great photos Imran.

Nice pictures, Imran Bhai. Keep them coming!

It would be nice to see some young blood in the cockpit when the new fleet joins BG.

^^
Imran, you did great! Really enjoyed the finals and touch down. The man with the beard, is that you, "ours truly"?

Awesome pictures Asif. :cheers:

Great trip report, Imran! Good to see the heavies at Dhaka - including the 747s of Biman and GMG. Well done!

great photos Imran.

Nice pictures, Imran Bhai. Keep them coming!

^^Imran, you did great! Really enjoyed the finals and touch down.

Glad that you all liked the pics! :)

6. Who's that french-cut guy in the last pic? Not you, I suppose?

I'm sorry if it disappoints you but yeah, that's me! Would still like to know why you didn't "suppose" so? Too ugly...too old...? :)

The man with the beard, is that you, "ours truly"?

Truly, truly yours! :)

http://www.prudenteaviation.com/IAsif.jpg

I expected this man! Probably you should go to gym! Answer my questions quickly!

1. Didn't any cabin crew tell you to stop taking picture? I thought these people were nerd about photography around airports.
2. Was the DC-10 landing in DAC ILS?
3. What's RVSM?
4. What's SELCAL?
5. Does RAK operate CGP-DAC flights?

1. No. Biman crew aren't really half bad hen it comes to allowinh photographying, so long it doesn't bother anyone. I had the flash turned off for all photos except the last one, just to make sure I didn't become annoying in-flight.

2. Rwy14 is almost always used for ILS landing. I say 'almost' because there are times when the calibration isn't quite perfect and the pilots have to do visuals.

3. Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum. More here: http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/enroute/rvsm/

4. SELCAL = Selective Calling. More here: http://www.selcal.co.uk/What%20are%20Selcals.htm

5. From their website (www.rakairways.com) it seems RAK does RKT-CGP and RKT-DAC separately. I was probably wrong to think they did RKT-CGP-DAC-RKT.

Probably you should go to gym!

Not my cup of tea! I'd rather try and begin to like these few extra pounds...errr...kilograms on me! ;)

4A is Royal Bengal's IATA code.

Are they code-sharing with RBA?

You're right, 4A is indeed RBA's airline code and now I'm even more confused and it all began with this:
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd236/TheCoolOnes/DSC04286.jpg

I didn't know 4A was RBA's code, and that MEA logo next to the flight number on the departures info board didn't help! I thought it was probably the RAK flight that would continue to DAC.

It was quite interesting to see the Astraeus jet in CGP though. If I didn't already know that Ed Force One was on the tour, I would probably have tried to find out who was commanding that Astraeus B757! ;)

Why don't you post these pics on airliners.net.

Why don't you post these pics on airliners.net.

Airliners.net would screen out most of these for one reason or the other, but their "accept-all" subsidiary myaviation.net would take them and I'll upload them there in time...no worries! :)

http://www.prudenteaviation.com/IAsif.jpg

I expected this man! Probably you should go to gym! Answer my questions quickly!

Looks like a very amiable chap, doesn't he? :)

You're right, 4A is indeed RBA's airline code and now I'm even more confused and it all began with this:

I didn't know 4A was RBA's code, and that MEA logo next to the flight number on the departures info board didn't help! I thought it was probably the RAK flight that would continue to DAC.

It was quite interesting to see the Astraeus jet in CGP though. If I didn't already know that Ed Force One was on the tour, I would probably have tried to find out who was commanding that Astraeus B757! ;)

Perhaps it was a screw up by CGP in their display? They put MEA's logo in place of RBA?

"Ed Force One was on the tour"? What am I missing here?

Perhaps it was a screw up by CGP in their display? They put MEA's logo in place of RBA?

"Ed Force One was on the tour"? What am I missing here?

Completely off-topic, but fascinating nonetheless...

"Ed Force One" is a B757 belonging to Astraeus (Reg # G-OJIB) and is the official tour airplane for Iron Maiden's ongoing world tour! The pic below was taken on 13th March, 2008 seen leaving Puerto Rico for New Jersey:
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd236/TheCoolOnes/1340519.jpg

Now, guess who's been commanding that bird? Capt. Bruce Dickinson!
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd236/TheCoolOnes/1641045.jpg

He's a full-fledged commercial pilot working for Astraeus and if Iron Maiden wasn't on the tour, he just might have been doing RKT-CGP/DAC flights for RAK! ;)

Enjoyed your pictures on last page, Imran Bhai. Nice one over Jamuna Future Park! Are you a pilot yourself? Also I think you are only the second BD forumer to post a pic of himself here, after myself!

Enjoyed your pictures on last page, Imran Bhai. Nice one over Jamuna Future Park! Are you a pilot yourself? Also I think you are only the second BD forumer to post a pic of himself here, after myself!

