last week i had a bad experience with the air cooling system when travelling gmg airlines from bangkok to dhaka.
Flight # Z5-072 , 8th May 2007 (BNK-CGP-DAC) on a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (DC-9-82)
it was very hot n humid day and i was trying to relax a bit after a very hectic official trip. but the cooling system is not working properly...although a faint flow of air coming through the top panel. everyone is sweating with breathing problems. complains from passengers among good number of foreigners. but itz very pathetic to see that no one is attending nor answering about the faulty system. just imagine our situation in the air ... "first class all the way" . at least cabin crews/flight attendents should notice and apologize.
they might tried to fix the cooling system at ctg when we found it totally stopped. they power it up again but similar conditions continued on the way to dhaka.
i returned home with headache and felt sick that night.
next morning i thought i had a very bad dream ! :nuts:

i m a well wisher of gmg and hope that they will come up with good service.

a similar GMG MD-82 (DC-9-82) image:
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s191/mdmasud/GMG_MD-82_DC-9-82.jpg

^^ Sorry to hear about your experience. GMG needs to be careful since it is not yet very well established, about not having goof-ups like that. In general I have heard mostly good about them. My aunt / uncle flew to Kathmandu on GMG in December and were pleased with their experience.

They use the better ones for operation of international flights,I mean its much more horrible in case of domestic flights...I flew to Chittagong and then flew back to Dhaka 20/25 times and every time I had the similar experience. Their cooling systems never work and the next worst thing is the freaking sound that will faint your ears. Everytime I got down, I used to wonder why people around me were moving their lips without making a sound:D ...after 10/15 minutes I found my ears were betraying me!
I hope they will solve these problems someday.

GMG's two MD's are on average 15.2 years old. This isn't too bad considering that GMG are new on the international routes.
I believe the maintenance isn't very good, especially in the aircraft you flew, remember the parts for MD's are quite rare because they are discontinued and I'm sure the parts available will be expensive.

Support them because when they are fully established they will probably renew their fleets, hopefully with few new or relatively new B737's.

ya sorry to hear about your bad experience.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/gmgairlinesatnepal.jpg

^^ Thats a great picture! Has anyone got any pictures of the flightdeck and cabin?

^^ Thats a great picture! Has anyone got any pictures of the flightdeck and cabin?

Inside a GMG aircraft

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/gmgairlines8.jpg

^^ The interior looks nice and luxurious!

The inside is really decent. I can remeber once when I went to Bangladesh I got a connecting flight from Dhaka to Sylhet on a Biman Fokker and it was terrible. The overhead bins wouldn't shut and the table in front opens during take-off and landing!

Steps to make Biman PLC by June approved
Rashidul Hasan

The Council of Advisers yesterday approved some steps to turn Biman Bangladesh Airlines into a Public Limited Company (PLC) by June.
It asked the ministries concerned to prepare a phase-by-phase programme to make the huge loss-incurring national airlines into a profitable organisation.


At its weekly meeting, the council ..............

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/05/20/d7052001022.htm

^^ The problem is if we want flawless service they will have to buy new aircrafts. On top of that they would need world class maintenance. I know that the MD-82's they are using are quite old.

I am not sure if they have the cash to purchase new aircrafts and maintain them. When compared with Biman, they have much better service. And that's not a very good airlines to compare with!:nuts:

I would like to clarify some things written about GMG Airlines;

First of all, in order to acquire new aircraft, the flight frequencies needs to be approved by the govt.; routes to the Middle East need to be opened up for the private sector instead of handing over routes to the Middle Eastern carriers which take away foreign exchange of the Bangladeshi people depriving the local economy of revenues which is a pathetic policy; flight frequencies are determined by ASAs (air service agreements); currently for the Dubai route, for example, Emirates if flying twice daily while Biman is flying only 4 times/week. Why not hand over the remaining 10 flights/week to GMG? The govt. has previously refused to do so. If the private sector is gauranteed these flight frequencies, then it is VIABLE for them to acquire new aircraft as they will be able to secure adequate revenue to operate new aircraft. New planes need to be fully utlized and this cannot be done unless lucrative routes are opened up. A new Boeing 737 cant sit idle flying only thrice weekly to Kathmandu or Delhi. GMG is very much capable, as a large industrial conglomerate to finance new aircraft; it has interests in textiles (spinning, textile fabric etc.), steel, razor blades (produces 2 million blades/day, 95% of BD marketshare), etc. and it has fought off the government in its inexcusable policy to allow foreign carriers to monopolize the middle eastern routes while depriving the local carriers. GMG has beaten Biman in the domestic sector and is thus far operating better load factors on its regional routes. The fact that it survived from 1998-2006 in itself is a huge achievement. NEW AIRCRAFT can only be brought in if you allow GMG to fly to the lucrative destinations so that it can be financially feasible and commerially viable instead of supporting foreign carriers and handing over routes to them, which im sorry...is un-nationalistic and cheap.

Regarding Royal Bengal Airline; who ever thought the govt. is going to hand over their routes to them to accomodate the ASA for flights from Bangladesh-Middle East-UK when they havent in the past 10 years; THE ENTIRE ASAs need to be revised between Bangladesh and UAE and Bangladesh and UK; they have "purchased" one Dash 8 and are marketing Boeing 767s...until the ASAs are revised, they cannot fly between Middle East and Bangladesh and UK. This is purely misleading the people and investors.

Really hope the government changes its attitude and gives permission to Bangladeshi airliners....if what you said is true ,then its really tragic that our own airliners are falling behind while foreign ones are moving ahead of them just because of our government's policy.

the civil aviation ministry has been a political tool for corrupt politicians; During BNP time, GMG was deprived of flying on international routes despite having IATA license, ICAO license, and CAAB ATOL license including landing permits from all the destinatons since 2001; GMG was considered a "threat" to Biman but Biman had NO problem in handing over their frequencies to Emirates and other Middle Eastern carriers; Orion Group, BNPs and Tarique Rahman's stooge, wanted to set up an airline b4 this govt started arresting these ppl. Imagine British Airways handing over their frequency rights to foreign carriers while depriving carriers from their own country. Now governments have changed and look!!! 6 new intl routes in a span of 6 months...this govt. will hopefully bring a change.

RBA needs ICAO and IATA licenses and the respective governments need to revise their ASA agreements UNLESS emirates, BA and biman hand over their routes; it's a long process...

Now governments have changed and look!!! 6 new intl routes in a span of 6 months...this govt. will hopefully bring a change.
.......................


Yes. We are seeing results.

Bangladesh gets second private passenger airline (http://www.livemint.com/2007/05/22150742/Bangladesh-gets-second-private.html)

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s second private passenger airline will begin domestic operations next month in a fast growing market boosted by the scrapping of flights by the state-run airline, an official said.

United Airways will start flying to southeastern Chittagong and notheastern Sylhet from the capital Dhaka in the third week of June, company director Ferdous Alam said.

The company, owned by expatriate Bangladeshis living in Britain, had bought a Dash-8 aircraft and would add another Dash-8 in late June followed by two more Fokker 100 by August, he added.

“We will initally fly to domestic destinations. But our main target is to fly to southern cities of China and the Gulf. Bangladeshi air traffic to these destinations has increased tremendously recently,” he added.

China pipped India as Bangladesh’s main import destination in 2005 while nearly three million Bangladeshis now work and live in the Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
United Airways will be the second Bangladeshi private passenger airline. Presently GMG is the sole private operator, which flies to domestic and regional destinations in south Asia.

In March, a Kuwait-based Aqeeq Aviation Holding bought a 70% stake in the leading air-cargo operator Best Aviation to launch a passenger airline by July this year.

Alam said the market was attractive to private operators since the scrapping of a number of flights by the state-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

“Biman’s withdrawal from some main domestic and regional flights leaves the market wide open for the private sector. Already GMG has added more destinations and more flights to its existing operations,” he added.

GMG recently started three new international flights, just weeks after state carrier Biman also axed some international routes to save cash.

Biman reported a record loss of $120 million (Rs486 crore) in the year to June last year.

^^ I think it is not viable to survive just flying domestic. To make money and stay in the competition, they need to fly overseas, preferable in the lucrative Middle Eastern route.

^^ I agree with you Clearsky, Bangladesh can place itself as a major aviation hub iif, and really if, the government is committed to do so. Bangladesh is located right on the halfway of Kangaroo Route linking European holidaymakers with Oceanic destinations. Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and others have already had their significant share, but there is yet, still very few competition in South Asia in tapping this market. Bangladesh ( via Biman or GMG ) can become the pioneer to dominate this extremely lucrative route, which is travelled by up-trend and high-class group of passengers.

You see how Dubai become famous because of Emirates, so why not Dhaka ? Growing economy, booming neighbors, great location, etc you have all these favourable criterias.

^^ We don't have dubai's resources..

^^ Bangladesh has the people. Look at Singapore, it has no resources and no land at all ! It invested heavily on its people .

Back to the topic, Bangladesh has full potential to become an airline hub. Zia International can be turned into a major transit point for those heading to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Nepal. It is located right in the middle of a super-booming and heavily-populated area.

^^ Bangladesh has the people. Look at Singapore, it has no resources and no land at all ! It invested heavily on its people .

Back to the topic, Bangladesh has full potential to become an airline hub. Zia International can be turned into a major transit point for those heading to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Nepal. It is located right in the middle of a super-booming and heavily-populated area.

There is no reason why foreign airlines would use Dhaka as a hub, instead of Mumbai or some other Indian city, with access to a ten times larger population base. Dubai was able to establish itself as a hub because it put its oil money to good use while its larger neighbors like Saudi Arabia and Iran did not. We don't have that kind of money.

i think bangladesh will surprise some over the next decade in its economic growth and consequent air traffic growth.

Isnt it sad that Emirates operates 14 flights/week at close to 100% load factor with 777-200ER while Gulf operates 11/week, Etihad 7/week, Qatar about to do 10/week, Kuwait Airways , Oman Air, Saudi, etc. all increasing frequencies when NO private carrier from BD is allowed to utlize Bangladesh's share of the ASA (air service agreement) to any of the Middle Eastern destinations? With new govt., GMG Airlines will start Middle Eastern routes, (7 years late) this year and will then expand its fleet accordingly; Biman will still be stuborn with frequencies however, making fleet expansion difficult for private operators as fleet expansion requires adequate fleet utlization hence frequency.

United Airways is started with all ex-GMG employees; money is being raised from many different people to start the airline. There should be transparency; its financial forecast makes no sense, however, as it fails to assess the domestic market or real operational costs. It wont be allowed to operate internationally for 3 years either. It wont break even let along make profit for the first 3 years, that too if it manages to compete; I hope they correct their financial forecasts as it will instill further investor confidence.

New passenger airline set to fly by month-end
First aircraft of United Airways in Dhaka

United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd, a private sector airline founded by non-resident Bangladeshis, is going to operate its maiden domestic passenger flight by the end of this month, officials said yesterday.

The first aircraft of the airline, a Canadian made 37-seat Dash-8, has already arrived in Dhaka, said the officials adding that the company will invest Tk 2,000 crore in the next five years.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/06/01/2007-06-01__bus01.jpg

The non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) mainly from the UK have teamed up to create an airline in Bangladesh and become a market leader in the next two years on the domestic route, the officials said.

"So far around 500 NRBs have contributed to forming the company," Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, chairman and managing director of United Airways, told a press conference in Dhaka.

Another Dash-8 aircraft will arrive in Dhaka in early July, while two F-100 planes will be added to the fleet by year-end, he said, adding that initially the company will operate on the domestic route. The company will go for international operations later, he added.

"We have received licence from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to operate passenger and cargo services both on the international and domestic routes," said Choudhury, also a pilot.

He said aircraft passenger market in the country has been showing 8 to 10 percent growth per year, but no airline has been introduced in the last seven to eight years.

"With this opportunity in mind, this venture will make air travel to and within Bangladesh easier, refreshing, and reliable," he said.

Presently in domestic sector, GMG Airlines, a private sector carrier, has the domestic market share of more than 60 percent, while the rest covered by national flag carrier Biman.

Earlier in March this year, a Kuwait-based company joined Bangladesh's leading air-cargo operator to launch a private passenger airline.

Aqeeq Aviation Holding bought a 49 percent stake in Best Aviation Ltd and the two will jointly launch a passenger airline by July this year, Best Aviation officials said.

"We've already got the provisional air transport operating license for the airline from Bangladesh's civil aviation authority. We will start operation by July this year," Best Aviation's Chief Executive Officer M Haideruzzman said.

Best Aviation owns two cargo aircraft and has leased two others. Aqeeq Aviation is a subsidiary of Kuwait-based investment fund, Al-Aqeelah Finance.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/06/01/d70601050255.htm

Dhaka Zia International Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport129.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport130.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport131.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport132.jpg

There is no reason why foreign airlines would use Dhaka as a hub, instead of Mumbai or some other Indian city, with access to a ten times larger population base. Dubai was able to establish itself as a hub because it put its oil money to good use while its larger neighbors like Saudi Arabia and Iran did not. We don't have that kind of money.


That's what I meant when I said we don't have Dubai's resources. Thanks for laying it all out though...I didn't feel like going into details cuz we all know the shortcomings of the idea that Dhaka can be a mega hub instead of other cities. I'll just add another point, which is that the availability of long-haul/long-range aircraft means fewer stops are required. So now, flights from Oceania going to the Middle-East (one of the routes mentioned) no longer needs to stop over at an airport like ZIA.

United Airways likely to start domestic flights soon (http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/aviation_story.php?recordID=975)

Dhaka : United Airways, the second private passenger airline of the country, is likely to start domestic flights soon. A 'Probashi Udyog' (initiative of expatriates), it is mostly financed by British-Bangladeshis living in the United Kingdom , the first flight of the airline will naturally be from Dhaka to Sylhet.

Its first Dash-8-100-366 landed at Zia International Airport on May 30 afternoon and the second aircraft is due to arrive in the latter half of July or the first half of August.

Most of the shareholders of the company are small investors from United Kingdom who wanted to do something for their own country, going beyond just remitting money from UK to their relatives in Bangladesh . The money they put forward by each of the shareholders is not much by UK standards, but it would mean a difference in Bangladesh and launching the airline will help create jobs in the country, they felt.

"United Airways has offered Bangladeshi expatriates the opportunity to be the proud owners in the new venture. We have already raised and invested Tk 40 crore," said Capt. Tasbirul Ahmed Chowdhury, the young Managing Director of the airline, adding, "we hope to raise Tk 2000 crore in the next five years if everything goes according to plan."

Capt Chowdhury is optimistic. "In the last 10 years there has been no growth in capacity. Definitely there has been a rise in demand," he said.

Its two aircraft of the airline are outright purchases. Before their purchase, the aircraft were being operated by Island Air of Hawaii. In future the airline hopes to procure F100s for regional flights. And naturally the company led by Captain Chowdhury has set its sights on Europe .

We will give the passengers a choice, which they did not get for so long. We will provide a better level of service. The fares of the airline will be competitive. It will also offer different level of fares - say Family Fares to be purchased one month in advance, he said, to give an example.

"We will also go for frequent connectivity and despatch reliability_ real on-time performance. We'll give importance on maintenance and engineering, and set up a reserve of spare parts 'for us to do the job properly.'"

"We have talked to a number of foreign airlines operating to Dhaka and hope to sign interline agreement with them. They are waiting for us to start." The United Airways ( Bangladesh ) Ltd, with head office at Uttara Model Town in the city, was formed in early 2005 and the airline operating licence was issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on December 13, 2005 .

The airline already has offices in London , Sylhet and hopes to open offices at other cities of Bangladesh soon. "Besides in London , Ju-mbo Travels, the official BA GSA will represent us there," he said.
The airline will go for its own domestic handling, sales and marketing but may appoint few PSAs. The 'family' of 400 of the airline has already been trained. Its cabin crew will attend a three-day workshop for different drills as the aircraft has arrived.

inside a Biman Bangladesh Airlines DC 10-30 flight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman13.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman14.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman16.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman15.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman3.jpg

Dhaka Zia International Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport90.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport91.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport93.jpg

A lounge inside Zia Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport92.jpg

inside a Biman Bangladesh Airlines DC 10-30 flight.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman15.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/Biman3.jpg

:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :eat: :eat: :eat: :eat: :eat: :eat:

Very nice !

A lounge inside Zia Airport

Tmac, which airline does this lounge belong to? I am guessing it is for business / first class only...

Tan, check the 2nd photo of the post 277. There are a few airlines lounges at Dhaka airport. I am not sure which airlines this particular lounge belongs to.

^^ This lounge is used by Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Emirates and Kuwait Airways.

By the way, this lounge is maintained by the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

^^ This lounge is used by Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Emirates and Kuwait Airways.

By the way, this lounge is maintained by the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

Thanks for the info. How does one get access? Flying business / first class I suppose?

Thanks for the info. How does one get access? Flying business / first class I suppose?

Airlines serving Bangladesh don’t offer first class service, simply because there are no demands for it or the demand doesn’t justify bringing in planes having first class seats. Planes having first class seats have three-class configurations and usually hold fewer seats than those with two class configurations. That’s because there are fewer seats in the first class and first class seats weigh phenomenally more than those in the economy class. However, there are ample demands for business class service.

To get access to the lounge one would have to purchase a business class ticket and get a token or pass from the ticket counter that will grant him/her access to this lounge. Some airlines would allow their frequent fliers use such lounge depending on their accumulated miles.

Air Sylhet news

Air Sylhet reveals acquisition of first aircraft, BOEING 767- 300ER.

http://www.airsylhet.com/

Air Arabia to launch service to Bangladesh

Air Arabia, the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, announced today that it will begin twice-weekly flights between Sharjah, UAE, and Chittagong, Bangladesh, starting June 18. Air Arabia’s direct flights to Chittagong, the second-largest city in Bangladesh, will mark the inauguration of the Sharjah-based carrier’s service to the country.

Kyle Haywood, Commercial Director, Air Arabia, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of Air Arabia flights to Chittagong, which will provide comfortable and competitively priced service for both the expatriate Bangladeshi population in the UAE and the Bangladeshi community seeking to visit this booming Gulf Arab state.”

He continued: “With a population of nearly 4 million and as the country’s primary seaport, Chittagong is the commercial and manufacturing capital of Bangladesh. Nearly all imports and exports flow through the city, as do most investors looking to establish operations in the country. Air Arabia is delighted to demonstrate its continued commitment to regional low-cost travel by launching services to this increasingly important South Asian state.”

The frequency of flights to Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong is twice-weekly, on Mondays and Fridays. Air Arabia flights will depart from Sharjah at 7:15AM and arrive in Chittagong at 13:50PM local time. On the same days, flights will depart from Chittagong at 14:35PM and arrive in Sharjah at 17:30PM local time.

Chittagong is the 36th destination for the Sharjah-based carrier. Current Air Arabia destinations include: Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia (Syria); Alexandria, Assiut and Luxor (Egypt); Amman (Jordan); Astana and Almaty (Kazakhstan); Bahrain; Beirut (Lebanon); Colombo (Sri Lanka); Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh (KSA), Doha (Qatar); Istanbul (Turkey); Kabul (Afghanistan); Kathmandu (Nepal); Khartoum (Sudan); Kuwait; Chennai, Jaipur, Kochi, Mumbai, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram (India); Muscat (Oman); Sana’a (Yemen); Sharjah (UAE); Tehran (Iran),Yerevan (Armenia), Karachi and Peshawar (Pakistan).

About Air Arabia: Air Arabia was established in February 2003 by an Amiri decree issued by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohamed Al Qassimi, Ruler of Sharjah and Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates. The company began operations in October of the same year.

Based in Sharjah and with a fleet of nine Airbus A320 aircraft, Air Arabia serves 35 destinations across the Middle East, North Africa, Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Yemen.

Air Arabia is modeled after leading American and European low-cost airlines and is customised to local preferences. Its main focus is to make air travel more convenient through Internet booking and offering the lowest fares in the market without sacrificing on service or safety standards.

http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/UAE/213800

GMG to operate flights on another two int'l routes

Private airline company GMG yesterday got permission to run its flights on another two international routes, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, sources said. It received the permission after a meeting with the civil aviation and tourism ministry.

Dr MA Momen, managing director of Biman, the national airlines, told The Daily Star, "So far the private airline has been allowed to operate flights on seventeen routes, but it is yet to begin flight operations on all those routes."

On the permission of carrying hajj flight that the private airlines sought, the Biman MD said, "We do not have any objection to give permission to GMG to operate hajj flight."

However, the matter is yet to be finalised, although it came up for discussion at the meeting with the representatives of GMG.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/06/12/d70612050965.htm

Air Arabia flying to Chittagong

AIR ARABIA will begin twice-weekly flights between Sharjah and Chittagong from June 18. The direct flights will mark the inauguration of the Sharjah-based carrier’s service to Bangladesh.

“Air Arabia is delighted to demonstrate its continued commitment to regional low-cost travel by launching services to this increasingly important South Asian state,” said Kyle Haywood, Air Arabia commercial director.

