also met with Biman.
However, Biman had advanced in its talks with Airbus about buying aircraft. In a press conference a few days ago, the French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy said an agreement will be finalised in this regard before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's next visit to France.
Meanwhile, Biman has already set up a committee to carry out the entire process, including proposal verification and negotiation, regarding the purchase of Airbus aircraft.
Biman will proceed based on the report of that committee.
Boeing Vice President of Sales and Marketing for India and South Asia Ryan Wire, Director of Marketing for Eurasia and the Indian subcontinent Ashin Naidu and Sales Director Kanti Bhubanagiri spoke to reporters.
The US aircraft giant said that if Biman transports passengers with the 787 Dreamliner, it will make them more than $5 million a year.
In addition, the Dreamline will require 6% less fuel, and reduce maintenance costs by 30% compared to Boeing's other competitors, it added.
Boeing has offered to sell four 787 Dreamliners and two 777 Freighters (wide-body freighters) to Biman.
They also addressed Bangladesh's concern over Boeing's security issue.
In addition, they also proposed to bring an expert from the US if necessary inspect the planes.
Regarding the windshield of a 787 Dreamliner breaking recently, Boeing said they don't believe it's a product quality issue because an airplane moves through different conditions which can sometimes leave cracks.
The national flag airlines currently have 12 only Boeing aircraft. These aircraft were purchased at a cost of around 19 thousand crores.
Lack of training leaves trail of inefficiency
Aviation experts say, that due to a lack of proper planning, the Boeing planes are not being used efficiently.
Biman has not been able to launch new routes despite its fleet, besides there is a shortage of manpower including pilots.
Poor planning and management also brings woes for Biman, experts say.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines CEO and Managing Director Shafiul Azim said, “World's major airlines have both Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Moreover, buying Airbus will reduce dependence on Boeing alone.”
"We will expand our flight network when the new aircraft arrive. More flights to Canada will be increased, New York flights will be launched,” he added.
However, aviation experts say Biman will have to spend a lot of money to train pilots, cabin crew and engineers for Airbus planes.