Glad that you liked the pics. Am I a pilot? Yeah sure...only on MS Flight Simulator! In that world, I can fly anything from Cessna 172s to B747s! :D

And I'm only second to you on posting self pics? Cmon guys...we could do better than that...or should there be a different thread for that altogether? :)

Talking of Flight Simulator, when I fly trans-atlantic routes the flights are controlled by Gander [west Atlantic] & Shannon [east Atlantic]. But in the real world, there's no radar coverage over the Atlantic. So what keeps the hundreds of flights between USA & Europe safe?

Imran,

Thanks for those pics.....very eye-catching......

Talking of Flight Simulator, when I fly trans-atlantic routes the flights are controlled by Gander [west Atlantic] & Shannon [east Atlantic]. But in the real world, there's no radar coverage over the Atlantic. So what keeps the hundreds of flights between USA & Europe safe?

Of course there is radar coverage over the Atlantic! What made you think there wasn't? Gander covers a huge area, but if I'm not mistaken the maximum area covered by a single centre is probably Brisbane which covers way into the Pacific.

Richard Quest of CNN said there wasn't any radar coverage over the Atlantic. I guess he isn't an "Aviation Expert" as CNN claims him to be.

Biman-Boeing deal delayed

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=32146

Richard Quest of CNN said there wasn't any radar coverage over the Atlantic. I guess he isn't an "Aviation Expert" as CNN claims him to be.

Well, I love Mr. Quest's programme on CNN (Business Traveller) but he has often provided information in a manner that misled people for which he often got flamed (like when he said the A380 was the largest airplane ever built and was the first double-decker - the Boeing and Antonov fans were furious!:))

All flights between FL290 and FL410 over Atlantic between northeast North America and western Europe are operated under the North Atlantic Tracks - trans-Atlantic routes published by the Shanwick Center (EGGX) and Gander Center (CZQX). Airspace outside these tracks is well under radar coverage and even certain portion of the airspace within the North Atlantic Tracks is also under radar coverage. The following article on Wiki provides a general idea and will also serve your interest on RVSM and SELCAL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Tracks

The Philippines is interested to have an air services agreement with Bangladesh for promoting bilateral cooperation.

The newly appointed Philippines Ambassador in Dhaka Zenaida Tacorda Rabago said this while she paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed at the CA's office yesterday.

The Chief Adviser said Bangladesh in its Look East Policy figures Philippines prominently to further enhance the existing excellent relations between the two countries and hoped that ties would be further expanded during the tenure of the new envoy.

He thanked the Philippines government for its active support to Bangladesh in becoming a member of ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum).

The Ambassador thanked Bangladesh for its support to the Philippines in attaining the observer status of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) at its summit in Dakar, Senegal last month.

She appreciated Bangladesh's peace keeping role in the UN missions saying her country can be benefited from Bangladesh's experiences in this regard.

Referring to the ongoing Philippines investment in Bangladesh, she said Dhaka welcomes foreign investors who can utilise the good investment climate, attractive incentives and cheaper labour force in Bangladesh.

The Ambassador appreciated good quality and cheaper pharmaceutical items produced by Bangladesh which her country imports.




http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=32152

The Philippines is interested to have an air services agreement with Bangladesh for promoting bilateral cooperation.

The newly appointed Philippines Ambassador in Dhaka Zenaida Tacorda Rabago said this while she paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed at the CA's office yesterday.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=32152

There are basically 2 ways in which Bangladeshi airlines may benefit from an Air Service Agreement with the Philippines:

1. To use MNL as a technical stop for flights to Australia (SYD in particular), to cater for the large and growing number of Bangladeshis in Australia. This would of course require an ASA between Bangladesh and Australia as well.

2. Have an interline agreement with Philippine Airlines (PR) whereby Bangladeshi airlines can fly till MNL and feed Australia-bound pax to PR for onward flights to Sydney and Melbourne, and on the other hand take up Bangladesh-bound pax from PR from MNL who had come from Australia.

If Bangladesh can push through an ASA with Australia, the 2nd option outlined above may be arranged with Qantas as well as QF also has flights from Australia to MNL.

:2cents:

With the 77W's BG can fly non-stop DAC-SYD. I heard BG was planning to fly to SYD 4-5 years ago.

BTW, I've a private message which I can't read because the link has not been working. The page shows database error. My e-mail address is "ahnafb777@yahoo.com" Feel free to mail me.

Dhaka Zia International Airport during a takeoff

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/dhakaairport56.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/dhakaairport55.jpg

Dear Tmac,

I was checking old posts of this thread and found this pics posted by you. I would like to know from which aircraft the pics were taken. In the second pic, it appears that the window is open, though it might be visual illusion.....could u plz clarify?

A GMG Airlines Airbus had to return to Zia International Airport (ZIA) an hour after it took off Monday due to technical problems.

The flight Z5-091 finally left Dhaka 24 hours later, causing sufferings to passengers.

The plane with 500 people on board left for Dubai at 4:30pm Monday. "One hour after take off from ZIA, the pilot discovered technical glitches in one of its engines," an air-traffic officer of GMG Airlines told The Daily Star.