The frequency of flights to Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong is twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays. The flights will depart Sharjah at 7.15am and reach Chittagong at 1.50pm. On the same days, flights will depart Chittagong at 2.35pm and reach Sharjah at 5.30pm (all local time).

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=154704&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

I think that Air Sylhet will be very much sucssful......provided that they plan and execute professionally.

I think its about time private airlines of Bangladesh are given permission to fly to more international routes.

THAI scraps Bangladesh airport deal (http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/16Jun2007_biz36.php)

Thai Airways International has unilaterally terminated a contract to run Chittagong's international airport due to Bangladeshi authorities' repeated failure to hand over management of the airport. Frustrated by the delays, THAI's board on Thursday resolved to cancel the 10-year deal to manage the Shah Amanat International Airport and to pursue legal proceedings in Chittagong court for compensation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Executives of the Thai national carrier had lost patience after allowing ample time for the CAAB to clear impediments, including protests from Biman Bangladeshi Airlines employees and opposition from Bangladeshi politicians.

THAI management now believe there is no chance for the CAAB to clear the way for THAI to begin its work at Bangladesh's second-busiest airport.

''We no longer want to pay any attention to this project but to get compensation for the resources we put in from that side,'' a senior THAI executive told the Bangkok Post yesterday.

An executive of Biman, which manages Shah Amanat, confirmed that Bangladesh's political problems had prevented the management handover to THAI.

CAAB officials recently told THAI that they wanted the Thai carrier to run the airport and were keen to see it participating in the new bid that could be called later to find a new airport service provider.

THAI was supposed to have begun operating the airport on Feb 1 last year but the handover was postponed several times.

The CAAB previously indicated to THAI that the airline could start managing the airport in September last year, following talks in Dhaka in August 2006 between former foreign minister Kantathi Supamongkhon and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan.

Under that agreement aimed at appeasing Biman staff, THAI would allow Biman to provide ground handling services, cargo and catering for its own aircraft and passengers at Shah Amanat.

THAI would then concentrate on providing ground handling and passenger services for other international airlines, particularly focusing on those from the Middle East.

THAI viewed the business opportunities arising from foreign carriers would outweigh the benefits it would lose to Biman, given the rising number of flights and international carriers calling at Shah Amanat.

Under the original terms of reference in the 10-year agreement, THAI would have provided all the airport services to airlines and passengers.

The contract was originally supposed to start in February 2006, the date from which THAI will now calculate its claims for compensation.

THAI would have earned US$9.06 million in fees from managing Shah Amanat, which was seen as a spearhead for the airline's ambitious plan to operate more medium-sized airports in Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.

However, THAI is now unlikely to aggressively pursue opportunities arising from airport management, but instead will concentrate on its existing core passenger-based operation.

THAI shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 42.50 baht, up 25 satang, in trade worth 136.44 million baht.

I really dont see how thai's management of Shah amanat would benefit Bangladesh.

I really dont see how thai's management of Shah amanat would benefit Bangladesh.

Shah Amanat International Airport is managed by civil aviation (CAAB) and by Bangladesh Biman. Since inception airport has been incurring huge loss every year.

Lease to THAI was given because, BD govt would have got good amount as one time payment with yearly fees and revenue share. All these would have made the airport profitable.

Besides, leasing it to THAI would have promoted CTG as a tourist destination and helped making it a regional air hub. ( which may happen later than sooner)

All in all corruption and bureaucracy could have been removed from another govt enterprise.

Shah Amanat International Airport is managed by civil aviation (CAAB) and by Bangladesh Biman. Since inception airport has been incurring huge loss every year.

Lease to THAI was given because, BD govt would have got good amount as one time payment with yearly fees and revenue share. All these would have made the airport profitable.

Besides, leasing it to THAI would have promoted CTG as a tourist destination and helped making it a regional air hub. ( which may happen later than sooner)

All in all corruption and bureaucracy could have been removed from another govt enterprise.


:ohno:

Hello All,

This article is kind of old (May 20), but it still manages to give limited insight and scope with regards to the current issue.Maybe when BG is offered around this time Emirates/Qatar/Singapore/Thai will be interested as this airline is ripe for investment and could be turned around ala Sri Lankan :banana:

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh's interim government on Saturday said it approved plans to privatise the state airline, Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

"The advisers council led by Fakhruddin Ahmed, head of the interim government has approved the privatisation plans today," Fahim Munaim, a top spokesman of the government told a news briefing.

The authorities concerned will now take steps to implement the plans phase by phase, Munaim said without giving details.

Earlier last month a top Biman official said the airline would be turned into a public limited company by June to rescue the loss-making national carrier.

He said an operator would be appointed to run the airline, but the government will retain 100 percent stake for the time being.

But he did not say when shares will be floated in the country's two stock exchanges in Dhaka and Chittagong.

Biman Managing Director M A Momen said he had sought 3.0 billion taka ($43 million) from the government to pay off the to-be-retrenched staff.

Another official said half of Biman's some 7,000 staff would lose their jobs in the privatisation process.

Biman has projected a 6.91 billion taka ($100.14 million) loss for the 2006-07 fiscal year to next June, hit by soaring fuel prices and falling passenger numbers.

It owes 12 billion taka ($173.91 million) to fuel supplier state owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), the only fuel supplier to local airlines.

Biman also has been suffering from a shortage of aircraft and forced to stop flights to New York, Paris, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Brussels, Yangon and Mumbai last year.

It now flies to 19 international destinations with a fleet of 13 aircraft, although four of these are grounded.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/070520/137/6g0g6.html

Yep - been discussed already.

All set to convert Biman into PLC with same logo, call sign and above all the problems (http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/aviation_story.php?recordID=997)

Dhaka : Steps are now being put in place to convert the troubled national airline into Public Limited Company (PLC)-Bangladesh Airlines Limited-by the end of the current month (June) having same logo, call sign and matter of concern, all the problems. Ministry of Law is now busy going through draft of necessary laws to convert Biman into a PLC. Under the Memorandum of Articles, the rules and regulations, nature of business, capital, and management of Biman as PLC have been identified, while under the Articles of Association, terms and conditions of PLC have been explained.

After completing all processes, the President will issue a new ordinance, which will replace the prevailing ordinance (1978) under which Biman is running now.

"We will be the Bangladesh Airlines Limited having same logo, call sign etc. Board of Directors of the airlines has already approved draft ordinance, MOA and AOA. These are now being vetted by the Ministry of Law and after vetting will be placed before the Council of Advisers for approval," Dr. MA Momen, Managing Director of the airline told The Bangladesh Monitor.

Dr Momen further informed that notice of voluntary retirement has already been served and the process will be completed by June 30.

It may be mentioned that around 1,300 of its officials and employees are being asked to go on voluntary retirement immediately thro-ugh golden handshake but only 900 had applied so far. The cost involved is about Taka 3000 million. The objective is to cut down its workforce to around 3,400. The airline has a fleet of five old DC-10s, three Airbus, and four F-28 aircraft.

Under the scheme, Biman has offered special packages to its employees whose service age exceeded at least five years.

As part of the VRS, the Biman employees who are in service for at least 25 years or more will get 15 per cent more on their total gratuity as monetary benefits while who are in service for 20 to 25 years will get 20 per cent on their total gratuity. The scheme also says the employees, who are in service for 15 to 20 years and 5 to 15 years will get 25 per cent and 30 per cent more respectively on their gratuity at a time.

The high-powered committee on restructuring Biman led by a former civil aviation and tourism secretary, M Shahid Alam, in a report submitted to the government in March recommended converting the airline into a public limited company with 100 per cent share kept initially in the hands of the government and reducing workforce of 6,800 by 50 per cent.

The committee also suggested appointment of operator on profit-sharing basis and modernisation of fleet to run the national flag carrier. However, it is not clear and nothing has been said about how Biman is going to tackle its two critical problems-shortage of cash in-flow and extreme shortage of aircraft.

Air Arabia launches Chittagong-Sharjah flight

Another airliner based in the Middle-East started operating its flights from Shah Amanat International airport in Chittagong on Monday.

Air Arabia, a carrier of the United Arab Emirates, ceremonially launched its bi-weekly flight service from Chittagong to Sharjah.

An airbus with 137 passengers from Sharjah touched Shah Amanat International Airport at 2:33pm on Monday to mark the launching of its flight service.

The same aircraft went back to Sharjah an hour later with 101 passengers from Chittagong. The flight is scheduled on Mondays and Fridays.

Addressing the launching function held at the airport premises Bangladeshi ambassador to the Arab Emirates, Nazmullah Chowdhury, said that the air connectivity would help promote bilateral ties between the two countries.

‘The flight service will facilitate Bangladeshi expatriates from Chittagong to travel at affordable rates,’ he added.

Kyle Haywood, commercial director of Air Arabia, said, ‘We follow a simple business model by providing the lowest fare in our flight service to serve the Bangladeshi community.’

‘We have plans for more expansion of our flight service,’ he added saying that the fleet would be raised to cover more destinations.

The function was also addressed by the airport manager, squadron leader Sajjad Hossain.

http://www.newagebd.com/busi.html

Three more foreign airlines to operate from Chittagong airport

Three more foreign flight operators, including a budget airline (low-cost carrier) from Malaysia, are about to launch flight services from Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, said civil aviation sources.

The three foreign airliners include the UK-based British Airways, Air Asia of Malaysia and the US-based United Air, civil aviation sources added.

British Airways has sought permission for ‘technical landing’ at Shah Amanat International airport in case of any emergency, said aviation sources. A team of the British Airways came to survey this airport early this month.

Air Asia is interested in commercial flight service from Chittagong on international routes while United Air wants to operate domestic flights here, said aviation sources.

United Air, owned by Bangladeshi expatriates in the USA, wants to operate domestic flights from Chittagong in collaboration with some local entrepreneurs, the sources also said.

‘These three airlines are in the pipeline now. More foreign airlines are interested in operating flights from Shah Amanat International,’ said the airport’s manager, Squadron Leader Sajjad Hossain.

‘Foreign airlines have become interested to come here because of our open-air policy,’ he added.

Meanwhile, a Middle East-based budget airline, Air Arabia, launched its twice weekly flight service on the Chittagong-Sharjah route on Monday, taking fares that are 20 per cent lower than the market price.

Air Arabia officials said that the fare for a single trip from Chittagong to Sharjah was fixed at 285 AED (Arab Emirates Dirham), equivalent to Tk 5,555, excluding taxes and surcharges.

Another Middle East-based airline, Oman Air, began its flights on the Chittagong-Muscat route on May 1 this year.

Sources said that more queries on flight operations from Chittagong were pouring in.

Thai Air, GMG and Biman have been operating flights from Chittagong for a long time.

http://www.newagebd.com/busi.html

The flow of Airlines into Chittagong has clearly shows that due to the corruption and bribary of the officials many airlines who believe that Chittagong is a hotspot couldn't fly there and not to mention Biman's determination to keep any airlines to come there is also a fact. I believe within few years Chittagong will become just as big as Dhaka.

Hi,

As an airliner enthusiast, I have always had my favorite airlines I want to fly with in my mind. And of course, one of them is an airline from bangladesh, Biman! I know it might sound crazy.. As a sophmore in the university abroad, I'm saving up my money for my next trip to the subcontinent. And surely, Biman will be my first choice to fly with no matter how many people would tell me how delayed the flights are.

Well, besides being an airline enthusiast, I am also a boarding pass colelctor!! Too bad, many of them that I have aren't from my trips! So, I would like to see a picture of Biman's boarding pass.. I hope you guys can help. I mean I have been searching the internet on what I want to see but no website sastified me... I would just like to see how they look like. I hope any of you who had it could just take a picture of it and post it in this board.

Hmm, one more thing? How does Biman's boarding pass look like? Is it a hand-written card? Or does it look like a more standard card with the beautiful logo as well as all the details printed out?

Finally, i would like to share a few words with Biman. I really hope it will resume its flight to Tokyo, and some other cities in Europe soon. Hopefully, they are doing ther cost-benefit analysis and plan well before resuming those flights.. Cutting up some workload will surely help but if they just cut up the workload and do nothing else, they will never be a profitable organization. Business must be run with proper management!!!

Oh and by the way, I wish Biman would consider using Bangkok (thailand) as its hub as it used to again!!! (So that I could fly with it often!)

Thank you very much! I look forward to seeing those pictures from one of you soon.

redbird

Hi,

As an airliner enthusiast, I have always had my favorite airlines I want to fly with in my mind. And of course, one of them is an airline from bangladesh, Biman! I know it might sound crazy.....

Doesn't sound crazy at all to me. You can have your choice of airline(s). Myself or someone else will post a picture of boarding pass issued at the Bangladeshi airports. Boarding pass issued in other airports depend on the ground handling agents of the particular airport.

^^ Be careful of what you show. There are lot of identity / credit card thieves around the net.

Thank you very much meghnarmajhi for your answer!

You can be sure I'm not a thief :) but if you want to make sure the pics of your boarding passes will not be misused, you can always put a thick white line on the name (in your boarding passes) before posting them in the internet!

Just one more question! Will Biman change its name when it becomes a public limited company. I guess I heard it would be Bangladesh Airlines in stead of its old name, Biman Bangladesh Airlines!

Thank you very much meghnarmajhi for your answer!

You can be sure I'm not a thief :) but if you want to make sure the pics of your boarding passes will not be misused, you can always put a thick white line on the name (in your boarding passes) before posting them in the internet!

Just one more question! Will Biman change its name when it becomes a public limited company. I guess I heard it would be Bangladesh Airlines in stead of its old name, Biman Bangladesh Airlines!

I'm 100% sure that Tanzarian's comment wasn't particularly about you. If somebody posts his name and other details on the web, its available to everyone. That's what Tanzarian's warning was about. I like your "white line" recommendation. If I find something to post on this page, I'll make sure that I follow your recommendation. I'm not so sure about the name change.

Bangladesh to rename national airlines

Authorities have decided to transform Bangladesh's national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines into a public limited company to overcome huge revenue losses the carrier has been facing over decades.

In line with the PLC plan, supposed to come into action on July 1, the interim administration of Fakhruddin Ahmed planned to give the airlines a new name styled Bangladesh Airlines Limited under the Companies Act.

To this effect, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism drafted an ordinance to be placed before the interim council of advisers on Saturday to turn the Biman Bangladesh Airlines, a corporation, into a public limited company with zero liabilities by end of the month.

"Biman will start its journey as a public limited company with zero liabilities," announced MA Matin, the civil aviation adviser, after convening an inter-ministry meeting on Wednesday.

Once the draft gets cabinet nod, President Iajuddin Ahmed will promulgate the ordinance, said the adviser.

The Biman, now owes around Tk 2,000 crore (290 million dollars) to different agencies in arrears, started its plan to trim down its staffers to half before its transformation.

More or less 2,100 employees of the Airlines have submitted applications for going on voluntary retirement, responding to the offer Biman made on June 4 as part of the process of its to turn it into a company.

"We have received nearly 2,100 applications for voluntary retirement," said Khan Musharraf Hussein, the deputy general manager, public relations, of the national flag carrier on Wednesday, the deadline for submission of applications for voluntary retirement.

A technical committee, formed earlier, was responsible for implementation of the job cut plan, to be completed in four phases.

The financial crisis-ridden airline which operates a fleet of five old DC-10s, three Airbuses and four F-28s on 21 international and five domestic routes incurred a loss of around 1,200 crore in fiscal year 2006-07.

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/151251.php/Bangladesh-to-rename-national-airlines

^^ Pity. I liked the name "Biman." Although the word is Bengali it also has a western sounding quality to it, which might have helped international marketing. My preference would be a simple "Biman Airlines". But then again Biman has more important problems than its name...

Also Redbird, sorry can't help out with a boarding card, since the only time I rode Biman was a long time ago within Bangladesh.

^^ Pity. I liked the name "Biman." Although the word is Bengali it also has a western sounding quality to it, which might have helped international marketing. My preference would be a simple "Biman Airlines". But then again Biman has more important problems than its name...

Also Redbird, sorry can't help out with a boarding card, since the only time I rode Biman was a long time ago within Bangladesh.

I like the name Biman too.

Well I thought I would try a Google Image Search for Redbird. Quite easy to find:

http://www.alexandervandergraaf.nl/Welkom/Landen/Bangladesh/Biman/Boarding%20pass%20DAC-SPD%20web.jpg

Redbird, this guy is a genious or what

Well I thought I would try a Google Image Search for Redbird. Quite easy to find:

http://www.alexandervandergraaf.nl/Welkom/Landen/Bangladesh/Biman/Boarding%20pass%20DAC-SPD%20web.jpg

Dhaka--Rajshahi-- ( where's that ? )

SPD == Saidpur (http://www.flightstats.com/go/Airport/airportDetails.do?airportCode=SPD)

Yep, it's a pity Biman would change its name .

Well, meghnarmajhi .. I found the pic of this boarding pass before but it is not what I thought it would be. I once found a website of Biman's thermal boarding card order and I thought all Biman's boarding passes would be thermal boarding cards (just like other western airlines' boarding pass, you know, the one that aren't just simple cards...) but what I found (like the one above) isn't like what i thought... So I decided to ask you in case one of you had the one that looks different...

well, if you guys really don't, that's really okay. Thanks anyway.

Dhaka--Rajshahi-- ( where's that ? )

Also in BD; it is one of six divisional capitals. There is also a thread on Rajshahi, currently in the common section of the forum. However, especially since we don't have any forumers from Rajshahi, there are not that many pictures. High speed internet in BD is still somewhat of a rarity beyond Dhaka, so that's why we don't have many forumers in BD outside Dhaka. In the coming years, once such connections become more widespread, we will hopefully attract forumers representing a wider spectrum of locations in BD, and be better able to keep abreast of developments outside Dhaka.

I think Skyprince was referring to the destination on the boarding card and not enquiring about Rajshahi :)

Dhaka Zia International Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport86.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport110.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport112.jpg

Outside of the airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport116.jpg

A restaurant inside the airport (what the heck is fress juice?)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/dhakaairport114.jpg

I think they mean "fresh juice"

Anyways, anybody know what the total amount of passengers is for Dhaka airport and what the total potential capacity is.

I think they mean "fresh juice"

................

Lol .... you noticed that too.

Couple of pics at Osmani Intl Airport, Sylhet:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/sy1.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/tanzirian/sy2.jpg

Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/Dhaka/Dhaka1/chittagongsirport30.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v457/Dhaka/Dhaka1/chittagongairport25.jpg

Law may be approved today to convert Biman into PLC

The revised draft on the Memorandum of Association and Article of Association of Bangladesh Biman is likely to be approved by the caretaker government today (Saturday) in a bid to convert the Corporation into Bangladesh Airlines Limited, a public limited company (PLC).

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has placed the revised draft to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for vetting, a senior government source said.

"I handed over Wednesday the amended draft on Memorandum of Association and Article of Association of Bangladesh Airlines to the Law Adviser Barrister Mainul Hossein for his ministry's consent," the Adviser in Charge of the Civil Aviation and Tourism MA Matin said.

He also noted that after going through the draft, the law adviser had found it as 'Ok'.

Official sources, however, said the draft has got the law ministry's nod and it is expected to be placed again before the scheduled meeting of the advisers' council on Saturday for its approval.

They said the authorities have updated the draft Memorandum of Association and Article of Association of Bangladesh Airlines in line with the directive of the advisers' council.

The civil aviation ministry placed the aforesaid draft before the council meeting on June 30 for approval, an official source said.

But, the meeting asked the concerned ministry for re-examining the proposed draft and placing it again before the council, the source mentioned.

However, the council approved the draft Bangladesh Biman Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance-2007, aiming to convert the state-run Corporation into a PLC.

Earlier, the government had decided to make the loss-making Bangladesh Biman Corporation a PLC with a view to preventing mismanagement and rationalising its manpower.

The ultimate goal of the move is to make the Biman operationally sound and commercially viable, sources said.

Under the initiative, the Biman authority has already decided to cut 1,593 jobs at various levels to reduce its manpower from around 5,000 to 3,400 under a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), sources said.

It has also sought Tk 2.9 billion from the government to implement the VRS, they noted.

Besides, at least 2,100 employees of Biman Bangladesh Airlines have already applied for the voluntary retirement.

According to the proposal, the government would shoulder the liabilities of Biman in order to turn it into a public limited company with zero liabilities after June 30, said the sources.

Initially, the Biman will be a fully government-owned company and its board of directors will have seven to 10 members.

Then the government would gradually offload up to 49 per cent of the shares to the private sector, sources said.

According official figures, the Biman owes around Tk 20 billion to different agencies, including Tk 15 billion to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation on account of purchasing fuel and Tk 3.0 billion to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.

It incurred a loss of around Tk 12 billion in fiscal year 2006-07 alone, sources mentioned.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=2782

United's maiden domestic flight starts today

United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd, a private sector airline founded by non-resident Bangladeshis, is starting its maiden domestic passenger flight today.

The first flight of the airline is scheduled to take off from Dhaka for Sylhet this morning with a Canadian made 37-seat Dash-8, officials of the new airline said.

It will initially operate three passenger flights every day on both Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chittagong routes.