"The pilot informed the control tower at ZIA about it and turned back," he said requesting anonymity.

Shahab Sattar, managing director (MD) of GMG Airlines, the country's biggest private airlines, told The Daily Star that it was a minor technical problem and the flight had already left for Dubai after a fix.

On March 3, a GMG Boeing 747 with 160 on board had to return to Dubai airport shortly after take off due to problems in one of its engines.




http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=32368

Dear Tmac,

I was checking old posts of this thread and found this pics posted by you. I would like to know from which aircraft the pics were taken. In the second pic, it appears that the window is open, though it might be visual illusion.....could u plz clarify?

I could be wrong, but they look like being taken from inside a Bell 212 chopper!

I could be wrong, but they look like being taken from inside a Bell 212 chopper!

not to be funny.. but looks like taken from a bus window...

A GMG Airlines Airbus had to return to Zia International Airport (ZIA) an hour after it took off Monday due to technical problems.

The flight Z5-091 finally left Dhaka 24 hours later, causing sufferings to passengers.

The plane with 500 people on board left for Dubai at 4:30pm Monday. "One hour after take off from ZIA, the pilot discovered technical glitches in one of its engines," an air-traffic officer of GMG Airlines told The Daily Star.

"The pilot informed the control tower at ZIA about it and turned back," he said requesting anonymity.

Shahab Sattar, managing director (MD) of GMG Airlines, the country's biggest private airlines, told The Daily Star that it was a minor technical problem and the flight had already left for Dubai after a fix.

On March 3, a GMG Boeing 747 with 160 on board had to return to Dubai airport shortly after take off due to problems in one of its engines.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=32368


The GMG Airlines "Airbus" was actually the Boeing 747-300!

And when will anyone hear me??? I've been literally screaming out aloud here regarding the P&W-powered 747-300s belonging to Air Atlanta Icelandic!!! :mad:

The report was unclear:

1. Did the B747 fly an hour out and then found the problem and turned back through another hour?

OR

2. Found the problem and returned to DAC within an hour from departure?

last time i was cuming bak frm bd, we were taking emirates frm dhk to dubai 2 london. but one thing i noticed that while waiting in da zia'z lounge the plane(airbus a330-200) arrived 30 minz to 7 at night and our flight was 7:00 as well however we tookoff frm dhk at the exact time it was destined to .
i was kinda curious that, how the hell this thing just flown over 4 hours and den wait for about 30 minz and fly again? do these damm engines dont take any rest ? btw same thing happend wid aircanada from ottawa, it flew over 7 hours frm lhr den waited for about 30/35 minz and started its journey to lhr bak again? and the aircraft was boeing 767-300er(built in 1987,confrimed by the airhost guy)

asif bhai,do these engine dnt get tired or what?:nuts:

last time i was cuming bak frm bd, we were taking emirates frm dhk to dubai 2 london. but one thing i noticed that while waiting in da zia'z lounge the plane(airbus a330-200) arrived 30 minz to 7 at night and our flight was 7:00 as well however we tookoff frm dhk at the exact time it was destined to .
i was kinda curious that, how the hell this thing just flown over 4 hours and den wait for about 30 minz and fly again? do these damm engines dont take any rest ? btw same thing happend wid aircanada from ottawa, it flew over 7 hours frm lhr den waited for about 30/35 minz and started its journey to lhr bak again? and the aircraft was boeing 767-300er(built in 1987,confrimed by the airhost guy)

asif bhai,do these engine dnt get tired or what?:nuts:

Please do not be offended, but could you please write in English?

last time i was cuming bak frm bd, we were taking emirates frm dhk to dubai 2 london. but one thing i noticed that while waiting in da zia'z lounge the plane(airbus a330-200) arrived 30 minz to 7 at night and our flight was 7:00 as well however we tookoff frm dhk at the exact time it was destined to .
i was kinda curious that, how the hell this thing just flown over 4 hours and den wait for about 30 minz and fly again? do these damm engines dont take any rest ? btw same thing happend wid aircanada from ottawa, it flew over 7 hours frm lhr den waited for about 30/35 minz and started its journey to lhr bak again? and the aircraft was boeing 767-300er(built in 1987,confrimed by the airhost guy)

asif bhai,do these engine dnt get tired or what?:nuts:

Technically speaking, the jet engines powering commercial jets can keep working non-stop as long as you can keep supplying fuel to them! Yeah, there are component replacements and repair/overhauls which are necessary but the minimum time between overhaul/replacement for any component would be in hundreds of hours! You only need about 20-22 odd hours to go half the way around the world...and there really isn't any need to go any farther, right? ;)

Think about how you breathe 24x7...do you get tired of breathing, ever? :)

I could be wrong, but they look like being taken from inside a Bell 212 chopper!

Yah it must be a helicopter....

Any news about the arrival of GMG's second leased B747-300? As I recall, that one was suppose to come to Dhaka on 14 April........

Technically speaking, the jet engines powering commercial jets can keep working non-stop as long as you can keep supplying fuel to them! Yeah, there are component replacements and repair/overhauls which are necessary but the minimum time between overhaul/replacement for any component would be in hundreds of hours! You only need about 20-22 odd hours to go half the way around the world...and there really isn't any need to go any farther, right? ;)

Think about how you breathe 24x7...do you get tired of breathing, ever? :)

thx for reply men/ make sense. but how come when u drive a car for 5/6 hours n u see the tick mark in the dash board shows the engine is hot n it suggests in the owner manual not to drive your car for more than 10 hours straight, or maybe it will burnout. i was wondering if the same would happenthing wud wid these aircraft considering they burn more fuel and come in much bigger size,which proably generates more heat. how often do these commerical aircraft such as 747,777 changes tires?

Tislam bhai,sorry men if i had u trouble with my writing. bd=bangladesh,da=the,u=you, bak=back,cuming=coming,frm=from,den=then,dnt=dont
and if theres problem in sentence format or grammar, sorry i am nt perfecto with english language

thx for reply men/ make sense. but how come when u drive a car for 5/6 hours n u see the tick mark in the dash board shows the engine is hot n it suggests in the owner manual not to drive your car for more than 10 hours straight, or maybe it will burnout. i was wondering if the same would happenthing wud wid these aircraft considering they burn more fuel and come in much bigger size,which proably generates more heat.


Although I am not an technical expert in this field, the first thing which comes to my mind is Technical Innovation & Efficiency. Read in Physics book that the combustion engine in an automobile is 30-35% efficient. Maybe, Asif Bhai can shed a light on jet engine's efficiency, which work in a different way.

Moreover, how much do you pay for a car engine? $4000 maybe.... whereas a jet engine will cost around $3-4million

thx for reply men/ make sense. but how come when u drive a car for 5/6 hours n u see the tick mark in the dash board shows the engine is hot n it suggests in the owner manual not to drive your car for more than 10 hours straight, or maybe it will burnout. i was wondering if the same would happenthing wud wid these aircraft considering they burn more fuel and come in much bigger size,which proably generates more heat. how often do these commerical aircraft such as 747,777 changes tires?

Tislam bhai,sorry men if i had u trouble with my writing. bd=bangladesh,da=the,u=you, bak=back,cuming=coming,frm=from,den=then,dnt=dont
and if theres problem in sentence format or grammar, sorry i am nt perfecto with english language

No problem, however, too many abbreviations and self made contractions make for poor comprehension. I had to slow down and decode what you're trying to say.

Any news about the arrival of GMG's second leased B747-300? As I recall, that one was suppose to come to Dhaka on 14 April........

Speaking of which, have they made a commitment (i.e. signed any deal) to purchase new aircrafts from Boeing? Weren't they supposed to lease a 767 or two? Whatever happend to that?

http://www.prothom-alo.com/index.news.details.php?nid=MTU0MTU=

Isn't it a self destructive move by Biman? Any expert opinion?

thx for reply men/ make sense. but how come when u drive a car for 5/6 hours n u see the tick mark in the dash board shows the engine is hot n it suggests in the owner manual not to drive your car for more than 10 hours straight, or maybe it will burnout. i was wondering if the same would happenthing wud wid these aircraft considering they burn more fuel and come in much bigger size,which proably generates more heat. how often do these commerical aircraft such as 747,777 changes tires?

1. Aircraft engines were always designed to withstand the heat, and beyond. The kind of stress tests that are carried out on aircraft engines before they're certified is mind-boggling, and in real life they'd actually almost never experience such brutality. Despite that, the tests are carried out on the ground for us to fly safer through the air!

2. Even the first-generation jet engines burnt less fuel per-seat-mile than today's fossil-fuel powered sedan cars!

3. Airplane tires generally have lifetime based on cycles used, and may vary depending on actual usage pattern of the aircraft. Landing surface, braking action, etc. directly affects the lifetime of wheels and brakes on any airplane, and not just the big ones such as the 747 or 777! :)

Although I am not an technical expert in this field, the first thing which comes to my mind is Technical Innovation & Efficiency. Read in Physics book that the combustion engine in an automobile is 30-35% efficient. Maybe, Asif Bhai can shed a light on jet engine's efficiency, which work in a different way.

The maximum efficiency of propellers is about 90%, and generally about 85%. Props will never get the ideal 100% efficiency because of 3 basic reasons:
1. The friction drag of the blades
2. The kinetic energy of the rotation of the slipstream
3. The fact that thrust is not uniformly distributed over the blades

I could be wrong here, so folks with a better knowledge of Physics could come to my rescue!