United plans to add another Dash-8 aircraft next month and an F-100 plane to its fleet by the year-end.

Cox's Bazar, Barisal and Jessore will be included in the airline's domestic routes soon, while it eventually plans to go for regional operations, the officials said.

The non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) mainly from the UK have teamed up to create an airline in the country. So far some 600 NRBs have contributed to forming the company, Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, chairman and managing director of United Airways, told a press conference in Dhaka recently.

Currently, GMG Airlines, the other private sector carrier, enjoys a market share of more than 60 percent, while the rest covered by the national flag carrier Biman.

United is optimistic about being the market leader in domestic operations by the next couple of years.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/07/10/d70710050261.htm

United's maiden domestic flight starts today (http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/07/10/d70710050266.htm)

United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd, a private sector airline founded by non-resident Bangladeshis, is starting its maiden domestic passenger flight today.

The first flight of the airline is scheduled to take off from Dhaka for Sylhet this morning with a Canadian made 37-seat Dash-8, officials of the new airline said.

It will initially operate three passenger flights every day on both Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chittagong routes.

United plans to add another Dash-8 aircraft next month and an F-100 plane to its fleet by the year-end.

Cox's Bazar, Barisal and Jessore will be included in the airline's domestic routes soon, while it eventually plans to go for regional operations, the officials said.

The non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) mainly from the UK have teamed up to create an airline in the country. So far some 600 NRBs have contributed to forming the company, Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, chairman and managing director of United Airways, told a press conference in Dhaka recently.

Currently, GMG Airlines, the other private sector carrier, enjoys a market share of more than 60 percent, while the rest covered by the national flag carrier Biman.

United is optimistic about being the market leader in domestic operations by the next couple of years.

United Airways eyes Tk 20b in market share over next five years

United Airways (BD) Limited, the country's second private sector airlines, eyes Tk 20 billion in market share over the next five years.

The Airways starts its commercial operation today (Wednesday) on Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chittagong route. The airlines started its debut flights with the newsmen from Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chittagong Tuesday.

While talking with the newsmen, founder Chairman and Managing of the Airways Director Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury expressed his optimism about the prospect of private sector airlines in the country.

"There is a large market of air services in the country, which is now 90 per cent dependent on the national flag carrier - the Biman Bangladesh Airlines," he said.

Considering the demand, the United Airways launched its operation aiming to provide better services at a reasonable cost, he added.

"We have obtained international licence and we have a plan to start international flight within a short time," he added.

The Airways will bring three more aircraft by this year and operate on more four routes--Dhaka-Jessore, Dhaka-Barisal, Dhaka-Cox's Bazar, Chittagong-Cox's Bazar.

The airlines has started its operation with the financial support from 600 non-resident Bangladeshis (NRB) in United Kingdom.

Initially, one 37-seat aircraft will operate three passenger flights every day on both Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chittagong routes.

"The new generation aircraft has advanced computarised technology and modern radar system, and can fly for longer duration," said Manjurul Huq, flight captain of the Airways.

The passenger fare of the airlines is --Tk 3,945 for Dhaka-Chittagong and Tk 3,495 for Dhaka-Sylhet.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=4014

Good to see the private sector expanding. Hopefully they can achieve what our national airlines failed so horribly at and that is to make a top class flagship airline for Bangladesh.

Insurer will pay $22.18m to Biman for Dubai accident

Biman Bangladesh Airlines will receive US$ 22.18 million in insurance claim for the aircraft damaged in an accident in Dubai airport last March, official source said.

The Biman authorities decided to accept almost half of the insured value worth $40 million at a board meeting last month after hectic negotiation with AON, the insurance company.

"Biman will accept 'Cash-in-Lieu' amounting to US$ 22,185,932 after adjusting US$100,000 as per insurance deductible policy", said the meeting minutes.

The amount, according to the meeting decision, will be spent on procurement of new aircraft as the number of Biman fleet has come down to 11 from 14 over the past three years without any replacement.

Besides, the board meeting also decided to written off the damaged Biman A310-325 aircraft from its fleet as per insurance settlement with the insurance company.

The Biman, however, obtained the right to sell the damaged aircraft 'as is where is' basis.

The Biman aircraft, carrying 236 passengers, met the accident during take-off after its nose wheel broke down.

Some 27 people were injured because of the mishap that forced the closure of one of the busiest airport for about eight hours.

Biman managing director MA Momen told the board meeting that Biman officials submitted insurance claim and informed the manufacturer -- the Airbus Industrie - after the accident.

The manufacturing company performed on-site survey and damage assessment in March and April and submitted a report to the Biman.

On completion of the inspection, the Airbus submitted a detailed report with two options for the Biman to negotiate with the insurance company.

After evaluating the options, Biman official opted for 'cash-in-lieu' offer that provides the value of repair cost worth $22.18 million, added the Biman MD. The option also offered Biman the custody of the damaged aircraft.

The Biman has lost three aircraft since 2004 and has not replaced them due to fund shortage.

It lost a DC-10 when it was skidded off the Chittagong Amanat Shah Airport runway in 2005. In 2004, a F-28 was also skidded of the runway in Sylhet Airport.

The present Biman fleet has four DC10-30s, four F-28s, and three A310-300s. The DC 10 and Airbuses operate on the international routes and the F-28 on the domestic and regional routes.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=4152

Bangladesh's 2nd private airline takes off

BANGLADESH'S second private passenger airline launched yesterday in a fast-growing market, an official said.

United Airways' first flight took off from the capital Dhaka for the northeastern city of Sylhet, company director Ferdous Imam said.

The market was attractive to private operators since the scrapping of a number of routes by state-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Imam said when met yesterday.

The company, owned by expatriate Bangladeshis living in Britain, have bought a Dash-8 aircraft and will add another Dash-8 in late July followed by two more Fokker 100 by August, he added.

Bangladesh's air traffic to the Gulf and China countries has seen a huge increase in recent months, he added. AFP

http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/details.php?shape_ID=36255

websites for all the Bangladeshi airlines.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines - http://www.bimanair.com/

GMG Airlines - http://www.gmgairlines.com/index2.html

United Airways - http://www.uabdl.com/

Bismillah Airlines - http://www.rit.edu/~aaa2955/mgi/bismillah/


Flight info for Dhaka Zia International Airport - http://flightinfobd.com/index.html

Biman turns into public limited company

President Iajuddin Ahmed has approved an ordinance to convert Biman Bangladesh Airlines into a public limited company, according to a government circular, which was available Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.

The law ministry Wednesday published the amended law, Bangladesh Biman Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007 that will come into immediate effect.

Biman's managing director MA Momen told bdnews24.com the government would own entire ownership of the company.

"People won't buy shares until it becomes a profitable company and that's why we aren't going to float its shares for public for now," Momen said.

Biman runs Tk 2,000 crore in debt, which he said the government would shoulder.

The interim government decided to make the airliners a public limited company in line with the recommendations of a committee formed in March to find out how to make it a profit-making company.

The committee also recommended to halve the workforce from 4,800. In June, the authorities took up a so-called golden handshake programme and 1,863 employees opted for retirement.

Biman in the last fiscal year recorded Tk 828 crore in losses, up from about Tk 283 crore a year ago.

Biman owes about Tk 564 crore to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation in bills until Dec 31. Biman scrapped flights to Tokyo, New York, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt and Mumbai last year to reduce losses. It now operates flights to only 20 oversees and three domestic destinations.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=4284

So wait if shares aren't going to be floated, what does public limited company mean? If the government is still going to own all of it, why will the situation be any different next year?

New British-Bangladeshi Airlines

The Royal Bengal Bird gets a paint job as it prepares to roar through the skies of Bangladesh for you. This airline is formed by Bangladeshi-British.

See the official website:

http://www.royalbengalairline.com/

No big deal. Guess what in Starbucks- Frappachino,Cappachinu or whatever-:)

I read from one website yesterday Biman had already turned into PLC and wouldn't change its name. But, before this I had seen another source mentioning it would change to just "Bangladesh Airlines." So, I'm wondering which is right? (Sorry I forgot both sources)

Also, it made a contract to lease 2 Airbuses which would be delivered this month, didn't it? Has anyone heard of the delivery?

The news is right. the official name of the PLC (Public Limited Company ) is now "Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd.". The government finally decided to keep the word "biman". I think it is a good decision.....with this word, many achievemnts, memories and emotions are involved.......and the word is not in any waay responsible for the years old mismanagement and corruption, which has made this airlines almost ruined.....

I like the name.

Ya good thing they didn't get rid of Biman. It not only has symbolic value, it is the most appropriate name too. What else would you call it in Bangla?

Ya good thing they didn't get rid of Biman. It not only has symbolic value, it is the most appropriate name too. What else would you call it in Bangla?

I like the name "Biman". In 1972, several names were proposed for the national flag carrier. Among them were "Bangladesh International Airlines (BIA)" - following PIA of Pakistan, "Balaka", "Biman", and several other variations of those names. Finally, " Bangladesh Biman Corporation" was selected for its name. "Balaka" was used as the call sign to identify itself to the ATCs. Later on the call sign was changed to Bangladesh - to make it easier for the ATCs to recognize its aircrafts. I was so proud of our only airline at the time that I bought some disposed cups, plates, napkins, etc from a roadside vendor outside of Baitul Mukarram masjid to have Biman logo in my collection.

The first logo was slightly different than this one:

http://www.aerosite.net/images/stories/logos/biman.gif

First logo had the text in dark blue.

yeah yeah, it's great to know the government decided to keep the word "Biman."

Biman comes from the word vimanah which means air, right?

What about Balaka? Is that a Bangla word? And what does it mean?

yeah yeah, it's great to know the government decided to keep the word "Biman."

Biman comes from the word vimanah which means air, right?

What about Balaka? Is that a Bangla word? And what does it mean?

Yes, the word "Biman" is from the word "vimana". Vimana in Sanskrit is a mythical flying machine, described in the ancient literature of India. The word in modern Bangla means aircraft.

Balaka is Bangla for bird.

Remember the song?: "....... mono mor hansa balakar pakhay jae ure...".

Is there any greenfield airport project going on in Bangladesh? Is the Dakha International Airport alone sufficient to handle the huge passenger and air traffic?

The Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biman) article is an interesting read although it doesn't yet have the latest details on the privatisation.

I think Chittagong Shah Amanat Airport has every potential to become a regional hub. The terminal is spacious, and already few foreign airlines are operating......also few other are planning to start.......also sylhet osmani airport has a runway capable of facilitating the landings and takes off of wide body aircrafts.......this airport can also be converted into a true international airport......

Zia Airport, as far I know, now can handle 6 aircrafts at a time in its international terminal........( 2 more in domestic and 2 more in VVIP terminals respectively)......I think for the time being it is ok...as the passenger load is far beyond its capacity....however, the management needs to be improved, as landings of 4 international flights simultaneously cause panic and disarray among the ground staff of the airport......as i have seen and heard in past.....

....however, the management needs to be improved, as landings of 4 international flights simultaneously cause panic and disarray among the ground staff of the airport......as i have seen and heard in past.....

I know about that personally...when I went to BD in 2000, three flights including mine landed together...and that was more than they could handle. At least the building itself has improved significantly since then...don't know about the ground crew.

Zia Airport, as far I know, now can handle 6 aircrafts at a time in its international terminal........( 2 more in domestic and 2 more in VVIP terminals respectively)......I think for the time being it is ok...as the passenger load is far beyond its capacity....however, the management needs to be improved, as landings of 4 international flights simultaneously cause panic and disarray among the ground staff of the airport......as i have seen and heard in past.....

Passenger and air traffic are increasing rapidly in most of the south asian big cities. So, most of them are looking for new airports. I think Dhaka should also go for a new one:)

[Biman flight schedule about to crash-land

Only 4-5 aircraft operative now; desperate flight-cut not helping situation
Rashidul Hasan

Despite canceling flight on several routes, Biman Bangladesh Airlines is frequently failing to maintain its flight schedule as only four to five aircraft of its 11-member fleet can be kept operative a day.
Schedule collapse in Biman flights to 18 international destinations cause untold sufferings to the passengers, eventually contributing to the loss of the organisation's market share.

As an 'easy remedy' for schedule chaos, Biman cut its flight on eight international routes in last one year and recently reduced flight frequencies on five profitable routes to Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, London and Rome, Biman officials said.

"When market shares of other airlines are increasing, Biman is losing its share," Abdul Mamdud Khan, General Manager (GM), flight operations (Central Control) of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd told The Daily Star last night.


Biman's current market share of passengers has shrunk to approximately 32 per cent from 57 per cent in 1991, Biman's planning department sources said.


In 2005-06, Biman carried only about 14 lakh passengers out of the 30 lakh that boarded different airliners at Zia International Airport (ZIA), the sources added.


Biman now has air service agreement with 42 countries, but it can use only 18, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Biman Dr MA Momen said.


Reduction of flight on international routes has not helped better maintenance of timetable as the condition of the fleet is too poor, said a Biman official wishing anonymity.

"No flight of Biman, whether domestic or local, can fly to its destination on schedule. Six or seven hours flight delay has now become usual events for Biman," said a Biman official.


During the last few days the situation has so worsened that there have been incidents of flight delay for more than a day, even flight cancellation.

On July 7, some 200 Biman passengers faced untold sufferings remaining stranded at the ZIA as the flight scheduled to carry them was delayed for 39 hours due to technical glitches and no alternative flight could be arranged.

On July 9, another Biman flight, this time to London, was delayed for about a day at ZIA due to technical glitches in the aircraft.


Recently Biman cut three weekly flights each to Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait and one each to London and Rome.

"We have demand in the above routes but we failed to meet it due to aircraft shortage," Abdul Mamdud Khan told The Daily Star.

During the last one year Biman suspended its flights to Yangon, Mumbai, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Orly (Paris), Brussels, Manchester and New York routes.

Due to shortage of aircraft, Biman has to use its aircraft without required recess, which poses risk to the aircraft as well as passengers, said a Biman official.


On average Biman uses its age-old aircraft 15 to16 hours a day, whereas it should not be used more than 10-11 hours per day, he said.

Biman presently owns three types of aircraft -- four DC10-30s, four F-28s, and three A310-300s. Production of DC10-30s and F-28s has been discontinued because of their lack of viability in business.


Of the 11 aircraft of the Biman fleet, only four or five can operate a day while the rest are grounded due to technical malfunctions.


At present Biman is running flight to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kolkata, Kathmandu, New Delhi, Karachi, Dubai, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Rome, London and Doha.

Meanwhile, the Biman aircraft that had been stuck at Heathrow International Airport for about 48 hours is likely to fly for Dhaka at 2:am (Bangladesh standard time).

The London-Dubai-Dhaka flight was scheduled to fly for Dhaka at 2:00am (Bangladesh standard time) on Tuesday, Biman sources said.


But due to hydraulic failure, the aircraft could not fly, sources said, adding that unavailability of departure slot caused more delay to the flight.


The aircraft is ready to fly after repairing for its technical glitches, a Biman official said.

The aircraft carrying 40 passengers is supposed to arrive at the Zia International Airport at 3:00pm today, said Biman sources.


http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/08/03/d7080301138.htm

Isn't that pathetic?

I don't think changing from Corporation to PLC has done Biman any good! Its lack of aircrafts will eventually result in fewer passengers, and gradually it may become bankrupt. What Biman should be doing is to "lease" more aircrafts so that it can operate on schedule again! Biman won't receive any aircrafts till 2012 or so should it buy this year. But it still needs to buy its own aircrafts.... coz leasing often results in more operational costs!!

I'm sure there are quite a huge number of people who are willing to fly with BG. Biman, please, don't let them go!!

Any comments?

Just wondering? Is Biman's operation to Bangkok profitable? What about London?

I know it is making a pretty huge profit to Kuala Lumpur and the Middle East?

Just wondering? Is Biman's operation to Bangkok profitable? What about London?

I know it is making a pretty huge profit to Kuala Lumpur and the Middle East?

I think Bangkok and London flights are profitable too.

Isn't that pathetic?

I don't think changing from Corporation to PLC has done Biman any good! Its lack of aircrafts will eventually result in fewer passengers, and gradually it may become bankrupt. What Biman should be doing is to "lease" more aircrafts so that it can operate on schedule again! Biman won't receive any aircrafts till 2012 or so should it buy this year. But it still needs to buy its own aircrafts.... coz leasing often results in more operational costs!!

I'm sure there are quite a huge number of people who are willing to fly with BG. Biman, please, don't let them go!!

Any comments?

I totally agree with you Redbird. Leasing is always an intermediate option. What Biman should do is to purchase some aircrafts immediately and until those aircrafts come to service, to lease some more. But the leased aircrafts should be returned as soon as the purchased come.

Regarding which type of aircraft Biman should acquire, I have the following proposals,

For interim period (before the purchased aircrafts come), the following aircrafts can be leased

For long route: 1/2 Boeing 747
For Medium route: 2 Airbus 319/320/321 or Boeing 737 -500/600/800
For regional route: none

For an ultimate Biman fleet capable of fulfilling all its requirements, I propose the following fleet, (these can be purchased immediately for future delivery in 2010/2012):

For long route: 4 to 5 Boeing 777-200ER OR Airbus 340-600
For Medium route: 5 to 6 Boeing 737 800/900 or Airbus 330/320/319/321
For regional route : 4 Embrarer 170/ Canadian regional jet/ Fokker 100


This is just my proposal....I would like to other's viewpoints.....

.........................................

For long route: 4 to 5 Boeing 777-200ER OR Airbus 340-600
For Medium route: 5 to 6 Boeing 737 800/900 or Airbus 330/320/319/321
For regional route : 4 Embrarer 170/ Canadian regional jet/ Fokker 100

.....

Agreed for most parts. Avoid Fokker - because Stork Aerospace Group will be supporting Fokker aircraft for - we don't know how long! Finding parts, support, and modification options will become increasingly difficult.

It will be nice to have so many aircrafts at one time. They should look into buying 5 to 6 A330/320 series aircrafts to meet their immediate requirement.

I figure Biman's management is still very bureaucratic as no such actions have been paved for a "newly converted organization." No plans to purchase/lease aircrafts, no plans to add more frequency to profitable routes, and most importantly no plans to change the way the organization works. Remember, Biman is not owned by the government anymore but it's public! So what? The performance of it should satisfy the public too!! But I don't see any ways it is making the public happy. I mean I have been waiting to see its improvement for ages before I made a complaint, not just one or two days!

C'mon Biman, please don't lose any of your loyal customers anymore! Please...

................................

C'mon Biman, please don't lose any of your loyal customers anymore! Please...

I feel the same way. Biman management should wake up and respect our loyalty.

Seems like Jet Airways is starting Delhi Dhaka and Kolkata-Dhaka service.

http://avindia.blogspot.com/2007/07/another-daily-flight-to-dhaka.html

Another daily flight to Dhaka

Come September, Calcutta will have its third daily flight to Dhaka.
Jet Airways will start daily operations between the two cities from mid-September, “subject to the delivery of aircraft”, said Sudhakar Rao, the general manager (east) of the airline.
This will be Jet’s second international flight from the city. In January, it had launched a flight to Bangkok.
The new flight, to originate from Delhi, will take off from Calcutta at 8am and reach Dhaka at 9.15am (local time). It will leave the Bangladeshi capital at 10am (local time) and reach Delhi at noon.
Another aircraft will take off from Delhi at noon and arrive at the Bangladeshi capital at 2.30pm (local time). From Dhaka, it will start at 3.15pm (local time) and arrive in Calcutta at 3.30pm.
“The passengers will be connected to our Delhi-London-Delhi flights,” Rao said. “It will also be linked with Jet Airway’s Delhi-Brussels-Toronto service, which will start from September 5.”
30/07/07 The Telegraph

Can anybody here confirm us the present fleet size of GMG? In the wikipedia page it is given that they already have 7 aircrafts, including 3 MD-82. The data given is as follow:

The GMG Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of March 2007):[1] :

GMG Fleet Type Total Routes Notes
Boeing 777-300 1 (on order) International
Boeing 767-200 ER 2 (on order) International
Boeing MD-82 3 International
Bombardier Dash 8 Q100 2 Domestic
Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 2 Domestic

This is also saying that they have ordered 3 widebodies, including one B777. Unfortunately their official website is still showing only the DASH-8 aircrafts....

Is it really so that they r going for the widebodies including the B777? Moreover, can anyone confirm the inclusion of the third MD-82?

I don't know about the MD-82 but as of now, from what i 've heard, GMG is going for more wide bodied aircraft to expand into the international market. Also with the new orders, GMG would have the largest active fleet in Bangladesh.

GMG Airlines does have at least two MD-82's (May be three). They are using MD-82 to Kuala Lumpur and Katmandu route. They just got approval for flight in the Middle East route. I have not read or heard anything about their 773 or 762 order anywhere.

a similar GMG MD-82 (DC-9-82) image:
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s191/mdmasud/GMG_MD-82_DC-9-82.jpg[/QUOTE]

GMG unveils four new international destinations

GMG Airlines, a privately owned airline of the country, at a launching ceremony at Bang-ladesh China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC) on July 18 unveiled four new international destinations. The four new international destinations are Muscat in Oman , Dubai in UAE, Kuwait City in Kuwait and Karachi in Pakistan.

Shaikh Altaf All, Secretary-in-charge, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism was present as chief guest at the launching ceremony while Abdus Sattar, Chairman and Ismail R Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director, GMG Airlines, also spoke on the occasion.

Shaikh Altaf Ali asked the GMG authority to work with the same dedication as it had shown in the past to hold high the image of the airline and the country. He said permission for the new routes was given to GMG Airlines in public interest and so they should uphold it (public interest) as further traffic rights will depend on the future performance of the airline. He also hoped that the airline will use dependable aircraft in all their routes.

Abdus Sattar said, "It's a memorable day and a milestone in the history of our company as well of the nation. GMG Airlines is a Bangladeshi airline. The essence of Bangladeshi culture and heritage lies in the core values of GMG Airlines. GMG will be stepping into newer skies to represent Bangladesh and Bangladeshi culture."

"Millions of Bangladeshis travel to the Middle East in quest of good fortune. These working people in the Middle East contribute immensely to our national economy. They are very special to us and we need to take good care of them. We know that the onus of carrying the hopes of these millions will lie with us when they will choose us to travel," he added.

Thanking the loyal customers of the airline, members of the travel trade and members of the GMG family, Abdus Sattar said, "Safety, reliability, service and comfort are the key words that drive GMG employees a little harder. So far, we are pleased with our achievements.”

“GMG's safety and on-time flight records are among the highest in the world. The airline is managed by an extensive team of airline professionals with years of experience. Our customer and in-flight services have helped us to enhance the number of customers everyday who find confidence in travelling with us."

"Our main objective is to bring pleasure in your travel in a safe, secure and efficient manner. Every GMG employee works to provide "First Class All the Way" experience to our patrons," Abdus Sattar said.

Ismail Chowdhury thanked the agents and members of the travel trade for their support. The airline will deliver still better services with state-of-the-art wide-bodied aircraft which may include B767s or B777s, he said.

The new destinations will be operative from end of this year and GMG will run "adequate flights" weekly in these new routes.

GMG began its maiden flight on April 6, 1998 and connects Dhaka with Chittagong , Sylhet, Jessore, Barisal and Cox's Bazar with 20 flights a week on an average in the domestic routes.

GMG Airlines made it's maiden flight to international route on September 8, 2004 in Chittagong-Kolkata route. Currently in international routes it connects Kolkata, Bangkok, New Delhi, Kathmandu and Kuala Lumpur with 42 flights a week on an average: Weekly 14 flights on Dhaka-Kolkata route and four flights in Chittagong-Kolkata route, five flights in Dhaka-Bangkok route, four flights in Dhaka-Kathmandu route, two flights in Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route and two flights in Chittagong-Bangkok route.

Its fleet comprises of two Dash 8 are Dash 10 series and two McDonald Douglas MD-82 series. GMG authority in the launching ceremony announced that they have decided to bring modern and comfortable aircraft and expand it's network to cover more destinations.

http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/aviation_story.php?recordID=1060

New Board to decide procurement of aircraft for Biman, ZIA soon to get upgraded runway, modern radar

The work of upgradation of Zia International Airport (ZIA) will be taken up soon, Shaikh Altaf Ali, Secretary-in-charge, Minis-try of Civil Aviation and Tourism recently told The Bangladesh Monitor. The Project Profile has already been submitted to the Planning Commission. The Tk 400 crore (approximately) project includes a Danish grant of US$5.2 million and the rest will be local financing, he said.

Under the project, the runway of Zia International Airport (ZIA) will be upgraded and the radar modernised.

The Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary said maintenance and handling at Zia International Airport has also to be improved. CAAB will sit with other stakeholders and discuss with them the matters to provide improved services. Some of the services may be outsourced, he said.

Secretary-in-charge, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said, work at runway of Osmany International Airport , Sylhet is going on. The runway has been upgraded and only minor dressing work is left to be completed, after which wide-bodied aircraft will be able to land there.

Work on the terminal building of the airport is likely to be finished by June 2008. Osmany International Airport will then have two aerobridges, he informed.

Shaikh Altaf Ali admitted that Shah Amanat International Airport , Chittagong is underutilised. Only 30 per cent to 35 per cent of its capacity is being utilised now, he said and added "we are looking into ways as to how its utilisation can be increased further."

New aircraft for Biman

On Biman, Shaikh Altaf Ali confirmed that initially government will hold 100 per cent shares of the new company. Even after the offloading shares government will retain 51 per cent of the shares and will be able to nominate 60 per cent of the Directors. Once the shares are offloaded, the shareholders will be able to elect two Directors from amongst them.

On a query about procurement of new aircraft for Biman, Shaikh Altaf Ali said the new Board would decide on the fleet plan on the basis of new route and operation plan. There will be no directives nor will anything be imposed (by the government), he added.

Regarding the golden handshake to Bima-n's employe-es, Shaikh Altaf Ali said 2,100 had applied for it and 1,800 of them were given the handshake. We have issued GO for payment to them and after 70 per cent of the money has been paid in the correct manner then the government will release the rest 30 per cent of the money.

Altaf denied reports that some of the retired employees had been re-employed on contract. Only the future Board can decide whether anyone needs to be re-employed on contract at all, he said.

Referring the debts of Biman, Altaf said that in the National Budget for FY 2007-2008, the Tk 2,000 crore that the airline owes to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, has been absorbed by the government. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has also been asked to settle the matter with Biman, hinting that the CAAB is likely wipeout the debt.

http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/aviation_story.php?recordID=1049

any recent news on Biman?

Air Arabia to operate more flights from Chittagong

Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, will shortly begin operating three additional flights per week on the Sharjah-Chittagong route.

Currently, the Sharjah-based carrier provides 2 flights per week to Bangladesh's second largest city, said a press release.

Kyle Haywood, Commercial Director, Air Arabia, said "We are pleased to increase cur frequency of flights between Sharjah and Chittagong We thank the government of Bangladesh for giving us the opportunity to further enhance our commitment in providing reliable and value-for-money services to Bangladesh.

Between September 1 & October 27, Air Arabia will operate additional flights to Chittagong on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, increasing the number of flights to five per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday). All flights will depart from Sharjah at 07-15 and arrive in Chittagong at 13-50 local time. On the same days, flights will depart Chittagong at 14-35 and arrive in Sharjah at 17:30 local time.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=7887

Biman airbus stuck at Dubai since Saturday (http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/08/13/d70813013926.htm)
Mon. August 13, 2007

An airbus of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd remains stuck at Dubai International Airport since Saturday due to technical glitches.

The aircraft was supposed to fly to Dhaka from Dubai on Saturday with 300 passengers on board, said a Biman source.

Abdul Mamdud Khan, general manager flight operations (central control), told The Daily Star last night that the plane was stranded at the Dubai International Airport due to technical faults.

Biman sources said engineers from Bangladesh have already been sent to Dubai to repair the aircraft.

Biman downs 3 flights (http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=164)
Causes sufferings to passengers

Biman last night cancelled flights on three routes to Jeddah, Karachi and London following an incredible delay, causing immense sufferings to passengers.

Biman claimed technical faults and scarcity of aircraft for the delay.

The Jeddah-bound flight was cancelled after a delay of about 24 hours, leaving 301 passengers enraged.

The DC10-30 was scheduled to leave Zia International Airport for Jeddah at 9:30pm on Monday, said Abdul Mamdud Khan, general manager for flight operations of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd.

"We were compelled to cancel the flight as we could not repair technical glitches of the aircraft," a Biman official said.

"We could not manage an alternative aircraft as we have only four aircraft out of eleven in operating condition today (Tuesday)."

The national flag carrier has lodged the stranded passengers at a hotel in the capital.

As per the earlier schedule, the flight was to leave Jeddah for Dhaka yesterday morning. And 238 passengers of the flight have been lodged at a hotel in Jeddah, said the official. The Karachi-bound airbus (BG 031) with 108 passengers was scheduled to leave ZIA at 1:30pm, but the flight was aborted due to aircraft shortage.

Another airbus (flight no BG 015), which was to fly for London at 4:00am today with 220 passengers, was also cancelled for lack of aircraft.

Out of 11, only three Biman aircraft was in operational condition, the airliner sources said.

I think Biman is virtually dead in the water as it currently stands! I don't see why anyone would fly them anymore. Putting aside the delays, I would not feel safe in them planes!

Has anyone flown BA from LHR recently? How is their connection to Sylhet? If that's not feasible, I'd rather take road transport but certainly will not be going on Biman!

I think Biman is virtually dead in the water as it currently stands! I don't see why anyone would fly them anymore. Putting aside the delays, I would not feel safe in them planes!

Has anyone flown BA from LHR recently? How is their connection to Sylhet? If that's not feasible, I'd rather take road transport but certainly will not be going on Biman!

all my families in Bangladesh stay away from Biman. Even domestic they fly GMG.

I wonder why Biman can still operate a flight to Rome, Italy... It doesn't seem like they are making profits on this route. I assume there are not so many Bangladeshis living in Italy, are they? I wonder why they cut all their flights to Brussels, Paris and Frankfut but not Rome. Are they making profits on this route?

Does anyone have any ideas?

I wonder why Biman can still operate a flight to Rome, Italy... It doesn't seem like they are making profits on this route. I assume there are not so many Bangladeshis living in Italy, are they? I wonder why they cut all their flights to Brussels, Paris and Frankfut but not Rome. Are they making profits on this route?

Does anyone have any ideas?

there are tons of Bangladeshis living in Rome. All the street vendors are Bangladeshi.

Dhaka Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport20.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport70.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport21.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport71.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport60.jpg

Thank you very much Tmac for such a quick response. That was surprising!

Also, does anyone have any ideas what types of four aircrafts Biman is currently operating? How many in DC10s and how many in A310?

Does anyone know the news about Biman's leasing Two AB6s and two A310s from U.A.E.? I sorta heard that these 4 planes would be delivered to Biman's fleet at the end of July 2007..

Dhaka Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport130.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport125.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport129.jpg

the recent google earth view of the Dhaka Airport shows how busy it has become. Just look at all the aircrafts parked. I witnessed it first hand on my recent trip to Dhaka.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport100.jpg

The folks at ZIA don't have a good track record as far as efficiently managing multiple arrivals at once. In the next few decades, as Dhaka gradually gains stature as a world city of significance - they will either have to initiate a serious overhaul / expansion of the current facilities, or build a new airport from scratch. It will be interesting to see which possibility pans out.

1,000 stranded as Biman flights go haywire (http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=271)

Awaiting flight schedules, 1,000 more passengers of Biman Bangladesh Airlines suffered at Zia International Airport (ZIA) yesterday as at least nine more Biman flights were delayed due to technical glitches and aircraft shortage.

The flights delayed yesterday include flights to Malaysia, and one each to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Later, two of the flights could manage to fly to their destinations in the afternoon. The Malaysia-bound aircraft flew at 4:30pm with full passengers on board while the Riyadh-bound flight flew about 50 hours behind schedule with 220 passengers on board.

On Tuesday, three Biman flights were cancelled leaving around 600 passengers in untold suffering at ZIA.

Biman high officials at a meeting yesterday discussed arranging make-up flights as soon as possible, hiring aircraft, if necessary, or with the help of other airlines to solve the crisis, said a meeting source.

A Biman high official told The Daily Star that the situation cannot be improved shortly as eight of Biman 11 aircraft have been sent to the hangar due to technical glitches. Three operating aircraft include a DC10-30 and two airbuses.

The flights were delayed for different periods ranging from 10 hours to 50 hours, forcing the Biman authorities to reschedule all flights including those already scheduled several times.

Following delay of the flights, aggrieved passengers staged demonstration at the airport terminal several times.

Many passengers--mostly expatriate workers--fear losing jobs for not being able to join work on time. Those who came on vacation or official assignments also feared complications due to the delay.

"I fear I would not be able to join work on due time if I cannot reach Malaysia in two days," said a Biman passenger whose flight was rescheduled from 10:45 yesterday morning to 1:00am today.

"My stay permit will expire in two days but my flight is delayed for about 12 hours. I still doubt that the rescheduled flight will not leave on time," said another Malaysia-bound passenger whose flight was rescheduled from 3:00pm to 4:30am.

The long wait at the airport caused untold sufferings to women and children. The awaiting passengers complained of problems regarding bathroom and food.

A Biman high official preferring anonymity said, "We are taking measures considering necessity and urgency of the passengers. As soon as flights are being delayed, we are arranging lodging for the passengers at nearby hotels. We are informing passengers about the flight delay individually or through travel agencies.”

The folks at ZIA don't have a good track record as far as efficiently managing multiple arrivals at once. In the next few decades, as Dhaka gradually gains stature as a world city of significance - they will either have to initiate a serious overhaul / expansion of the current facilities, or build a new airport from scratch. It will be interesting to see which possibility pans out.

As long as ZIA is run by government bureaucrats and Biman by non-professionals, Biman and ZIA shall continue to make us suffer. The key to success for both of them is management by professionals.

As long as ZIA is run by government bureaucrats and Biman by non-professionals, Biman and ZIA shall continue to make us suffer. The key to success for both of them is management by professionals.

By professionals, do you mean privatisation? Or just better trained people?

welcome to the forum Towhid. Great to have you here.

By professionals, do you mean privatisation? Or just better trained people?

Thanks for the welcome. I think privatisation would be the best option since I believe government run organizations perform poorly as a service provider. If there is no profit motive by the owners and/or no reward-punishment i.e. performance evaluation of personnel, there is no incentive to be productive and efficient. Nevertheless, if a government is hell bent upon running the show then they better have a dedicated pool of people who are not just the "jack of all" civil servants. As airline and airport operations are highly specialized and very competitive business, should the government not be inclined to employ career aviation people (from abroad if need be), then they should select some of their relatively junior civil servants, say at the deputy secretary level, send them for appropriate education and training and retain them in the avaition sector until they retire. It would be rather inefficient to have these "trained" personnel transferred to other areas. The CEO, CFO, COOs should be chosen from these pool.

More prospective foreign airlines that link Yangon in the future will be Emirates Airline of the United Arab Emirates and Biman Airlines of Bangladesh, airline sources also said, adding that once the draft memorandum of understanding between Myanmar and the UAE, initiated in January this year between civil aviation authorities of the two countries, is approved by both governments, the Emirates Airline will start flying Yangon.

As for the Bangladeshi Biman Airlines, it originally had flight services between Dhaka and Yangon in the past but stopped its services in the last few years due to economic losses.

Bangladesh has sought for the resumption of such direct air link with Myanmar aiming to promote export of pharmaceutical products to the Southeast Asian neighbor which stands as Bangladesh's third largest pharmaceutical products exporting country.

Negotiation was held over such resumption during a visit to Myanmar by Adviser to Bangladesh Foreign Ministry Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in April this year.

See the whole news @ http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/6246346.html

It's good to know that BG may resume its flight to Rangoon.. But first of all, they should make sure that this route will at least break even. Though there will surely be a huge numbers of backpackers flying on this route to India, it won't attract so many businessmen in this particular industry. And with only 4 aircrafts left, Biman should be focusing on on-time flights and improve their poor service rather than expanding destinations without any feasibility study.

Any comments.

It's good to know that BG may resume its flight to Rangoon.. But first of all, they should make sure that this route will at least break even. Though there will surely be a huge numbers of backpackers flying on this route to India, it won't attract so many businessmen in this particular industry. And with only 4 aircrafts left, Biman should be focusing on on-time flights and improve their poor service rather than expanding destinations without any feasibility study.

Any comments.

ya Biman should worry about fixing or replacing their aircrafts rather than trying to get new routes.

Dhaka Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport137.jpg

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=280907

DUBAI, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- An entrepreneur from India is launching an airline in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called Kang Pacific Airlines, making it the fifth airline to be based in the country.

The airline is the brainchild of Paul Kang, an Indian businessman who previously owned companies involved in aviation catering as well as supplying to duty free shops in Britain and Fujairah, north of the UAE.

Kang told the English daily Gulf News that he is self-financing the airline's launch with US$10 million (RM35 million) in startup capital, primarily to procure two DC-10s and one Boeing 747 over the next six months.

The fleet will primarily consist of leased aircraft roughly 20 years old.

The airline plans to launch a commercial service out of Fujairah in October to tap the growing demand for air services to certain destinations.

Initially intending to serve the Philippines, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, Kang Pacific also plans to operate flights to Britain.

The airline will operate as a hybrid between a budget and a full service carrier. When launched, it will join Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia and RAK Airways in operating out of the UAE.

Kang said the venture is the result of a two-year feasibility study conducted by a professor at Cranfield University, who will also be a partner.

The airline, he added, will fly under an air operator certificate (AOC) issued by the Philippines government and expects to receive its UAE certificate in six to eight months.

---------------

In a pilot's forum, it was mentioned that the airline will fly from Fujairah to Dhaka and then on to Manila. Let's see whether this comes true.

This is very good, especially that they will begin with Bangladesh routes.
I noticed that they have started selling tickets (http://www.flykpa.com). Their flights to Bangladesh will start October 1st 2007.

However, I really don't know why they will operate 20+ year old aircrafts, especially the DC-10, which has a very high maintenance cost and very expensive parts which to be honest are very rare. Also the DC-10's are very inefficient with fuel etc.

I think that Emirates and Etihad has set a standard in the UAE with new aircrafts and etc. therefore how will KPA reach this standard?

are they buying the DC 10-30s from Biman? I thought Biman was the only airline in the world still using them?

Dhaka Zia International Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport108.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport109.jpg

Australian pvt airline chosen for hajj trips
Staff Correspondent


Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited yesterday selected Australia-based Ausban Aeronautical Services for carrying hajj pilgrims this year.

The Board of Directors of Biman approved the selection that will end an uncertainty over carrying of hajj pilgrims, sources said.

The government earlier penned a deal with Phuket Airlines for carrying pilgrims. But the agreement was cancelled later.

Biman floated a fresh tender where six companies participated.

Biman board also decided to take lease of an aircraft, meeting sources told The Daily Star last night.

About 65,000 hajj pilgrims will get opportunity to perform hajj this year, according to sources.



http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=1649

GMG Airlines website is, to put it midly, a joke. While they proudly dsiplay their url on their MD82s, if one browses GMG's webpages, it wouldn't give them a clue whether the airline has MD82s in its fleet. Their news ticker is prehistoric. The route map does not show international destinations. Simply put, it is amateurish. Biman is slightly better. Yet in comparison, look at some of the webistes of the LCCs in India or Pakistan. Do business people in Bangladesh conduct their affairs in isolation in today's connected world? My personal experience has been that business in Bangladesh show great enthusiasm to put up their website but the zeal quickly fades once it is online. All they seem to care is about the front page. Little do these folks realize that websites are reflections of their organizations.

I would like to hear all of your comments on this topic.

GMG Airlines website is, to put it midly, a joke. While they proudly dsiplay their url on their MD82s, if one browses GMG's webpages, it wouldn't give them a clue whether the airline has MD82s in its fleet. Their news ticker is prehistoric. The route map does not show international destinations. Simply put, it is amateurish. Biman is slightly better. Yet in comparison, look at some of the webistes of the LCCs in India or Pakistan. Do business people in Bangladesh conduct their affairs in isolation in today's connected world? My personal experience has been that business in Bangladesh show great enthusiasm to put up their website but the zeal quickly fades once it is online. All they seem to care is about the front page. Little do these folks realize that websites are reflections of their organizations.

I would like to hear all of your comments on this topic.

it's not just GMG, it's every business in Bangladesh. Most of their websites expire after a while. Just look at the real estate sector. Most companies don't even have updated websites. The graphics are very poor. Even the hotel industry isn't up to par. The fact remains that high speed internet is still a dream in BD. I am sure internet use is almost non existent outside of Dhaka. Even in Dhaka the connection speed is horrible. The public simply don't go online for anything other than checking their email.

Air Arabia increases flights to Chittagong

Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, will shortly begin operating two additional flights per week to Kathmandu, Nepal, and three flights per week to Chittagong, Bangladesh.

This revised flight schedule will take effect as of September 1st, 2007.

Air Arabia currently flies to Chittagong twice per week. With the addition of the three new flights, passengers will be able to fly to Chittagong every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Flights will depart from Sharjah at 7:15AM and arrive in Chittagong at 13:50PM local time. On the same days, flights will depart from Chittagong at 14:35PM and arrive in Sharjah at 17:30PM local time.

Kyle Haywood, Commercial Director, Air Arabia, said: 'Nepal and Bangladesh are important markets for Air Arabia, and by increasing the number of flights to these countries, we serve the growing demand for low-cost flights to South Asia. The main purpose behind our expansion there is to demonstrate to our customers across the Middle East, Bangladesh and Nepal our commitment to their needs.'

http://www.ameinfo.com/130186.html

it's not just GMG, it's every business in Bangladesh. Most of their websites expire after a while. Just look at the real estate sector. Most companies don't even have updated websites. The graphics are very poor. Even the hotel industry isn't up to par. The fact remains that high speed internet is still a dream in BD. I am sure internet use is almost non existent outside of Dhaka. Even in Dhaka the connection speed is horrible. The public simply don't go online for anything other than checking their email.