The most efficient of all are the high-bypass turbofan (not turbojet) engines simply because the exhaust speed is closer to the aircraft speed and is ideal for aircraft meant to fly at subsonic speeds. Beyond subsonic speeds, turbojets would be essential which are far less efficient, a prime example of which was the Concorde! :)

http://www.prothom-alo.com/index.news.details.php?nid=MTU0MTU=

Isn't it a self destructive move by Biman? Any expert opinion?

Sounds crazy alright, but a rather routine activity at Biman!

In October, 2007 it bought the A310 which was on lease to Biman from Crane International (Reg # S2-ADK) for US$ 12.5 million (using a part of the money received from insurance claims of the written-off A310 S2-ADE at DXB incident). That aircraft was leased to Biman from October, 2003 through arrangements made by none other than Shamim Iskander, and Biman paid about US$ 45,000 dollars per month extra than the prevailing dry-lease rates for the type. That's an extra of over US$ 2 million over 48 months till Biman bought it up. As I speak, the CMV of the newest (built in 1998) A310-300 is about US$ 18.4 million and that of the oldest (1985/1986 build) is about US$ 9.2 million. After paying Crane about US$ 12 million for dry-lease through 4 years, buying up that aircraft (1991 build) for another US$ 12.5 million was sheer stupidity. Biman should've either bought it up much earlier, or cancelled the lease and buy/lease newer frames from the market.

Regarding the frame in the report (S2-ADH), I don't have any specific information yet, but what I can understand is that Biman can't afford to lose any capacity at this point of time. Yes, if Biman's management can be brave enough to lease aircraft directly, without any tendering, it will surely get good aircraft and good rates to add required capacity immediately but that's what Biman's management (not the MD alone, but the whole Board) can't seem to pull up the courage of doing! Without S2-ADH, Biman would be losing very precious 218 seats off its fleet, which if doesn't get compensated soon will stub Biman deeper into trouble!

I thought wide-body planes require at last 40 mins to turn-around. How did EK turn-around that A332 in less than 30 mins ? [I assume the flight was carrying around 100% pax].

I thought wide-body planes require at last 40 mins to turn-around. How did EK turn-around that A332 in less than 30 mins ? [I assume the flight was carrying around 100% pax].

It mostly depends on how good the ground handling is, along with the logistics and infrastructural facilities at the airport. I've seen JAL and ANA do it at Tokyo turning their regional B747s (500+ pax) in well under 20 minutes, as well as Thai at the Don Muang airport in Bangkok. Pretty impressvive stuff!

Zia's ground-handling is that good???

Zia's ground-handling is that good???

Ground handling at ZIA is horrible, and rumour has it that SV, EK and some others pay "extra" to the Biman staff to have their planes serviced on a priority basis! ;)

Well, don't blame SV & EK because when you are in Bangladesh act as a Bangladeshi! We should actually hail these ground-handlers because they are helping to bring "important foreign currency" to Bangladesh. I guess HSBC is right, "Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge!":bash:

Well, don't blame SV & EK because when you are in Bangladesh act as a Bangladeshi! We should actually hail these ground-handlers because they are helping to bring "important foreign currency" to Bangladesh. I guess HSBC is right, "Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge!":bash:

I'm sorry but I don't quite agree with you! Biman is in a monopoly here, being the only approved organization to provide ground handling services at all airports in Bangladesh. Their quality of services is pathetic and the foreign airlines have long been complaining to CAAB about this with no heed paid. If this area was opened to the private sector under acceptable guidelines, there would've been far better service providers who would still earn "important foreign currency" for Bangladesh but by having provided quality services the airlines expect and not by having them as a 'hostage' like the way Biman does!

While I want all that is good for Biman, I'll be the last person to endorse such unfair protection and privileges for Biman!

And if you mean to say that by receiving these "extra" tips from foreign airlines they're actually helping the country by bringing in foreign exchange, then I'm surely going to be at a loss of words to express my disappointment! You think being amongst the most corrupt nations in the world helps any of our pride and self-esteem?

And besides, be sure that whatever such additional 'costs' that these foreign airlines incur to operate to Bangladesh, they in turn pass that on to their passengers - us! So basically that stands like they use my money, to tip another fellow Bangladeshi to get something done in their favour unusually, and then call that fellow Bangladeshi a corrupt rascal and me a jackass! Sounds good to you, still?

Cool down man! I am as disappointed as you to know what Bangladeshi ground-handlers do. I was just joking because that's the only thing you can do in Bangladesh when you are disappointed about something but can't do anything to improve things.

Cool down man! I am as disappointed as you to know what Bangladeshi ground-handlers do. I was just joking because that's the only thing you can do in Bangladesh when you are disappointed about something but can't do anything to improve things.

Let's start believing that we can make a difference, for good! I am a big-time optimist, and I need you all to join hands!
:cheers2:

Bombardier Aerospace De Havilland is ceasing production of the Dash 8 Q200 and Q300 models in May 2009, but the Q400 model will continue to soar.......

http://www.mirror-guardian.com/News/NorthYork/article/45066

The kind of stress tests that are carried out on aircraft engines before they're certified is mind-boggling, and in real life they'd actually almost never experience such brutality.