You are of course, correct. The sad fact then remains that as much as businesses and the government in Bangladesh tout for business in the computer and electronic communication industry, Bangladesh is still in the stone age, as far as infrastructure and proliferation of usage is concerned. Until the day when pen and paper or the typewriter has been replaced by a PC, in most of the institutions, we cannot expect much progress in this arena.

Ex-Biman men form body to float private airline

Initiative of retired employees of Biman Bangladesh Airlines to float a new private airline got a formal shape in the formation of a 25-member organising committee headed by former managing director of Biman Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury recently.

Three other former managing directors of Biman Bangladesh Airlines are also on the 25-member committee while a seven-member sub-committee headed by former president of Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association (BAPA) Captain Nasimul Haque has also been formed.

The proposed name of the new airlines is 'Air Bangla International', said a member of the committee.

Meanwhile, during the tenure of Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury as managing director, Biman, a losing concern, had got the taste of profit and success after a long time.

The Biman officials and employees who retired under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme in June this year took the initiative to float a private airline.

The retired Biman officials, according to their service tenure and position, got Tk 15-30 lakh on an average, Biman sources said.

"The retired Biman staffs' initiative to form a new airliner has got a formal shape," Muyeed Chowdhury told The Daily Star on Tuesday.

"There is good opportunity in Bangladesh to run private airlines," he said, adding," Here [retired Biman staff's initiative for a new airline] the opportunity is greater, as everyone is experienced."

The former MD of Biman however said, "A few more months' time is needed to get a clear picture about the new airline."

"Most of the retired 1,877 staffs have given verbal consent to joining the initiative to run a new airline," a member of the organising committee said.

"The seven-member sub-committee has started its groundwork," said Zahirul Haque, member secretary of the 25-member organising committee and also a member of the sub-committee.

The committee already sent leaflets and forms to all the retired employees seeking their consent in writing, sources said.

“After receiving consent letters from the retired staffs, we will get the idea about how much money we can collect from them for the new airline," Captain Nasimul Haque earlier told The Daily Star.

About the primary plan of the new airline, several members of the organising committee told The Daily Star that they would operate on those routes that were profitable but left suspended by Biman.

"The routes to Narita, New York, Frankfurt and Paris are some of the profitable ones that Biman Bangladesh Airlines kept suspended and we have a plan to operate for those destinations," said Captain Nasimul.

"We will surely make profit. Experience is our capital, we want to prove that it is possible to make profit if an airline is run professionally," he said.

Three private airlines -- GMG, United and Bismillah -- are currently operating from Bangladesh.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=2158

........................................................

Three private airlines -- GMG, United and Bismillah -- are currently operating from Bangladesh.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=2158

Looks like they own quite a few aircraft!!!

As of August 2006 the Bismillah Airlines fleet includes [2] :

1 Lockheed L-1011 Tristar
2 Antonov An-26
2 Antonov An-12
1 Antonov An-124
2 Boeing 707
2 Boeing 747
1 Douglas DC-8
1 Douglas DC-10
2 Ilyushin Il-76
1 Ilyushin Il-18

=========================================================================
Having so many different [types] of aircraft is not a good idea. Having a number of aircraft of the same type and series saves money in maintenance, parts, training, and so many other areas.

Tmac, is there a way you can append Sylheti started aviation thread to this thread?

Who started Bismillah?

Looks like they own quite a few aircraft!!!

As of August 2006 the Bismillah Airlines fleet includes [2] :

1 Lockheed L-1011 Tristar
2 Antonov An-26
2 Antonov An-12
1 Antonov An-124
2 Boeing 707
2 Boeing 747
1 Douglas DC-8
1 Douglas DC-10
2 Ilyushin Il-76
1 Ilyushin Il-18

=========================================================================
Having so many different [types] of aircraft is not a good idea. Having a number of aircraft of the same type and series saves money in maintenance, parts, training, and so many other areas.


One would think that they would know that i.e. fleet harmonization saves money since they have been in business for a long time now.

Government plans $52 million ZIA modernisation project

The government has planned to install a new radar system and other communication and navigational equipment at the Zia International Airport to ensure safe and secure operation of aircraft.
The government, under the $52 million ‘Upgrading of Zia International Airport’ project, has also planned to strengthen the taxiway of the country’s largest airport to accommodate the wide-bodied passenger planes which are heavier than other airliners.
‘We need to replace the radar urgently as the present one is obsolete in the modern air traffic control system,’ said an official of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, the executing agency of the project.
The present radar at the Zia airport was installed in 1984 on a turnkey basis by a French company. The radar has undergone major repair two times in the past, and its present condition is not good because one part of the radar is fully out of order.
The government of Denmark will provide ‘mixed credit loan’ for implementation of the project which will help the CAAB to comply with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, an agency of the United Nations, which codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation.
Civil aviation ministry officials said the project proposal has been sent to the Economic Relations Division for completing the necessary formalities before signing an agreement with the Danish government in this regard.
In view of the importance of the project, civil aviation adviser MA Matin, in a recent letter to finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, requested him to take personal initiative for implementation of the project.
In the letter, Matin said that ZIA would be radar-less if a new It was decided in July that the food ministry would import 4.5 lakh tons of rice and 3.5 lakh tons of wheat. But the ministry has been unable so far to carry out the decision due to price hike of the items on the international market and poor response from bidders in the procurement process, food ministry sources said.
Finance ministry sources said the prices quoted by bidders to the food ministry were higher than local prices of rice and wheat, which prompted the ministry to ask the BDR to import the food grains through Rifles Enterprises.
Top officials of the BDR said they had already contacted suppliers of rice and wheat in India, Pakistan, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine and the USA and received assurance of getting the required quantity of the food grains.
‘We have already completed the major preparatory tasks, including negotiation on prices, for importing rice and paddy,’ Colonel Mohammed Abdul Halim, director, operations and training, of the BDR told New Age.
He said, ‘We will be able to sell the imported rice and wheat through our outlets at two to five taka less than their market prices.’

http://www.newagebd.com/front.html#4

great article snoq. I thought ZIA already went through an extensive upgrade and renovation?

snoq I think the article is suppossed to read like this...


Government plans $52 million ZIA modernisation project

The government has planned to install a new radar system and other communication and navigational equipment at the Zia International Airport to ensure safe and secure operation of aircraft.

The government, under the $52 million ‘Upgrading of Zia International Airport’ project, has also planned to strengthen the taxiway of the country’s largest airport to accommodate the wide-bodied passenger planes which are heavier than other airliners.

‘We need to replace the radar urgently as the present one is obsolete in the modern air traffic control system,’ said an official of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, the executing agency of the project.

The present radar at the Zia airport was installed in 1984 on a turnkey basis by a French company. The radar has undergone major repair two times in the past, and its present condition is not good because one part of the radar is fully out of order.

The government of Denmark will provide ‘mixed credit loan’ for implementation of the project which will help the CAAB to comply with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, an agency of the United Nations, which codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation.

Civil aviation ministry officials said the project proposal has been sent to the Economic Relations Division for completing the necessary formalities before signing an agreement with the Danish government in this regard.

In view of the importance of the project, civil aviation adviser MA Matin, in a recent letter to finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, requested him to take personal initiative for implementation of the project.

In the letter, Matin said that ZIA would be radar-less if radar was not installed within a year to replace the obsolete one.

‘ZIA will run without radar unless a new one is installed by next year,’ said Matin in the letter, adding that it would also tarnish the image of the airport.

The existing taxiway of the airport, which was constructed in 1979, is hazardous for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft like DC-10 and B-747 as the Pavement Classification Number of the taxiway is only 40. The PCN (a standard to indicate the strength of the taxiway) should be at least 70 for operation of wide-bodied aircraft.

‘It is crucial for the country that the airport is functioning well. The deterioration of the taxiway and selected parts of the communication equipment is not an acceptable situation as per the ICAO,’ said a senior CAAB official.

http://www.newagebd.com/front.html#4

great article snoq. I thought ZIA already went through an extensive upgrade and renovation?

Last upgrade was mainly on extension of terminal and passenger facilities. This new upgrade seems to be for radar and navigational equipments as well as runway extension.

Once completed ZIA will buy us few years (like 5-10) to operate without feeling much of capacity pressure. A second runway is a must for a flight load we are going to have in near future. But in the long run we need to plan and move main int’l airport further away from greater Dhaka city limit. I heard there is a plan (somewhere in govt file) to construct a new airport close to Maymensing Tangail area. Hope someone can get hold of some info on that.

Last upgrade was mainly on extension of terminal and passenger facilities. This new upgrade seems to be for radar and navigational equipments as well as runway extension.

Once completed ZIA will buy us few years (like 5-10) to operate without feeling much of capacity pressure. A second runway is a must for a flight load we are going to have in near future. But in the long run we need to plan and move main int’l airport further away from greater Dhaka city limit. I heard there is a plan (somewhere in govt file) to construct a new airport close to Maymensing Tangail area. Hope someone can get hold of some info on that.

I read somewhere, the source which I cannot now recall, a new international airport would be developed in Trishal, a place near Mymensing/Tangail.

Government plans $52 million ZIA modernisation project

Thanks for the update Snoq. It's great radar is being upgraded...no doubt will ensure greater safety down the line.

From my own experience I think most pressing concern for ZIA is lack of ability to smoothly handle multiple arrivals. More than two major flights at once seems to be beyond capacity of ground crew to deal efficiently with.

I read somewhere, the source which I cannot now recall, a new international airport would be developed in Trishal, a place near Mymensing/Tangail.

How far is that from Dhaka? In the absence of interstate / autobahn - style highway or metro, I wonder if a distant airport is practical or not.

Thanks for the update Snoq. It's great radar is being upgraded...no doubt will ensure greater safety down the line.

From my own experience I think most pressing concern for ZIA is lack of ability to smoothly handle multiple arrivals. More than two major flights at once seems to be beyond capacity of ground crew to deal efficiently with.



How far is that from Dhaka? In the absence of interstate / autobahn - style highway or metro, I wonder if a distant airport is practical or not.

No idea, my friend. Left Bangladesh in 1979 and been back a few times for short visits. Everytime I visit Dhaka now, the buildings and the traffic overwhelms me.

Trishal is probably not too far from Dhaka. Anybody else in the know?

Jet's Kolkata-Dhaka-Delhi flight from mid-Oct

Jet Airways is to launch its second international flight from here to Dhaka en route to Delhi from mid-October this year.

"We have planned a second international flight from here on the Kolkata-Dhaka-Delhi sector from October 14 or 15 to connect to the London flight," company Senior General Manager (Sales - Eastern India) Sudhakar Rao said today.

This would be a daily flight and would be operated by Boeing-737-800 aircraft, Rao told a press conference which showcased the latest seating arrangements on its international flights.

Jet Airway's international flight on the Kolkata-Bangkok sector was launched in January this year and its Delhi-Toronto flight via Brussels took off on September five.

The airline also operates flights to other international destinations like New York, London, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo and Kathmandu.

The airline planned to extend its international operations to Europe, Africa and Asia in phases with the introduction of more wide-bodied aircraft, including Boeing-777-300-ER.

The airline currently operated 66 aircraft with five Boeing-777-300 ER aircraft, 50 classic and next generation Boeing Boeing 737-400/700/800/900 aircraft, four Airbus A330-200 and seven ATR-72-500 turboprops, Rao said.

With an average age of 5.1 years, the airline has one of the youngest fleets in the world with 340 flights daily connecting 53 destinations in India and abroad, he said.

The carrier since its inception in May 1993 till June-end 2007 has flown over 74 million passengers.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Airlines__Aviation/Jets_Kolkata-Dhaka-Delhi_flight_from_mid-Oct/articleshow/2348752.cms

I have read in newspaper, Emirates, Qatar and kuwait airlines are planning to operate flights in Chittagong too. Does anyone know when they are going to offer flights from Chittagong?

I have read in newspaper, Emirates, Qatar and kuwait airlines are planning to operate flights in Chittagong too. Does anyone know when they are going to offer flights from Chittagong?

not sure man.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport97.jpg

GMG Airlines gets $430m lease facility to extend fleet

GMG Airlines on Wednesday signed a deal for syndicated lease facility of 430 million dollars with a group of local financers led by IIDFC Ltd. The lease facility will help the airline extend it fleet and widen routes.

A group of local financers led by IIDFC Ltd are financing 430 million US dollars as syndicated lease facility for fleet extension of GMG Airlines, which is adding another aircraft in its fleet, says a press release.

The additional aircraft is a noiseless Dash-8 series Q300 with sitting capacity of 50, manufactured by Bombardier Inc of Canada.

A deal was signed to this effect on Wednesday in the capital where representatives from the participating financial institutions namely Standard Bank Ltd, Oman Bangladesh Leasing & Finance Ltd, Premier Leasing International Ltd, United Leasing Company Ltd, Fareast Finance & Investment Ltd, International Leasing and Financial Services Ltd, Industrial and Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd were present.

The airline said it is going to add two more wide-bodied aircraft in its fleet to start operation in the Middle Eastern routes.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=4196

^^ Good news. The article says that they would add "two more wide-bodied" aircraft to their fleet.

I know that currently they don't have any wide-bodied aircraft in their fleet. So, this must be a typo.

Biman turns to Phuket Air to tackle flight shortage

Bangladesh Biman Airlines Ltd has leased an aircraft of Thailand-based Phuket Air to ease the pressure of thousands of overseas-bound workers who remain stranded due to shortage of flights.

A Boeing-747 aircraft with a capacity of 34 first class and 430 economic class passengers, is scheduled to arrive Dhaka today, said IPSSL Group, the local agent of Phuket Air in Dhaka, in a press release.

"Phuket Air will not charge any advance rent. It will charge only US$5750 for each block hour (when it stays out of the airport in Bangladesh). This will significantly reduce the pressure of the Bangladeshi workers who will go abroad, especially to Malaysia and Middle East," it said.

A recent statistics of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training said about 1.4 lakh workers remain stuck due to shortage of flights while 2,000 more are getting added to the total every day posing a risk for the overseas-bound workers of losing their jobs due to expiry of visa.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=4426

Biman turns to Phuket Air to tackle flight shortage

Bangladesh Biman Airlines Ltd has leased an aircraft of Thailand-based Phuket Air to ease the pressure of thousands of overseas-bound workers who remain stranded due to shortage of flights.

A Boeing-747 aircraft with a capacity of 34 first class and 430 economic class passengers, is scheduled to arrive Dhaka today, said IPSSL Group, the local agent of Phuket Air in Dhaka, in a press release.

"Phuket Air will not charge any advance rent. It will charge only US$5750 for each block hour (when it stays out of the airport in Bangladesh). This will significantly reduce the pressure of the Bangladeshi workers who will go abroad, especially to Malaysia and Middle East," it said.

A recent statistics of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training said about 1.4 lakh workers remain stuck due to shortage of flights while 2,000 more are getting added to the total every day posing a risk for the overseas-bound workers of losing their jobs due to expiry of visa.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=4426

Isn't Phuket Air a defunct airline?

Isn't Phuket Air a defunct airline?

not sure but a 747 with 464 siting capacity sounds good to me. I wish Biman could buy a few of those.

^^ thats great!

Does anyone know how long Biman would use the 747 for because they have contracted an Australian company for the Hajj flights?

Also any news about new additions to the Biman fleet?

not sure but a 747 with 464 siting capacity sounds good to me. I wish Biman could buy a few of those.

Phuket Air ceased to operate flights a while back (per Google search). There is WIKI on the airline and interesting thing is that the airline's fleet consists of only one aircraft. You guessed it! That 747. I hope it is airworthy and ship shape. Otherwise loyal Biman passengers could be risking their lives.

If GMG can raise funds through a consortium of financiers, why can't Biman? Also, why is Bangladesh government reluctant in providing sovereign guaranteeto Airbus/Boeing as their willing to sell aircrafts to Biman on credit? The government of Pakistan did so, for PIA to purchase their 777s.

As per the Wiki article Phuket Air have been previously banned by the EU because of aircraft safety and airworthiness, but this ban has since been lifted on March 6 2007.

Still goes to show their aircraft may still be dangerous.

^^ thats great!

Does anyone know how long Biman would use the 747 for because they have contracted an Australian company for the Hajj flights?

Also any news about new additions to the Biman fleet?

I had heard on Channel-I news last week, fleet renewal of Biman shall probably not occur before 2013, meaning that BG shall not be in a position to purchase any aircraft before that time and so they shall have to limp along with charters and/or short term leases. No reason was given for the inability. This was mentioned by a Biman official (MD?) who was interviewed by Channel-I. He also said that all routes except for the middle-east, are unprofitable for Biman.

2013??????

2013??????

Yup, that's what I heard. But then, a lot may happen between now and 2013. There is a saying among Michiganders, if you don't like the weather wait five minutes, it may change (since such is the unpredictability of SE Michigan's weather). I think the same could be said about Bangladesh and Biman.

TIslam, do you live near University of Michigan? I used to be a huge fan of their football team. When I was younger we used to visit Windsor/Detroit all the time. I am very familiar with Troy, Auburn Hills, Flint, Dearborn, etc.

Open sky policy for country's 3 int'l airports from October

The council of advisers of the caretaker government (CG) Wednesday decided to open the sky in the country's three international airports for three months for quick journey of foreign-bound passengers, particularly Bangladeshi expatriates, amid a heavy rush, reports UNB.

The open-sky policy would be effective from next October for Zia International Airport, Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.

A meeting of the council of advisers, presided over by Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed, gave approval to a proposal on open-sky system placed by the Civil Aviation Ministry.

The meeting observed that open sky would help overcome the flight crisis for outgoing passengers, in particular, Bangladeshi expatriates and overseas workforce.

Hajj flight will be excluded from the open-sky aviation system that would open the airports to select foreign airlines.

Under the new system, the designated airlines could operate flights under open sky, flights would be operated on the basis of available point of call and Bangladeshi Airlines could operate same number of flights as the foreign ones.

The meeting discussed a draft of National Constitutional Council Ordinance 2007 which proposes to constitute a committee for recommendation for selecting eligible persons for appointment to various constitutional posts.

Agreeing on the necessity of such a committee, the meeting asked the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry to further examine the draft Ordinance and place it in the council meeting again.

A presentation was made by LGRD Ministry at the meeting on construction of Jatrabari-Gulistan Fly-over on BOT basis with private-sector investment.

The meeting asked for studying the legal aspects of the fly-over project, conceived long back.

Members of the Council of Advisers attended the meeting at the CA's Office. Cabinet Secretary, CA's Press Secretary and other concerned Secretaries were also present.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=11797

Great news! Let's hope it becomes a permanent feature!

TIslam, do you live near University of Michigan? I used to be a huge fan of their football team. When I was younger we used to visit Windsor/Detroit all the time. I am very familiar with Troy, Auburn Hills, Flint, Dearborn, etc.

Yes, Tmac. U of M main campus is a ten minutes drive from my house. Indeed Michigan football is big here. Their stadium's capacity is over 100K and when the play at home, many streets are blocked by the police for streamlined flow of traffic, in and out. Auburn Hills, which is about 70 miles from Ann Arbor, is now home to most of automotive and automotive related technology companies. The maximum concentration of Indian (by that I mean from the sub-continent) grocery stores and restaurants are located between Troy and Sterling Heights. Dearborn, you probably know, has the largest concentration of muslim population in the US (perhaps North America). Flint is struggling to stay alive and not much is happening in Detroit (another decaying city, where I happen to work). Haven't been to Windsor for quite a while. Its a now a place of casinos and adult entertainment.

^^A lot of my Arab-American friends are from Michigan.

United Airways flies to Cox's Bazar, Jessore

United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd, a private sector airline founded by non-resident Bangladeshis, launched two new flights to Cox's Bazar and Jessore.

The airline operates a Canadian made 37-seat Dash-8 aircraft on the new routes, Dhaka-Cox's Bazar-Dhaka and Dhaka-Jessore-Dhaka.

Return ticket fare has been fixed at Tk 5,290 including tax for Jessore and Tk 8,890 including tax for Cox's Bazar.

Besides, the airline also flies to Chittagong and Sylhet. Barisal and Rajshahi will be two new destinations of the airline soon.

At the new flight launching programme, Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, chairman and managing director of the airline, said United Airways handled over 6000 passengers in the last seven months.

He also said the company will add two new aircraft to its fleet by the next month to launch more domestic routes.

The company has already invested Tk 50 crore in the airline business. With Tk 100crore authorised capital, the company is also planning to invest Tk2000 crore by the next five years in the aviation sector, according to Choudhury.

"We have received licence from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to operate passenger and cargo services both on international and domestic routes," said Choudhury, also a pilot.

He said aircraft passenger market in the country is showing 8 to 10 percent growth per year, but no airline was introduced in the last seven to eight years.

The non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) mainly from the UK have teamed up to create an airline in Bangladesh and become a major carrier in the next two years on the domestic routes.

Choudhury also invited local investors to invest in the United Airways.

Presently, GMG Airlines, a private sector carrier, has the domestic market share of more than 60 percent.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=3110

United Airways flies to Cox's Bazar, Jessore



Tmac, I've been trying to find pictures of United Airways aircraft with no avail. Their website, as usual, as Bangladesh websites go, is no help either. Perhaps you guys are more resourceful and can come up with a photo or two? Thanks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport86.jpg

AirAsia operates flights from Bangladesh this month

Budget airline AirAsia will begin operating from Bangladesh this month after the authorities adopted a three-month "open sky" policy allowing foreign airlines more flights, an official said Monday.

From October 1 to December 31, Bangladesh hopes to clear a backlog of 150,000 people who have jobs waiting abroad but no flights to get them there.

"AirAsia has availed the opportunity and we have allowed them to fly five flights a week from the port city of Chittagong to Kuala Lumpur," Bangladesh civil aviation authority chief Shakeb Iqbal Khan Majlish said.

"They said they would operate Airbus A330 aircraft with a capacity of 312 passengers. They would start flights from the middle of October," he said.

The airline had also been given permission to continue flights after December 31, he added.

AirAsia will be the second budget airline to operate from Chittagong, the country's second biggest city with a population of around five million.

Sharjah-based Air Arabia was the first to operate budget flights six months ago and they have gradually increased their weekly flights from three to seven.

AirAsia, which was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001 with just two aircraft, has become a significant player in the industry and been imitated by national carriers along with a host of new low-cost entrants.

AirAsia operates from a dedicated low-cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and boasts southeast Asia's biggest low-cost fleet. It also operates in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and China.

Majlish said the entry of AirAsia into the market would help clear the backlog. Some 150,000 people who have found jobs in Malaysia and the Middle East have been unable to fly because of a shortage of flights.

Money sent home by Bangladeshi expatriate workers underpin the economy of the impoverished nation of 144 million people.

The government's manpower export department pleaded for the open sky policy for a limited period to meet demand after a record 520,000 people went abroad for work in the first eight months of 2007, a 123 percent increase over the same period a year earlier.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=6244

Air India Express likely to start services to Dhaka soon

Air India Express, a subsidiary airline of Air India, is likely to start thrice a week services to Dhaka very soon, it has been learnt from reliable sources.
This is a welcome news for the huge number passengers trying to fly out of the country for business, employment or pleasure but are unable to do so because of the present seat crisis. But despite the talk of open sky, permission to AirIndia Express is yet to be granted. Reliable soures blamed it on bureaucratic bottlenecks.

The source said Air India Express’s mission is to provide convenient connectivity in the short range routes – SAARC countries, Southeast Asia and Middle East – at the most affordable prices to the consumers.

The airline would fly from Dhaka to Kolkata offering onward journeys to Mumbai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur after a short stopover without the Bangladeshi passengers having to leave the plane.

The fares will really be “budget.” Pressed for details, the source said the fare from Dhaka to Kolkata is likely to be US$80 return, Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur US$150 return and Dhaka to Singapore US$200 return.

The source said free standardised meals will be offered on board as would be limited entertainment facilities.

Air India Express offers flights to major international destinations within a distance of around four hours from different cities in India. Most of the flights are quick-turn-around flights with a ground time of around one-hour at the destinations. Currently Air India Express flies to 10 international destinations – Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Muscat, Salalah, Singapore, Bahrain, Doha and Colombo from 10 Indian cities – Kozhikode, Kochi, Thiruvananthpuram, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Amritsar, Chennai, Mangalore and Tiruchirapally.

Inside India, Air India Express operates on Mumbai-Kochi, Mumbai-Kozhikode, Mumbai-New Delhi, Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Pune, New Delhi-Amritsar, Kozhikode-Kochi, Kozhikhode-Thiruvananthpuram and Kochi-Thiruvananthpuram sectors.

They are being operated with seven brand new 180-seat Boeing B737-800s delivered recently to the airline. “They are all in mint condition,” the source said.

Meanwhile Air India itself is doing very well in Bangladesh, the source acknowledged. The airline is unable to fulfill the demands of Bangladeshi passengers for seats despite deploying 440-seat to 450-seat Boeing B747 jumbos on Dhaka route. “On every flight we have to deny boarding to some 30 or so passengers,” the source added.

http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/aviation_story.php?recordID=1159

AirAsia operates flights from Bangladesh this month

Budget airline AirAsia will begin operating from Bangladesh this month after the authorities adopted a three-month "open sky" policy allowing foreign airlines more flights, an official said Monday.

From October 1 to December 31, Bangladesh hopes to clear a backlog of 150,000 people who have jobs waiting abroad but no flights to get them there.

"AirAsia has availed the opportunity and we have allowed them to fly five flights a week from the port city of Chittagong to Kuala Lumpur," Bangladesh civil aviation authority chief Shakeb Iqbal Khan Majlish said.

"They said they would operate Airbus A330 aircraft with a capacity of 312 passengers. They would start flights from the middle of October," he said.

The airline had also been given permission to continue flights after December 31, he added.

AirAsia will be the second budget airline to operate from Chittagong, the country's second biggest city with a population of around five million.

Sharjah-based Air Arabia was the first to operate budget flights six months ago and they have gradually increased their weekly flights from three to seven.

AirAsia, which was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001 with just two aircraft, has become a significant player in the industry and been imitated by national carriers along with a host of new low-cost entrants.

AirAsia operates from a dedicated low-cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and boasts southeast Asia's biggest low-cost fleet. It also operates in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and China.

Majlish said the entry of AirAsia into the market would help clear the backlog. Some 150,000 people who have found jobs in Malaysia and the Middle East have been unable to fly because of a shortage of flights.

Money sent home by Bangladeshi expatriate workers underpin the economy of the impoverished nation of 144 million people.

The government's manpower export department pleaded for the open sky policy for a limited period to meet demand after a record 520,000 people went abroad for work in the first eight months of 2007, a 123 percent increase over the same period a year earlier.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=6244

This must be charter flights, not commercial. I didn`t see any ticket sales to Chittagong on Air Asia website today.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport71-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport70-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport72.jpg

[QUOTE=Tmac;15706178]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport71-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport70-1.jpg

I thought Singapore Airlines arrives Dhaka near midnight. Special flight? Changed schedule?

New local airline set to take off in mid-Nov
Anmole Albab Airlines collects 4 aircraft

Another local private airline, Anmole Albab Airlines Ltd, is set to operate international passenger flights from mid-November.

"Initially, we will operate our flights to the Middle East and Far Eastern countries," Wahidur Rahman Rana, chairman of Anmole Albab Airlines, told a press briefing in Dhaka yesterday.

"Gradually we will expand our flights to Europe and America. Later, we will go for domestic routes," he added.

The airline has collected four aircraft --two Boeing-747 (500 plus seats) aircraft and two Boeing-737 (130 seats) -- to operate flights on the international routes.

The new airline is initially investing US$ 50 million in the domestic aviation industry.

US-based firms Vulcan Capital Management and International Finance Development Corporation (IFDC) are investing in Anmole Albab Airlines Ltd, according to Wahidur Rahman Rana.

Now, GMG Airlines and United Airways, which made its debut in July this year, are the local privately-run airlines that operate passenger flights.

Director of Anmole Albab Airlines Captain Tanim Adnan Khan also spoke at the briefing at Mohakhali.

The aviation market in the country shows around 8 percent growth per annum, Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, chairman and managing director of United Airways, said at the inaugural function of United Airways.

Choudhury also said, 'The market is in need of new airline."

Industry people said the new airline is eyeing the opportunity stemming from a backlog of 150,000 people who have found jobs in Malaysia and the Middle East but are unable to fly due to shortage of flights.

Earlier, Malaysia-based budget airline AirAsia announced that it would begin operating from Bangladesh this month after Dhaka adopted open sky policy allowing foreign airlines more flights.

Bangladesh government last month approved open sky policy for three airports of the country for the next three months with a view to easing the air travel problems of its nationals.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=6636

2 Boeing 747s? WOW! It seems like almost every month another new private airlines are popping up. BIMAN is in huge trouble as these private airlines will be taking almost all their businesses away. Good luck to these airlines.

2 Boeing 747s? WOW! It seems like almost every month another new private airlines are popping up. BIMAN is in huge trouble as these private airlines will be taking almost all their businesses away. Good luck to these airlines.

747 is a nice aircraft...but I wonder whether these planes will be nicely appointed inside or just used as large peoplemovers with minimum amenities for workers in the middle east.

^^ In it's present condition Biman cannot stay in business. Death is inevitable for that troubled airline. The other inevitable outcome of the situation is the formation new airlines mainly because of the gap between demand and supply.

Starting an airline generally requires massive investments which may not be feasible in our present economic condition. That puts the startup airlines in a very vulnerable position. No airline can survive in this business just by targeting to transport migrant workers. Any airlines having such target will have a very short lifespan. If you look at today's startup airlines in China, India, UAE, Malaysia or any other countries in the world, you will find that it's all about offering the best services on board the newest and latest aircrafts with outstanding ground staffs.

How these startups in our country do will be interesting to watch. However, we do want them to succeed, no question on that!


I thought Singapore Airlines arrives Dhaka near midnight. Special flight? Changed schedule?

I just checked their website and it's showing near midnight arrival and departure. I am a little puzzled to see this beauty in the broad day light also.

^^ In it's present condition Biman cannot stay in business. Death is inevitable for that troubled airline. The other inevitable outcome of the situation is the formation new airlines mainly because of the gap between demand and supply.
.

I see most airline startups in Bangladesh target the international and/or regional sector. How about the domestic market? The Indian private carriers, LCCs or otherwsie have revoloutionized the transportation arena in India. Today most Indian middle class chose to fly compare to any other mode of transporation. It is because the fares are very competitive to first class train or bus, especially when you factor in the time (and time value of money).

The opposite is true in Bangladesh. Biman always claimed that they lost money in the domestice sector and the government had to provide subsidy to keep the fares reasonable. GMG came along and proved it partially wrong otherwise they wouldn't have been able to survive for so long (they succeeded where others failed e.g. Aero Bengal, Air Parabat). I say partially because traffic is viable only on two routes, namely DAC-CTG, and DAC-SYL. What needs to happen is extensive education through advertising and promotion. Cellular telephone rates are very high in Bangladesh but most prople who can barely afford it, think it is a must have. The airline industry should try to change the mindset of people, especially the business people. A small business owner would rather waste eight to twelve hours travelling to Khulna or Barisal, rather than take a 40 minute flight. Such is no longer the case in India.

^^ In it's present condition Biman cannot stay in business. Death is inevitable for that troubled airline. The other inevitable outcome of the situation is the formation new airlines mainly because of the gap between demand and supply.
.

I see most airline startups in Bangladesh target the international and/or regional sector. How about the domestic market? The Indian private carriers, LCCs or otherwsie have revoloutionized the transportation arena in India. Today most Indian middle class chose to fly compare to any other mode of transporation. It is because the fares are very competitive to first class train or bus, especially when you factor in the time (and time value of money).

The opposite is true in Bangladesh. Biman always claimed that they lost money in the domestice sector and the government had to provide subsidy to keep the fares reasonable. GMG came along and proved it partially wrong otherwise they wouldn't have been able to survive for so long (they succeeded where others failed e.g. Aero Bengal, Air Parabat). I say partially because traffic is viable only on two routes, namely DAC-CTG, and DAC-SYL. What needs to happen is extensive education through advertising and promotion. Cellular telephone rates are very high in Bangladesh but most prople who can barely afford it, think it is a must have. The airline industry should try to change the mindset of people, especially the business people. A small business owner would rather waste eight to twelve hours travelling to Khulna or Barisal, rather than take a 40 minute flight. Such is no longer the case in India.

^^ You made a good point on the fact that success in the domestic routes should be the first step for an airline to successfully operate beyond the national boundary. However, the price gap between good ground transportation and air transportation is so staggering that it will be very hard to justify air travel for families with 4-5 members unless their household income goes up phenomenally. For example, RT GMG fare for Dhaka- Jessore route is 5200 taka where as volvo ac bus fare is 700 taka, a difference of 87% in favor of the air travel. On top of that if you factor in each member in the family, the gap will widen exponentially. The actual flight time on a turboprop aircraft for DAC-JSR route is around 30 minutes, plus the time to go to the airport, check in time etc will add another 2 hours. On the other hand the bus ride will take about 5 hours.
So, you see why people are not so inclined to take a plane ride as oppose to bus ride.

I know that the difference is not the same for every route but should be similar. So, air travel is a very hard sell for the people of BD and still remained out of reach of the general public.

For example, RT GMG fare for Dhaka- Jessore route is 5200 taka where as volvo ac bus fare is 700 taka, a difference of 87% in favor of the air travel

That airfare ( Dhaka to Jassore , 30mins ) is soooo expensive !! The bus fare is sooo expensive too ( 5 hr journey ) but since it's a VOLVO ac Bus :D

a new airline launching with 2 747s and 2 737s is not accurate; u do realize that the BD govt. has to give approval for these airlines to travel overseas and the air service agreements need to be revised to accomodate them which is even a lenghtier process (open-sky is only temporary); they only give approval from BD govt based upon domestic performance of a substantial period of time. furthermore, the port of landing has to approve as well based upon the airline's IATA and ICAO flight records; it's not that easy a process. gmg airlines is the only airline to having landing permits in middle east countries and r launching middle east flights in the next few months with Boeing 777s. It now flies to 5x weekly to Bangkok, 9x weekly to Kuala Lumpur, 4x weekly to Kathmandu, 18x weekly to Kolkata, and 3x weekly to Delhi and will start daily to Dubai in November in addition to 4x weekly to Muscat, Kuwait, and Doha. It now has 2 MD82s and 3 Dash 8s and its 4th Dash 8 and 2 Boeing 777s are entering active service in November, which will give it a bigger/newer active fleet than Biman. Everyone else is far far away from acquiring landing permits and approval from BD govt. Wasnt royal bengal to start london-dhaka direct to start off with? Of course the BD government wont and didnt allow it. They shouldnt mislead investors or the ppl.

Biman banks on leasing 3 aircraft to lift off

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd, plagued with an acute shortage of aircraft and consequent disarray in flight schedule, is now taking some urgent steps to improve the situation by acquiring three aircraft on lease and putting two under repair into service within this month.

"Of the three aircraft, one is likely to land in Dhaka within a few days and two are in the process of being leased," said Dr MA Momen, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of the national flag carrier.

"In order to be on time in operation, we have put in efforts to fly two DC-10s, now in hanger (for repair), in October," he said.

In an interview with The Daily Star, Momen sounded optimistic in saying that the urgent measures now underway would put Biman on a better footing from November. And the problems with flight schedule will be over soon, he said.

Admitting that Biman, newly turned into a public limited company (PLC), is facing manifold crises, Momen said it is now struggling hard to come out of this situation.

Asked about expatriate Bangladeshi workers who could not go back due to non-availability of Biman flights, he said, "Apart from rendering extra flights, Biman has also taken steps to charter/lease aircraft to address the problem of the stranded expatriate workers."

"Biman needs nine wide-bodied aircraft in the sky. We now have an average of 4-5 aircraft in operation. Issues like transportation of hajj pilgrims and stranded expatriate workers make Biman fly beyond schedule,” Momen said.

The CEO said ageing Biman aircraft, appalling crisis of cash, unprecedented rise of jet fuel price and institutional inefficiency made Biman a burden to the nation.

"Suspension of flight operation on a few so-called prestigious routes, reduction of Biman officials' number almost to half of the earlier strength and plugging off a few holes of drainage of funds partially improved the situation. The airlines is now working hard to come out of bankruptcy," he said.

On the sufferings of the stranded workers, Momen said this is an unfortunate situation. He however hoped that the crisis will end soon.

"We have continued to request airlines operating to and from Dhaka to provide extra flights or at least flights agreed in Air Service Agreement (ASA). This is basically a one-way traffic and the return leg is empty, posing challenges to basic economic considerations of airlines," he said.

Welcoming the government initiative for open sky policy, the Biman MD said, unless the ground is prepared to benefit out of the open skies, extra caution is always required at the policy implementation level. However, in the present context, declaration of time-bound limited open skies to cater to the need of the stranded passengers is a welcome move.

He further said offer of limited open sky as an exception not as a rule during tourist peak seasons is in practice. Airlines have their own business considerations -- when the price is acceptable and airlines have extra capacity to serve during October-December, the response will be positive.

Replying to a question, he said, "When there was justifiable basic traffic load, Biman never objected to foreign airlines increasing their flights to and from Bangladesh."

About their immediate plan to procure aircraft, Momen said, "Biman is now passing through a consolidation phase. It needs four aircraft. On the short term, we prefer ACMI/dry lease/lease with option to purchase."

Asked about hajj flight operation, the MD replied, "Despite Biman's unwillingness to be the air transporter for hajj pilgrims, the government has entrusted it with this responsibility. We are yet to know the actual number of pilgrims. We have meanwhile chalked out our programme to carry approximately 40 thousand pilgrims with two leased in aircraft and one dedicated Biman aircraft."

On Biman's present financial condition, he said, "It entered a state of bankruptcy years ago. Insiders of Biman and its sympathisers outside could have received the ultimate shock of Biman closure in August 2006 amid the threat of its aircraft being impounded in foreign airports because of huge external liabilities. An equity support of Tk.150 crore from the government slightly eased the situation while the debt burden at that point was close to Tk 2,000 crore."

About appointing a new operator for Biman, Momen said, "Operator is available for hotel-chains. Aviation has it in a different way -- strategic partnership, management contract etc. Biman Board is examining the issue and will decide on it. They are also working on appointing the right CEO with adequate experience and a good track record of success."

Turning Biman into a PLC is a welcome move towards corporatisation and it is also a test case for Biman as well as other state owned enterprises now in queue for a change.

"Biman's being a PLC is just a positive step forward. It has to simultaneously follow routes of commercialisation and gradual privatisation. It is too early to assess any impact now but it is felt that Biman is being freed from procedural intervention of government and operational interference," said the MD.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=6913

That airfare ( Dhaka to Jassore , 30mins ) is soooo expensive !! The bus fare is sooo expensive too ( 5 hr journey ) but since it's a VOLVO ac Bus :D

As mentioned, both of these fares are based on RT (Round Trip). 700 taka is equivalent to US$10 which is well within the purchasing power of the local people. In addition to this, there are non-ac buses with open windows of which fares will run somewhere from 175 to 275 taka one-way. So, you get the picture.

By the way, recently published newspaper report says that the second domestic carrier, United Air, is having so many passengers flying with them during this Eid season that they are adding second daily flight to the DAC-JSR route.

a new airline launching with 2 747s and 2 737s is not accurate; u do realize that the BD govt. has to give approval for these airlines to travel overseas and the air service agreements need to be revised to accomodate them which is even a lenghtier process (open-sky is only temporary); they only give approval from BD govt based upon domestic performance of a substantial period of time. furthermore, the port of landing has to approve as well based upon the airline's IATA and ICAO flight records; it's not that easy a process. gmg airlines is the only airline to having landing permits in middle east countries and r launching middle east flights in the next few months with Boeing 777s. It now flies to 5x weekly to Bangkok, 9x weekly to Kuala Lumpur, 4x weekly to Kathmandu, 18x weekly to Kolkata, and 3x weekly to Delhi and will start daily to Dubai in November in addition to 4x weekly to Muscat, Kuwait, and Doha. It now has 2 MD82s and 3 Dash 8s and its 4th Dash 8 and 2 Boeing 777s are entering active service in November, which will give it a bigger/newer active fleet than Biman. Everyone else is far far away from acquiring landing permits and approval from BD govt. Wasnt royal bengal to start london-dhaka direct to start off with? Of course the BD government wont and didnt allow it. They shouldnt mislead investors or the ppl.

If what you are saying is true then GMG will slowly fill the gap created by Biman. It will be a massive initiative for GMG as well as they are used to flying narrow bodied aircraft and adding 777 will be a giant step for them. There are various variant of 777 out in the market. Do you know what type they will buy/lease? I am sure it will be used. US based airlines United Airlines has few 777's retired and parked in the desert that are available for immediate sale. GMG could easily get those.

Yet another local airline to fly next month
Royal Bengal's initial operation includes Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Ctg routes

Another new airline is to start operation in Bangladesh, the third within five months, with "Royal Bengal" to begin flights between Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet in November.

The boom in locally run airlines is seen as helping to fill the gaps left by Biman, the state owned national flag carrier which has been plagued by poor management, cancellations, delays and an aging fleet of aircraft.

In July United Airways started daily flights between the capital, Sylhet and Chittagong and last week another local private airline, Anmole Albab Airlines Ltd, announced that it will operate international passenger flights from mid-November.

All three follow in the footsteps of GMG Airlines, the largest private locally owned airline which started in 1998 and now operates on five domestic and five international routes.

“Royal Bengal will initially operate in the country's domestic routes that include Dhaka to Sylhet and Dhaka to Chittagong,” said Abdus Shukur Khalid, a director of Aviana Airways, the company behind Royal Bengal.