Airbus A380-800 Brake test

m1dv_y_3EK0


Rolls-Royce Engine Water Ingestion Test

faDWFwDy8-U


Rolls-Royce Trent 900 Bird Ingestion Test

rSafRuLB0c0

Let's start believing that we can make a difference, for good! I am a big-time optimist, and I need you all to join hands!
:cheers2:

Yes Imran I also believe so.......I am happy that people like you are trying to bring the changes

Bombardier Aerospace De Havilland is ceasing production of the Dash 8 Q200 and Q300 models in May 2009, but the Q400 model will continue to soar.......

http://www.mirror-guardian.com/News/NorthYork/article/45066

Q400? Try and tell SAS how good that plane is! ;)

Has the nose landing gear problem of Q400 been solved?

Has the nose landing gear problem of Q400 been solved?

The problem was the with the main landing gear (mostly the right one if I can recall correctly), and not with the nose gear really. I don't know if Bombardier got around to truly "fix" the problem but they made SK happy with a bargain-deal for the CRJ.

Why doesn't GMG, Best Air, United & RBA buy Tu-204's? It is cheaper than 737NG's & A320 series & has more seating capacity. It shoul be a good regional jet for the start-ups.

Why doesn't GMG, Best Air, United & RBA buy Tu-204's? It is cheaper than 737NG's & A320 series & has more seating capacity. It shoul be a good regional jet for the start-ups.

Interesting ... perhaps they should ask Air cairo about their experience?

I have no idea about Russian engines. But I believe the -120 version of Tu-204 which uses RR engines should be godd enough. And one advantage is you can avoid both the Russian & RR engines and select engines of the same type from other Western engine manufacturers. I am currently testing out a Tu-204-120 of Aeroflot in my MS Flight Simulator.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/pinkcity23.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/Tarik/Tarik6/pinkcity23.jpg

not mine as yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:banana::banana::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Guys this is a very serious issue:

Just heard on the UK Bangladeshi media, that a very promenent cummunity worker, tv presenter, charity worker Barrister RIZWAN HUSSAIN, was asulted at ZIA by some officials.

Not very clear why, but it was all over the Bangla TV channels in the UK. They bit him up so bad, that his left arm and leg is broken.

He has hold a media brifing on this straight away when he returned to the UK. He was in Bangladesh in conjection with Channel S to do some charity work.

This is big news in the UK Bangladeshi community. This time these custom officers have crossed the line for sure. I don't know if anyone of you recall, that back in 1997 another British Bangladeshi Mr Surat Miah was biten up so badly that he later died in Hospital.

Why doesn't GMG, Best Air, United & RBA buy Tu-204's? It is cheaper than 737NG's & A320 series & has more seating capacity. It shoul be a good regional jet for the start-ups.

It is cheaper and the specs look good, yes, but like almost all Russian jets its useful life is also presumed to be far lesser that the Western jets. Another huge problem is the supply of spares over the years. If Tupolev can't sell enough of these planes, supply of spares will not be guaranteed, and will leave the Tu-204 operators high and dry! However, I do think it can be a pretty good aircraft for any Bangladeshi airline looking to start-up with international cargo services.

I have no idea about Russian engines. But I believe the -120 version of Tu-204 which uses RR engines should be godd enough. And one advantage is you can avoid both the Russian & RR engines and select engines of the same type from other Western engine manufacturers. I am currently testing out a Tu-204-120 of Aeroflot in my MS Flight Simulator.

I don't think it is realistically possible to just fit in any engine with a similar thrust-rating because they'd have to get along the FMC, so I guess the best option is the RR engines anyway. And...errr...MS Flight Simulator isn't the most realistic of 'testing environments'...! :)

Any idea whose chopper is this?

Belongs to this South Asian Airlines based in Dhaka who rents this Robinson R-44. They also had this vintage B707-300 a couple of years back which they used for cargo, but I don't know where that is now.

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd236/TheCoolOnes/1227997.jpg


Last but not least, their website is quite a "treat"! :lol:
http://southasian-airlines.com/index.htm

Guys this is a very serious issue:

Just heard on the UK Bangladeshi media, that a very promenent cummunity worker, tv presenter, charity worker Barrister RIZWAN HUSSAIN, was asulted at ZIA by some officials.

Not very clear why, but it was all over the Bangla TV channels in the UK. They bit him up so bad, that his left arm and leg is broken.

You mean they had beaten him up, right? The thought of being "bit" by the ZIA officials is scaring the hell out of me!!!

The R-44's pic was taken at Pink City which is near the airport. Every house of Pink City is of same design as you can see in the pic. Why would someone fly a helo from DAC for 3-4 minutes & land again? And most of the houses there are still under construction. So not many people live there who can charter the helo.

Guys this is a very serious issue:

Just heard on the UK Bangladeshi media, that a very promenent cummunity worker, tv presenter, charity worker Barrister RIZWAN HUSSAIN, was asulted at ZIA by some officials.

Not very clear why, but it was all over the Bangla TV channels in the UK. They bit him up so bad, that his left arm and leg is broken.

He has hold a media brifing on this straight away when he returned to the UK. He was in Bangladesh in conjection with Channel S to do some charity work.

This is big news in the UK Bangladeshi community. This time these custom officers have crossed the line for sure. I don't know if anyone of you recall, that back in 1997 another British Bangladeshi Mr Surat Miah was biten up so badly that he later died in Hospital.

He got involved into quarrel with 5/6 immigration/security men as he forcefully tried to enter into the boarding pass area to see his sister off. he was not returning that day. So he had no right to enter into that area. At a point, after stating all his designations and credentials (which is very impressive but doesn't qualify him to enter into the boarding area ), he wanted to talk to the "highest authority " about this. The immigration/security men then took him to a room and mercilessly has beaten up. This is a henious crime to beat someone up in such a way that his leg has been broken. Investigation is going on to identify the people involved.

I am shocked by the criminal deed by the immigration/security people. they should be punished severely under criminal law.

On the other hand, I may appear as a ruthless as I am not finding that much sympathy for that Barrister. You can not use ur credentials to enter into a restricted area. You may request, but if the person concerned disagrees, you should not argue and quarrel. Can he do it in LHR? He is a UK citizen and now UK high commission in dhaka is involved in this....why these people, bearing foreign passports, taking all amenities of foreign citizenship and following all laws and regulations in foreign lands like "mice", suddenly become "tigers" in ZIA or any other bangladeshi establishment in home or aborad?

Hello all, I have a really great mpeg audio file (opens with real player) that I wanted to share on this thread. Do any of you know how I can upload or post it? I'm gone for a day but thanks in advance for any answer.

He got involved into quarrel with 5/6 immigration/security men as he forcefully tried to enter into the boarding pass area to see his sister off. he was not returning that day. So he had no right to enter into that area. At a point, after stating all his designations and credentials (which is very impressive but doesn't qualify him to enter into the boarding area ), he wanted to talk to the "highest authority " about this. The immigration/security men then took him to a room and mercilessly has beaten up. This is a henious crime to beat someone up in such a way that his leg has been broken. Investigation is going on to identify the people involved.

I am shocked by the criminal deed by the immigration/security people. they should be punished severely under criminal law.

On the other hand, I may appear as a ruthless as I am not finding that much sympathy for that Barrister. You can not use ur credentials to enter into a restricted area. You may request, but if the person concerned disagrees, you should not argue and quarrel. Can he do it in LHR? He is a UK citizen and now UK high commission in dhaka is involved in this....why these people, bearing foreign passports, taking all amenities of foreign citizenship and following all laws and regulations in foreign lands like "mice", suddenly become "tigers" in ZIA or any other bangladeshi establishment in home or aborad?

Rizwan is a highly respected member of the UK community and is heavily involved in community and charity work. He is a presenter on Channel S and fronts most fundraising programmes for UK and Bangladeshi charity organisations. I find it abhorrent that in the current climate of the Caretaker government and clampdown on corruption that this despicable event could've taken place once again in Bangladesh's primary airport!

I have yet to see any reliable reports so will reserve judgement until then, but whatever he may have done or alleged to have done will under no circumstances justify this kind of treatment!

To answer your question, shatilislam, if someone tries to force their way into the departure lounge at LHR (or any other airport in the world), I would expect him to be arrested by the police, taken into custody and charged appropriately before being hauled before the courts - not beaten up or murdered in the airport by immigration/customs officials! btw, what is the source of your information?

You mean they had beaten him up, right? The thought of being "bit" by the ZIA officials is scaring the hell out of me!!!
hmmm...didn't surprise me too much. They're a bunch of animals anyway :)

Rizwan is a highly respected member of the UK community and is heavily involved in community and charity work. He is a presenter on Channel S and fronts most fundraising programmes for UK and Bangladeshi charity organisations. I find it abhorrent that in the current climate of the Caretaker government and clampdown on corruption that this despicable event could've taken place once again in Bangladesh's primary airport!

I have yet to see any reliable reports so will reserve judgement until then, but whatever he may have done or alleged to have done will under no circumstances justify this kind of treatment!

To answer your question, shatilislam, if someone tries to force their way into the departure lounge at LHR (or any other airport in the world), I would expect him to be arrested by the police, taken into custody and charged appropriately before being hauled before the courts - not beaten up or murdered in the airport by immigration/customs officials! btw, what is the source of your information?