“Our permanent objective is to operate on international routes,” he said.

The airline has already collected a Canadian made Dash-8 aircraft from Germany and another Dash-8 aircraft will be added to the fleet within the next four to six weeks.

“After a couple of months of starting our operation on domestic routes, we will go for international routes,” the Aviana director said.

Aviana Airways is a company formed by the non-resident Bangladeshis in the UK.

Abdul Kadir Chowdhury, chairman of Aviana Airways, said this is merely the beginning and a long road lies ahead.

Heron Miah, the Aviana's vice-president, said the company is aiming for a rapid expansion of its aircraft fleet to serve the growing needs of the domestic and regional markets.

The company is now working with a number of organisations to source and finance further aircraft for its international services, he said.

Last week Wahidur Rahman Rana, chairman of Anmole Albab Airlines, said his airline would initially, "operate flights to the Middle East and Far Eastern countries. Gradually we will expand our flights to Europe and America. Later, we will go for domestic routes."

The airline collected four aircraft --two Boeing-747 (500 plus seats) aircraft and two Boeing-737 (130 seats) -- to operate flights on the international routes. The new airline is initially investing US$ 50 million in the domestic aviation industry.

The aviation market in the country shows around 8 percent growth per annum, Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, chairman and managing director of United Airways, said at the inaugural function of United Airways.

Industry experts said one factor attracting the fresh investment into the sector is the the opportunity stemming from a backlog of 150,000 people who have found jobs in Malaysia and the Middle East but are unable to fly due to shortage of flights.

In September, Malaysia-based budget airline AirAsia announced that it would begin operating from Bangladesh this month after Bangladesh adopted open sky policy allowing foreign airlines more flights.

Bangladesh government last month approved open sky policy for three airports of the country for the next three months with a view to easing the air travel problems of Bangladesh nationals.

In March this year, a Kuwait-based company joined Bangladesh's leading air-cargo operator to launch a private passenger airline. Aqeeq Aviation Holding bought a 49 percent stake in Bangladesh's Best Aviation Ltd and the two will jointly launch a passenger airline, although no start date has yet been announced.

On Saturday however Biman appeared to be fighting back announcing its own plans to lease three aircraft and repair two others in an effort to cure its acute shortage of planes.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=7097

Yet another local airline to fly next month

Tmac beat me in posting this news.

Biman banks on leasing 3 aircraft to lift off

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd, plagued with an acute shortage of aircraft and consequent disarray in flight schedule, is now taking some urgent steps to improve the situation by acquiring three aircraft on lease and putting two under repair into service within this month.

"Of the three aircraft, one is likely to land in Dhaka within a few days and two are in the process of being leased," said Dr MA Momen, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of the national flag carrier.

"In order to be on time in operation, we have put in efforts to fly two DC-10s, now in hanger (for repair), in October," he said.

In an interview with The Daily Star, Momen sounded optimistic in saying that the urgent measures now underway would put Biman on a better footing from November. And the problems with flight schedule will be over soon, he said.

"Biman needs nine wide-bodied aircraft in the sky. We now have an average of 4-5 aircraft in operation. Issues like transportation of hajj pilgrims and stranded expatriate workers make Biman fly beyond schedule,” Momen said.

About their immediate plan to procure aircraft, Momen said, "Biman is now passing through a consolidation phase. It needs four aircraft. On the short term, we prefer ACMI/dry lease/lease with option to purchase."

"http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=6913

As far as I know, ACMI, in airline jargon means, Aircraft Crew Maintenance Insurance. If it includes crew then it is wet lease not dry lease. Moreover, with Biman's cockpit crew type rating they can only afford to dry lease DC-10s or A310s. Not particularly new generation aircrafts.

If such is the knowledgebase of the present CEO of Biman, then Lord help us!

Bangladesh gets fourth private passenger airline

A fourth private airline is set to take off in Bangladesh amid a boom in the air travel market following the scrapping of flights by the state-run airline, an official said on Saturday.

Royal Bengal Airlines, owned by London-based Bangladeshi expatriates, will start flying domestic routes within four weeks and a London-Dhaka flight via the Middle East would begin by year end, said the company's director Abdus Shukur.

The airline has purchased one Dash-8 aircraft and will add another within a month to operate flights to southeastern Chittagong and notheastern Sylhet from the capital Dhaka, he said.

It was also negotiating with a London-based airline to lease a 400-seater Boeing 747 to operate long-haul flights, he added.

"We see a booming air travel market in Bangladesh and the market is very much under-served," Shukur said.

He said the cancellation of domestic and international flights by the cash-strapped Biman Bangladesh airlines had opened up "lucrative opportunities for the private operators."

"It's a golden time for the private airlines. The number of air passengers are growing at a double-digit rate. Yet Biman is scrapping one after another of its routes," he said.

Royal Bengal will be the fourth Bangladeshi private passenger airline. Presently United Airlines and GMG are operating, with GMG flying to both domestic and international destinations.

In March, Kuwait-based Aqeeq Aviation Holding bought a 70 per cent stake in the leading air-cargo operator Best Aviation in order to start another passenger airline although it has yet to launch its services.

Biman racked up record losses of more than 100 million dollars in the financial year ended June 30, 2007 because of higher fuel and maintenance costs. In the previous year it lost 120 million dollars.

Biman this year stopped all but three of its domestic routes after suspending flights to Tokyo, New York, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt and Mumbai in a bid to cut costs.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International__Business/Bangladesh_gets_fourth_private_passenger_airline/articleshow/2454984.cms

From the RBA website:

http://www.royalbengalairline.com/newsFiles/royal_bengal_airline_delivery_bd.gif

http://www.royalbengalairline.com/news_index

GMG, Royal Bengal and United Airways -- Dhaka is becoming a Dash-8 hub.

http://uabdl.com/images/pic-3.jpg

Source: United Airways website

http://uabdl.com/picture.html

http://www.ttgasia.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13719&Itemid=51

GMG to grow from Kuala Lumpur

By S Puvaneswary

PRIVATELY owned Bangladesh airline, GMG Airlines, has set up its first regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to promote business in Asia-Pacific.

Nautiyal: has regular briefings with travel agents.

This office would develop the airline’s image and commercial presence with the aviation industry and the travel trade in the region, executive director for Asia-Pacific, Mr Virendra Nautiyal, said.

GMG is studying the feasibility of expanding routes to Australia, the Philippines, South Korea, Hong Kong, China and Indonesia, using Kuala Lumpur as a transit point. It will appoint general sales agents in these countries.

Mr Nautiyal said: “We work closely with travel agents and give regular briefings on our products and services. We would like to position GMG Airlines in Asia and the Pacific as a premium regional carrier which emphasises safety, reliability and professional services. We have onward convenient connections to Kolkata and Kathmandu through GMG network services where transit time at Dhaka Airport is within two hours.”

GMG is the first private airline in Bangladesh to fly international routes, which it started on September 8, 2004. With two aircraft, it covers five destinations and has 38 weekly flights. Kuala Lumpur is its fifth international destination after Kolkata, Kathmandu, Bangkok and Delhi. It has nine weekly flights between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur.

“There is a high percentage of cabin load occupied by labour traffic from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur.

“However, the Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka sector has a mixture of leisure and business travellers who are going onwards to Kathmandu and Kolkata,” Mr Nautiyal said.

The Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur sector and the Dhaka-Bangkok sector use the 153-seat McDonnell Douglas 82 aircraft. In mid-October, it expects to upgrade this to the 300-seat Boeing 767-300.

GMG is also developing a presence in the Gulf region. Flights to Dubai are scheduled to begin in November or December with weekly flights. Flights to Kuwait, Qatar and Oman are expected to start early next year.

Mr Nautiyal said a regional office for the Middle East and Africa would open in Dubai next month.

Boeing 767s AND Boeing 747s in addition to its 4th Dash 8 which was just delivered and existing 2 MD82s . It is the only airline to have license and permit to fly to Middle East destinations from BD govt. United, Aviana are far off from obtaining permits as the govt. will watch their performance for a year at least if not more. And as for Anmole Albab; they have not even obtained license to fly domestic routes and are not even a registered company.

Biman buys its leased Airbus
Govt asks it to restore NY route

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd has purchased an Airbus A-310, which the airliner, while being nationalised, leased on October 22, 2003 for four years.

Biman Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr MA Momen and high officials of Crane International have recently signed an agreement in this regard in Singapore, sources said.

Biman purchased the 220-seater, the backbone of its fleet, from Crane International, a US-based company, at $12.5 million. Earlier, Biman had to pay Crane monthly $0.25 million for the aircraft.

The government, meanwhile, asked the Biman yesterday to restore its important routes including Dhaka-New York one as early as possible, sources said.

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed called Biman Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr MA Momen and acting secretary to the civil aviation and tourism ministry Sheikh Altaf Ali at his office and discussed the issue.

Amidst huge loss and schedule chaos, Biman cut in seven international routes in a span of one and a half years including New York, Yangoon, Mumbai, Frankfurt, Orly (Paris), Brussels, and Manchester.

Biman incurs a loss of Tk 30 lakh per flight on Dhaka- New York route, Biman sources said.

The sources said they need wide-bodied aircraft like Boeing 747 to make viable to operate long-haul routes like Dhaka-New York.

Biman now has air service agreement (ASA) with 42 countries, but it can use only 18.

Expatriate Bangladeshis urged the chief adviser to restore Dhaka-New York flight during his visit to the US to join United Nations general assembly.

"The chief adviser told Biman to procure aircraft as early as possible and to find a way to restore important routes like New York," Altaf Ali told The Daily Star last night.

"The government is giving importance to revive those important routes, which had been closed earlier," added Altaf.

"As Biman is now a public limited company, its board will discuss the matter and take initiatives."

With the Airbus, the number of Biman's own aircraft stands at 11. Biman currently owns three types of aircraft -- four DC10-30s, four F28s, and three A310-300s.

Of those, only four or five can fly every day, while the rest are grounded due to technical malfunctions.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=7892

Boeing 767s AND Boeing 747s in addition to its 4th Dash 8 which was just delivered and existing 2 MD82s . It is the only airline to have license and permit to fly to Middle East destinations from BD govt. United, Aviana are far off from obtaining permits as the govt. will watch their performance for a year at least if not more. And as for Anmole Albab; they have not even obtained license to fly domestic routes and are not even a registered company.

747 is so old. Most airlines have retired or in the process of retiring 747s. Even 767 is old but more fuel efficient than a 747. Since GMG has been a viable airline for quite sometime, I wonder what prevents them to secure enough financing to acquire new generation equipment like A320s, 330s? Perhaps their motto is, "business on the cheap".

^^ True, 747's days as a first choice model are probably coming to an end. For me the new 787 is the best commercial aircraft in the world today...but I guess it's hoping for too much that a BD company would be able to purchase one. All in time I suppose.

^^ True, 747's days as a first choice model are probably coming to an end. For me the new 787 is the best commercial aircraft in the world today...but I guess it's hoping for too much that a BD company would be able to purchase one. All in time I suppose.

The 787 is the way to go, but aircraft ordered now won't be delivered until 2013 or even 2014. Given the dire straits of Biman, GMG must capitalize on the opportunity long before 2013.

While the 767 is a great aircraft, the 747 may be a good fit for some Middle Eastern routes and KL runs. I am just afraid that GMG may end up with too many aircraft types -- and that will lead to incredibly expensive maintenance and training costs. Options available are pairing of variants of 777 (models 777-200 and 300) or Airbus 330/340. Unfortunately, there seems to be a supply shortage of 777s right now, so the 330 (and definitely the 340) may become better choices. However, perhaps sensing the shortage of newer aircraft, GMG is finding that 767/747 option better suits them for now. However, then does GMG need the MD-82s? Perhaps GMG should just use 767 (200/300) and substitute out the MD-82s. And on thiner routes, GMG could cut frequency, and pile on more frequency on markets it was planning on using 747s. One of the problems Biman always had problems with was having enough frequency. In today's busy world, 1 or even 2 weekly frequencies don't make much sense (as in DAC-BKK-SIN-NRT / DAC-RGN-DAC / DAC-DXB-ORY-LHR-ORY-DAC / DAC-DXB-FRA-LHR-FRA-DAC). You miss the flight, you wait for 1 week before the next one! Crazy! I know Biman dropped all those routes, but one wonders if the lack of frequency was not a key factor for that.

In standard configuration, seat capacity of 747 variants is about 430, whereas 787 seat capacity is about 260. To make some profit, cabin factor should be 80+%. Selling 80% of 430 seats won't be so easy. Also, fuel efficiency and range-wise 787 is a much better choice.

In standard configuration, seat capacity of 747 variants is about 430, whereas 787 seat capacity is about 260. To make some profit, cabin factor should be 80+%. Selling 80% of 430 seats won't be so easy. Also, fuel efficiency and range-wise 787 is a much better choice.

Biman doesn't have the financial wherewithall to acquire 787. And in my opinion, GMG wants to run their airline on the cheap, so no 787 either. Look for both of these carriers to continue to ply ragged old equipment! There are African countries with worser ecomonies than Bangladesh, yet they can afford to fly shiny new planes. So, I don't get the mindset of Bangladesh business folk.

Poor response to open sky policy
Airlines blame short-term offer
Porimol Palma and Rashidul Hasan


Response to the three-month open sky policy has been poor so far as different airline authorities have said the short-term policy would not be commercially viable for them.

Talking to The Daily Star, officials of Etihad Airways, Emirates, Saudi Arabia Airlines, Air Arabia, Malaysian Airlines and local GMG Airlines preferred a permanent open sky policy saying it is difficult to charter an aircraft for short time.

The officials said they are not able to operate more flights from Bangladesh only for three months as they cannot cancel flights, which are scheduled to operate on different routes during the period.

"Leasing an aircraft is also not possible because of the short period… there is also aircraft crisis globally," country manager of an airline operating on Dhaka-Dubai route, told The Daily Star.

He said his airline might consider adding an aircraft if the government declares a permanent open sky policy.

The policy, which has been effected from October 1, allows the designated airlines to operate more flights from Zia International Airport in Dhaka, Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Osmani Airport in Sylhet, was declared to reduce passengers' pressures.

Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh chief Sakeb Khan Majlish said Oman Airlines and Air Arabia have already received permission to operate two more flights a week from Chittagong to Sharjah in the UAE apart from existing five flights.

"We may start operating two more flights from mid-November," said an official of Air Arabia, which are waiting for permission to operate 21 flights per week from Dhaka.

Malaysian private airline Air Asia has also got permission to operate five flights a week from Chittagong to Kuala Lumpur though it has not started its operation yet.

An official of Emirates said they are conducting some extra flights and have upgraded their existing flights to accommodate more passengers.

Kabirul Anam Khan, manager (sales) of Malaysian Airlines, said they will add five more flights a week with its existing seven flights on Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route from the end of October. This is however not linked with the open sky policy as the Malaysian airline got the permission before declaration of the policy.

According to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, over 1.5 lakh workers are ready to fly to Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and their visas will be expired if they fail to arrive in their workplaces within three months.

Officials of different airlines believe passengers' pressures will increase during Hajj and once the expatriate Bangladeshis start coming Bangladesh to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha.

"The government must take pragmatic decisions to ease the pressure and ensure that the workers do not lose their jobs," said an official of Emirates preferring anonymity.

Sheikh Altaf Ali, acting secretary of the civil aviation and tourism ministry, said the open sky policy was declared following suggestions by the major airlines and so it should work effectively.

"We hope the airlines will take the opportunity of the open sky policy and operate more flights for their own interests," he said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=7895

Biman doesn't have the financial wherewithall to acquire 787. And in my opinion, GMG wants to run their airline on the cheap, so no 787 either. Look for both of these carriers to continue to ply ragged old equipment! There are African countries with worser ecomonies than Bangladesh, yet they can afford to fly shiny new planes. So, I don't get the mindset of Bangladesh business folk.


1. U do realize for immediate use, Boeing 787s cannot be applied as it will take 3-4 years for delivery. 2. GMG Airlines was never given frequency allocation from the Bangladesh government to make procurement of new jets financially viable. 3. In order for private carriers to receive financing for new jets, their turnover needs to be substantially high and this is also a process that takes a few years. 4. Most state owned airlines can afford to buy new planes as they are financed by governments and their losses are always covered by the state; you cannot compare that with private carriers; if you look at Air Asia, they started flying using junk 20year old 737-200s, when their business became viable, they are now moving towards newer planes. Again it's a process; it's not a question of being cheap.

1. U do realize for immediate use, Boeing 787s cannot be applied as it will take 3-4 years for delivery. 2. GMG Airlines was never given frequency allocation from the Bangladesh government to make procurement of new jets financially viable. 3. In order for private carriers to receive financing for new jets, their turnover needs to be substantially high and this is also a process that takes a few years. 4. Most state owned airlines can afford to buy new planes as they are financed by governments and their losses are always covered by the state; you cannot compare that with private carriers; if you look at Air Asia, they started flying using junk 20year old 737-200s, when their business became viable, they are now moving towards newer planes. Again it's a process; it's not a question of being cheap.

While what you state is true, it also depends on how much risk a business is willing to undertake by sinking funds in anticipation of increased market share. GMG today, is in a position to literally sink Biman and become the dominant national carrier, given the right mix of resource allocation, marketing and intense lobbying (to the powers that be). While AirAsia's approach was incremental, many of the LCCs (and not LCCs) in India, entered the market with brand new fleet. There is nothing wrong with incremental approach provided the demand (for seats) continually outpaces supply. Otherwise, why would I want to fly GMG to Bangkok or KL, in their poorly airconditioned tin can when I can fly in a widebody of Thai?

Yes, of course I realize the 787s won't be able for a while but that should not stop GMG from acquiring equipment better than MD-82, like the new generation 737 or A319/320?

While what you state is true, it also depends on how much risk a business is willing to undertake by sinking funds in anticipation of increased market share. GMG today, is in a position to literally sink Biman and become the dominant national carrier, given the right mix of resource allocation, marketing and intense lobbying (to the powers that be). While AirAsia's approach was incremental, many of the LCCs (and not LCCs) in India, entered the market with brand new fleet. There is nothing wrong with incremental approach provided the demand (for seats) continually outpaces supply. Otherwise, why would I want to fly GMG to Bangkok or KL, in their poorly airconditioned tin can when I can fly in a widebody of Thai?

Yes, of course I realize the 787s won't be able for a while but that should not stop GMG from acquiring equipment better than MD-82, like the new generation 737 or A319/320?

Certainly one would rather fly newer and bigger aircraft, specially considering that there is a lot of competition for international routes with foreign carriers flying to Dhaka with relatively new aircraft; also, the demand created by manpower exports may not last forever. For your info, GMG is in the process of acquiring 737-800s to replace its MD82s and its 767s will be the 400 range; hence their fleet will soon be relatively new.

Certainly one would rather fly newer and bigger aircraft, specially considering that there is a lot of competition for international routes with foreign carriers flying to Dhaka with relatively new aircraft; also, the demand created by manpower exports may not last forever. For your info, GMG is in the process of acquiring 737-800s to replace its MD82s and its 767s will be the 400 range; hence their fleet will soon be relatively new.

That is indeed a good and welcome news. When do they plan to introduce the new aircrafts? If GMG can provide excellent service, the government, in time, shall be compelled to open up all international routes to the carrier. It is my hope that GMG does not lose its momentum.

Capacity and range wise, MD82, 737 and/or 767 good choice.

Certainly one would rather fly newer and bigger aircraft, specially considering that there is a lot of competition for international routes with foreign carriers flying to Dhaka with relatively new aircraft; also, the demand created by manpower exports may not last forever. For your info, GMG is in the process of acquiring 737-800s to replace its MD82s and its 767s will be the 400 range; hence their fleet will soon be relatively new.

"400" does not refer to the range of the aircraft. It sort of refers to the version, which is the latest of 767 series. 767-400ER is the only variant available for 400 version. ER stands for 'Extended Range'. And yes, it has the longest range of all the 767s. This particular type of aircraft was a bummer for Boeing, being virtually blown away by Airbus A330-200 in competition in a specific size, range and capability category. Currently there are only two airlines that flies 767-400ER version, Delta and Continental. No new customers or orders have been received for 767-400ER for a while. However, 737-800 is a hot seller in the market, going head to head with A320 models in that size and range category.
As far as I know, GMG was looking into Boeing 777. And they have not published the specifications as of yet so cannot comment whether it will be good or bad for them. As I mentioned earlier, if they really want to complete globally, they need the latest and most advanced aircrafts along with the capability to provide excellent services. I haven't seen any information that would suggest that they have the means, ways and/or esources to achieve that.

^^
Since public (i.e on WWW) information is scanty, I cannot comment on GMG's capabilities particularly in terms of financial resources, but it wouldn't hurt them to approach international financiers of aviation products, if they cannot up come with sufficient funds internally, to procure new generation equipment.

However, I keep harping on the need for EXCELLENT service. That is what will attract and retain customer. They should bend over backwards to please every single ticket holder. It is regretable that Singapore Airlines, the airline that owes its success to satisfied coach (economy) class customer, now, could careless for the same. Today SQ coach class is treated like cattle herd, just like any other airline. The indian private sector airlines still holds the edge, in this regard, and I hope shall not follow suit like SQ. GMG should pursue the same policy.

Published On: 2007-09-16
Business
GMG Airlines gets $430m lease facility to extend fleet



GMG Airlines on Wednesday signed a deal for syndicated lease facility of 430 million dollars with a group of local financers led by IIDFC Ltd. The lease facility will help the airline extend it fleet and widen routes. Photo: GMG Airlines

A group of local financers led by IIDFC Ltd are financing 430 million US dollars as syndicated lease facility for fleet extension of GMG Airlines, which is adding another aircraft in its fleet, says a press release.


A deal was signed to this effect on Wednesday in the capital where representatives from the participating financial institutions namely Standard Bank Ltd, Oman Bangladesh Leasing & Finance Ltd, Premier Leasing International Ltd, United Leasing Company Ltd, Fareast Finance & Investment Ltd, International Leasing and Financial Services Ltd, Industrial and Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd were present.

The airline said it is going to add two more wide-bodied aircraft in its fleet to start operation in the Middle Eastern routes

Best Aviation plans Boeing service from Dec 16

Local private airlines operator Best Aviation Limited, for the first time, plans to fly Boeing passenger aircraft to commercially important regional destinations.

Besides, it will also introduce the Boeing service on its Dhaka-Chittagong route twice a day.

The airlines, launched its operation in 1999 to carry cargo to different destinations, expects to introduce the passenger Boeing service from December 16.

"Initially, we are going to procure two Boeing 737 aircraft from Indonesia and each will have 118 economy seats. We will receive the aircraft sometime in the first week of November this year," said M Haider Uzzaman, Chairman of the Best Aviation Limited.

The Best Aviation is a joint venture with Al Aqeelah Group of Kuwait.

Sources said the operator will fly to five domestic and overseas destinations.

The Boeings will fly between Dhaka and Chittagong, Dhaka and Kolkata, Dhaka and Joypur, Dhaka-Bangkok and Dhaka-Kunming.

The airlines will establish the first direct flight link between Dhaka and Jaipur as there is a traditional rush for passengers travelling to the Indian city.

Official sources said a large number of passengers go to Jaipur, popularly known as the pink city, mainly to visit Ajmeer Sharif and other tourist sites.

Apart from this, a large number of garment factories is located in the city and buyers frequently travel between Dhaka and Jaipur cities, sources said.

Best Aviation officials said that it has made a deal with China Southern Airlines, one of the largest Chinese private airlines, to felicitate connecting flights for the passengers who want to reach other destinations in China.

"We will be able to carry passengers travelling to at least 60 destinations in China through our deal with the Chinese airline company," the Best Aviation Chairman added.

The Dhaka-Kunming flight will be available seven days a week.

The Best Aviation Chairman hinted that the fares of his airlines would be comparatively cheaper.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=14884

^^
Since public (i.e on WWW) information is scanty, I cannot comment on GMG's capabilities particularly in terms of financial resources, but it wouldn't hurt them to approach international financiers of aviation products, if they cannot up come with sufficient funds internally, to procure new generation equipment.

However, I keep harping on the need for EXCELLENT service. That is what will attract and retain customer. They should bend over backwards to please every single ticket holder. It is regretable that Singapore Airlines, the airline that owes its success to satisfied coach (economy) class customer, now, could careless for the same. Today SQ coach class is treated like cattle herd, just like any other airline. The indian private sector airlines still holds the edge, in this regard, and I hope shall not follow suit like SQ. GMG should pursue the same policy.

LOL are you sure ?? I use SQ quite frequently and it's economy class is truly 5-star.

My frens flew by GMG and they all said its a great airline with nice service, but I hope GMG to utilize more wide-bodied aircrafts like 777 . Why not ?

LOL are you sure ?? I use SQ quite frequently and it's economy class is truly 5-star.

My frens flew by GMG and they all said its a great airline with nice service, but I hope GMG to utilize more wide-bodied aircrafts like 777 . Why not ?

I don't know when you flew SQ last, but I flew last year on SQ to Medan, and then to Dhaka. The 747-400 clearly showed its age, with noticeable lack of cleaniless that is expected from SQ. The cabin attendants had the same disinterested look about themselves just like the ones we find in the US carriers. I remember, in the early days, I had a rather awkward carry on that I had difficulty with to lift and put in the overhead bin. Two attendants came forward to assist me. Today, no such thing, fend for yourselves seems to be the motto. The meals were the typical airline "rubber chicken" or bland Indian vegetarian that I experienced. And every request appeared to be a bother to them. It was the same experience, the year prior. I however, found SilkAir's (Singapore-Medan) inflight service to be much better. So yes, in my opinion SQ is only interested in pampering business and first class passengers, these days and don't care for coach class, anymore.

I don't know when you flew SQ last, but I flew last year on SQ to Medan, and then to Dhaka. The 747-400 clearly showed its age, with noticeable lack of cleaniless that is expected from SQ. The cabin attendants had the same disinterested look about themselves just like the ones we find in the US carriers. I remember, in the early days, I had a rather awkward carry on that I had difficulty with to lift and put in the overhead bin. Two attendants came forward to assist me. Today, no such thing, fend for yourselves seems to be the motto. The meals were the typical airline "rubber chicken" or bland Indian vegetarian that I experienced. And every request appeared to be a bother to them. It was the same experience, the year prior. I however, found SilkAir's (Singapore-Medan) inflight service to be much better. So yes, in my opinion SQ is only interested in pampering business and first class passengers, these days and don't care for coach class, anymore.

Hmm... I flew to Dubai and Nagoya this year by SQ and I really liked it, with personal screen and all Halal meals that I ordered were exceptional. I think SQ service to Dhaka must be the same level too. I never had anything like ' rubber chicken ' or come across inattentive flight crews ... their service is simply great in my opinion.

Actually what's the real issue with Biman ? Why Biman doesn't upgrade its fleet and to lauch it's 'rebirth' campaign > I flew quite frequently this year and I always saw delays of Biman Airlines to Dhaka on the flight information display, usually for more than 12 hours. Biman has great potential really. If the management thinks ' big' -- Dhaka could be turned into another Dubai or Suvarnabhumi.. that's just my opinion. What you guys think ?

GMG is always on time and all my friends enjoyed their service.

Hmm... I flew to Dubai and Nagoya this year by SQ and I really liked it, with personal screen and all Halal meals that I ordered were exceptional. I think SQ service to Dhaka must be the same level too. I never had anything like ' rubber chicken ' or come across inattentive flight crews ... their service is simply great in my opinion.

Aha! Dubai! Therein lies the difference. SQ has to compete against Emirates on that sector where Emirates is giving SQ run for their money so, yes, of course the equipment is newer, and the service better. Try flying from LAX or SFO, in their aging 747-400! It is what I call cattle class.

^^ hehehehe :D

Out of curiosity why is the abbreviation "SQ"? Where does the "Q" come from?

^^ It's subject to availability actually. Maybe when Singapore Airlines was established they requested for SG or SI etc. but already taken up by another airline.

BG is Biman's 2 letter code. BA was already taken by British Airways

^^ It's subject to availability actually. Maybe when Singapore Airlines was established they requested for SG or SI etc. but already taken up by another airline.

Or perhaps Singapore Airlines chose SQ since Q stands for quality? Of course, only SQ and ICAO can answer that question.

^^ hmm... then how about Cathay ( CX ), Thai Airways ( TG ) etc :D

How many Bangladeshis actually travel by air internally ? For example from Dhaka to Chittagong / Sylhet/ Barisal etc...

^^ hmm... then how about Cathay ( CX ), Thai Airways ( TG ) etc :D

How many Bangladeshis actually travel by air internally ? For example from Dhaka to Chittagong / Sylhet/ Barisal etc...

I wonder if anybody has any statistical data on that. My guess is not enough to turn a profit just by flying the domestic routes, by any airline, public or private. There are altogether quite a few cities in Bangladesh that have airports, yet the airlines stopped service to those destinations owing to extremely low load factor.

the answer to your question is 800,000 passengers a year, of which GMG has roughly 70%. Domestic routes can be profitable if run properly, but the turnover is relatively small.

the answer to your question is 800,000 passengers a year, of which GMG has roughly 70%. Domestic routes can be profitable if run properly, but the turnover is relatively small.

so are the domestic routes profitable at all?

Govt relaxes mandatory registration of leased planes to increase flights

The government has decided to relax the provision of mandatory registration of airplanes brought by the local airlines into the country for operating international flights.

An inter-ministry meeting on Thursday, presided over by civil aviation secretary Shaikh Altaf Ali, decided to amend the existing regulation to allow local airlines to operate flights with planes brought into the country under the ‘wet lease’ system for a maximum period of one year without registration.

A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby one airline provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance and insurance to another airline which pays for the hours of operation. The lessee provides fuel, pays airport fees and any other duties and taxes. A wet lease generally lasts from one month to two years.

‘We have taken the decision to help the local airlines to take wet lease of planes on a short-term basis for carrying passengers in the international routes because of the current shortage of flights,’ said Shaikh Altaf Ali.

He said a summary of the reasons for the decision would be sent to advisory council shortly for approval.

Currently, apart from the Biman Bangladesh Airlines, only GMG Airlines, a private airline, has the permission of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to operate flights in the international routes. GMG recently applied to the CAAB for permission to bring a Boeing 747-300 plane under the wet lease arrangement to operate flights in its routes.

Biman has also applied to the CAAB for permission to take wet lease of airplanes to increase the capacity of the ailing airline’s fleet.

According to the sources in the ministry, most of the lessors, because of the mandatory registration rules, were not willing to lease planes to the local airlines for short periods.

The lessors do not want registration of their planes in Bangladesh for short periods. As a result, the local airlines were facing difficulties in procuring planes for short periods like three or four months, said sources.

The existing rules, framed in June 2003 for the private airlines plying the international routes, said that the planes brought by them must register in Bangladesh.

http://www.newagebd.com/nat.html

Dhaka Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport90.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport91.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport92.jpg

CA asks Biman to operate flights on Dhaka-NY route

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed has directed the Bangladesh Biman to reintroduce Dhaka-New York flight for the convenience of expatriate Bangladeshis living in the United States to travel to the country.

"Bangladesh Biman will reintroduce a flight on Dhaka-New York route by March 24," said Managing Director of Bangladesh Biman Dr MA Momen yesterday.

Keeping the expatriate Bangladeshis in mind Bangladesh Biman introduced Dhaka-New York flight in 1993. But, the Bangladesh Biman stopped its flight on the route in June last year due to constant losses.

"Bangladesh Biman is likely to lose its right to operate flights on the Dhaka-New York route if the flight operation is not started on this valuable route by March 24," Dr Momen also said. In such a situation, the Chief Adviser ordered to operate flights on the Dhaka-New York route again.

A high official of the national flag carrier said since Biman has no modern aircraft, it would have to operate flights on this route according to the wish of Federal Aviation Authority of New York.

"Not only the New York route, Bangladesh Biman is now about to lose another eight international routes permanently," the official said.

Bangladesh Biman suspended operation of flights on these eight routes in the context of incurring losses amounting to Tk 1.10 crore every year.

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2007/10/31/news0757.htm

CA asks Biman to operate flights on Dhaka-NY route
]

^^

Why not hand over the route to GMG? I bet they can make it profitable.:lol:

^^

Why not hand over the route to GMG? I bet they can make it profitable.:lol:

is GMG equipped for long flights?

Malaysia Airlines launches 5 new flights on Dhaka-KL route

Malaysia Airlines (MA) yesterday formally launched five new flights between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur to meet the growing demands from passengers.

"Now many people go from Bangladesh to Malaysia for various purposes including doing job, visiting and attending seminars and training courses that prompted us to increase the number of flights from seven to 12," an official of the airline said at a media briefing in Dhaka.

He said in 2006 around 29,000 Bangladeshis went to Malaysia and the number is increasing day by day.

An official of MA said the airline's all Airbus 330 flights from Dhaka can carry 250 passengers in each flight. "We can sell almost all the tickets of the flights," he added.

The country's aviation sector is showing considerable growth in recent times, sources in the sector said. The growth rate now stands at around 10 percent while the rate is around 6-7 percent in neighboring countries.

There is a huge demand for passenger aircraft on Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route as around 1200 workers go to Malaysia from Bangladesh everyday.

In recent times Bangladesh witnessed an acute passenger flight crisis that prompted the government to announce an open sky policy for three months beginning from October 1.

But, still there is a dearth of passenger aircraft despite announcing the policy.

According to Association of Travel Agencies of Bangladesh (ATAB), around 3500 people from Bangladesh want to visit different destinations around the world daily, but the flights operating from the country can carry only around 2,500.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=9734

its kinda tough to be "equipped" without route allocation isnt it...i think gmgs safety standards and professionalism are much higher than Biman.

^^

That's for sure. GMG could probably obtain the equipment necessary to operate long haul routes, (if they had the permission to operate) easily and quickly, given Biman's constraints.

Int'l airports warn Biman of boycott (http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=9935)

Different international airports including Heathrow Airport strongly criticised Bangladesh Biman for its repeated failures to maintain flight schedules and warned of not granting slots if it failed to be punctual.

Expressing dissatisfaction over Biman's performance in keeping flight schedule, Heathrow Airport, one of the busiest international airport, in England asked Biman to use Stansted and Gatwick airports, which are comparatively less busy if Biman wishes to continue to serve London.

A number of airport authorities also warned Biman that they would impose fines for its continuous failure to keep slots (prescribed timing for arriving and departure of flights), sources said.

Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Rome and a number of other international airports also accused Biman of not keeping its flight schedule and warned Biman that they would not grant slots to Biman if its flight did not become more punctual.

"Data in the attached spreadsheet shows that punctuality of BG (two-letter code for Biman Bangladesh Airlines) flight during summer 2007 has been on average over three hours late, which is more than 3 time worse than any other carrier at Heathrow," slot co-ordination committee of British Airways Authority (BAA) wrote to Biman in an email.

"Based on the above, BG has no historic slots at Heathrow and, given the high demand for slots, should not expect any slot to be available in the pool for summer 2008," the email read.

This is due to the failure to use the slots at least 80 percent of the time as required by the EU slot regulation 739/2009 and the IATA worldwide scheduling guidelines.

Slot Coordination Committee in its recent letter said, "Slots may be available at another London airport such as London Stansted if Biman wishes to serve London."

Dubai International Airport in a recent letter to Biman said its failure to maintain flight schedule hampered arrivals and departures of other airliners. Dubai International Airport asked Biman to regularise its slot otherwise it would impose fine or cancel the slot for Biman.

A Biman high official told The Daily Star that whether domestic or local, Biman cannot fly to its destination on time and four-five hours' flight delay has become a normal event.

"About 20-25 aircraft land at Heathrow every hour, if we (Biman) cannot maintain slot in a busy airport like Heathrow, Dubai, it creates problems to landing and departure of other airliner," admitted the Biman official seeking anonymity.

"They [busy airport like Heathrow, Dubai] have to hold aircraft both in the sky and on the ground for our delay," the official said.

"They could manage it if the delay was once or twice, the fact is we cannot keep any of the flight schedules and that is why those international airports warned us," the Biman official said.

"Delays hamper immigration and checking departments of the concerned airport, the Biman official added.

He said Biman needs more aircraft otherwise the situation will not improve.

On July 7, around 200 Biman passengers faced untold sufferings stranded at the Zia International Airport (ZIA) as the flight scheduled to carry them was delayed 39 hours due to technical glitches and lack of planes. On July 9, another Biman flight, this time to London, was delayed for about a day at ZIA due to technical glitches. In July and August the situation worsened so much that flights were delayed 20-39 hours and flights had to be cancelled.

^^

I read this news item this morning and become dismayed. GOB, past and present, waste hard earned foreign currency on many projects yet they are hard pressed to come up with funds for Biman to replenish its fleet without which it might as well cease to operate.

Thai private airline eyes Bangladesh

A Thailand-based private airline, Orient Thai Airlines, eyes to operate passenger flights from Dhaka, as the airline sees business friendly environment exists in Bangladesh.

Orient Thai Chairman Udom Tantiprasongchai unveiled the plan during a meeting with travel agents in Dhaka yesterday organised by Speed Aviation Limited.

An agreement between Orient Thai and Speed Aviation has also been signed for doing feasibility study to operate passenger flights from Dhaka, officials said.

Tantiprasongchai however pointed out that the three-month open sky policy by the Bangladesh government is not enough for airlines to start operations.

He sought travel agents' cooperation to pursue Bangladesh government for extension of the open sky policy.

Industry experts said one factor attracting the fresh investment into the sector is the opportunity stemming from a backlog of some 150,000 people who have found jobs in Malaysia and the Middle East but are unable to fly due to shortage of flights.

In September, Malaysia-based budget airline AirAsia announced its operations from Bangladesh after Bangladesh adopted open sky policy allowing foreign airlines more flights.

The government approved open sky policy in September for three airports of the country for the next three months with a view to easing the air travel problems of Bangladesh nationals.

The aviation market in Bangladesh shows around 8 percent growth per annum, according to the industry experts.

Hicky Diaz of Speed Aviation also requested the travel agents to appeal to the government for extension of open sky policy.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=10157

Air Slovakia to operate Dhaka-Bratislava-London passenger flight

Air Slovakia Tuesday announced to kick off its flight operation from Bangladesh's capital Dhaka to London via Bratislava from the next month with a very competitive ticket tariff.

The inaugural flight will fly on Dec. 6 for the capital of the East European country. Air Slovakia will be the second airlines after British Airways to operate direct flights from Dhaka to London.

Air Slovakia's Chairman HS Sidhu told a press conference here Tuesday that his airlines would initially operate a flight once a week, private news agency UNB reported.

"The number of flights may be increased to two or three a week depending on the demand from passengers," he said.

Air Slovakia now operates flights from India to different European destinations. It has flight operations in 35 destinations across the world, mostly in Europe.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/790417/

Good. More flights to/from London.

[QUOTE=Tmac;16318241]Air Slovakia to operate Dhaka-Bratislava-London passenger flight
QUOTE]

It is a good thing that Dhaka shall finally have a second European carrier after BA and after the short lived KLM route. I wonder however, about the long term viability of both this airline and the route. According to the airline's website, it doesn't fly to London, rather the UK destination is Birmingham.

It is quiet Good that Bangladesh (Dhaka Airport) will tie with another European Airport Directly. Which will help Visitors to Bangladesh find more choice to select their direct flight to the destination.

At this rate, Dhaka airport will soon reach full capacity. Just wish the government would see sense and upgrade Osmani International Airport to required safety standards to allow international flights. Currently, the airport lacks required safety equipment for dealing with even minor accidents and has no refuelling capability. Without these, international carriers will be reluctant to risk operations from Sylhet (IMHO). Shah Amanat is growing quite successfully but, as always, Sylhet is neglected by the government.

I think that The Bangladesh government should allow parmenantly to operate forigen airlines from Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP) especially from Gulf countries as Emirates, Qatar Aiways, Kuwait Airways because a lot of Bangladeshi people (workers, Business person) are living in these countries.
To Boom our second and commercial biggest city's airport and to easy mean of air transportation of bangladeshi people.

:ohno: Can Any body tell me about Air Asia when will starts the service from Shah Amanat Airport.

I read several times and in different local and inetrnational news papers that Air Asia will going to start their flights weekly five time from October 2007 and now it is november they are not start the flight service???

Do you it is because of our governmnet (civil avaition authurity) has no any intrest in developing our avaiation sector???

mamun85@hotmail.com:bash:

:cheers::bash::ohno:
Air Asia Annoumced that they will start flying from chittagong to kulalampur five times a week from october 2007 but now it is November they are not started yet????

What is the problem..............................in other hand MA increased their flight to dhaka into 12 a week.

Also GMG when will start flying to the Middle east (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscut and Doha) as it is announced from this month November 2007.

mamun85@hotmail.com:banana:

Mamun, as far as I know Air Asia is in the process of starting their flights from Chittagong. Not sure when though.

Dhaka Airport

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/dhakaairport104.jpg

:nuts:

the hajj pilgrims under the government management will fly to Saudi Arabia in seven flights till November 18. In the second phase, the rest of the pilgrims will go to Saudi Arabia in four flights from November 23 to November 26.

:hahaha:
Yesterday 9th of November 2007 Bangladesh Biman Landed on Osmani International Airport at 9 am coming from London via Dubai.

They are now preparing to starting Hajj flights from Sylhel directly it is good news for this city dwellers who wish to perform Hajj this year.

:hahaha:
Yesterday 9th of November 2007 Bangladesh Biman Landed on Osmani International Airport at 9 am coming from London via Dubai.

They are now preparing to starting Hajj flights from Sylhel directly it is good news for this city dwellers who wish to perform Hajj this year.

great news indeed. I think Sylhet Airport needs renovation and expansion to be able to handle wide body aircrafts. I am not sure if the runway is wide enough.