Dear Bromora,

Barrister Rizwan is a respectable person indeed and the assault on him is really condemnable. I truly agree with your last paragraph. The security people involved should be punished according to the criminal law. Yes in LHR or any other airports in the "civilized" (i am using this word in its true sense) world, he should have been arrested, but the law enforcing agencies has no right to torture anybody. The murder of Surat Ali several years ago is a henious crime also. Surat Ali arrived in ZIA from London in totally drunk condition and he allegedly misbehaved with cabin crew and immigration and customs people in a very bad way. The personnel in ZIA and Biman didn't have that humane understanding that a drunk man should not be taken seriously for his deeds. His death caused huge fury and investigation and UK high commission excerted lot of pressure on the government for the justice. I don't know whether the perpetrators were finally caught and tried. I myself felt very bad at that time reading the reports.

Barrister Rizwan's case is a bit different. It is true that he indeed entered into the departure lounge without a boarding pass. So the security people had every right to challenge him. Possibly the exchange of words was not that pleasant even for the security people. But the way he was treated is really shocking and unacceptable. I am not defending the perpetrators. I also clearly mentioned in my last post that the people involved should be severely punished. But it is true that he illegally entered in a prohibited area. the following news report, though clearly biased in favour of Barrister Rizwan, depicts the fact:

http://www.amardeshbd.com/detail_news_index.php?NewsID=172021&NewsType=bistarito&SectionID=home

Though I came to know about the real happenings from my personal sources, this report says a lot if you read between the lines.

Now, this culture of torturing people by the Law Enforcing agencies is a national problem in BD. This reflects the lack of rule of law, lack of respect to individuals and human rights and if i may say so , the "'militarization" of the state by consecutive governments, in the form of RAB and pseudo martial law. This issue is an off topic for this forum indeed, so I conclude by saying that we all know more or less the situation on ground and as conscious human beings, should feel bad about it.

Finally, just to be objective, as I have indicated in the last post, we should understand that "'ëk haat e taalee baje na". With all respect to his contributions in various fields, I think the Barrister is also to be blamed of for something. Obviously this is not an argument in favour of the criminal acts done against him. Severe and immediate action should be taken against the criminals.

My personal experience at DAC isn't pleasant. I think very few people have experienced acceptable services at DAC. I hope the new plan to bring all services under one umbrella will improve the situation.

Finally, just to be objective, as I have indicated in the last post, we should understand that "'ëk haat e taalee baje na". With all respect to his contributions in various fields, I think the Barrister is also to be blamed of for something. Obviously this is not an argument in favour of the criminal acts done against him. Severe and immediate action should be taken against the criminals.

Well...I've just watched the special news report on Channel S and from what I can see, "ek haat e taalee baje". We are talking about Bangladesh here - officially recognised as the most corrupt country in the world. Obviously, I'm not talking about the general population of Bangladesh but the small number of individuals in authority (which in itself is a sizeable majority) that give the country a bad name. :bash:

What the news report of channel S is telling?

Belongs to this South Asian Airlines based in Dhaka who rents this Robinson R-44. They also had this vintage B707-300 a couple of years back which they used for cargo, but I don't know where that is now.



Last but not least, their website is quite a "treat"! :lol:
http://southasian-airlines.com/index.htm

Best Air was also having helicopter service....do they still have that?

What the news report of channel S is telling?

I will try and upload the audio which I captured on my MP3 player as my main PC is out of action due to a fried motherboard. But will see if I can get hold of the video from anyone else.

In summary, he was asked to sign a confession that he had entered the airport illegally and was taking part in illegal activities which he refused to do. He was then beaten for around an hour in 2/3 sessions and was let out through a back door after he eventually relented and wrote up the confession.

Through contacts of Channel S, the BD intelligence service got involved and assisted in seeing him on the plane to the UK so he could receive the necessary treatment and to ensure his life was not in danger. This is a man who spent the last two Ramadhan fronting fundraising programmes from Isha - Fajar for mosques and madrassas around the UK and Bangladesh and did not take a penny for his services.

Not sure who your sources are but I (and I'm sure most will agree with me) have no doubt on Rizwan's account of the event.

I will try and upload the audio which I captured on my MP3 player as my main PC is out of action due to a fried motherboard. But will see if I can get hold of the video from anyone else.

In summary, he was asked to sign a confession that he had entered the airport illegally and was taking part in illegal activities which he refused to do. He was then beaten for around an hour in 2/3 sessions and was let out through a back door after he eventually relented and wrote up the confession.

Through contacts of Channel S, the BD intelligence service got involved and assisted in seeing him on the plane to the UK so he could receive the necessary treatment and to ensure his life was not in danger. This is a man who spent the last two Ramadhan fronting fundraising programmes from Isha - Fajar for mosques and madrassas around the UK and Bangladesh and did not take a penny for his services.

Not sure who your sources are but I (and I'm sure most will agree with me) have no doubt on Rizwan's account of the event.

I agree with you 100% all the way. You can arrest the man, but what they did was just unacceptable. Totaly unjust. and to add to the comments of shatilislam, I disagree with your comments mate, I think you need to check your sourse first before concluding! It's the likes of you that incourages these unprofessional people in the first place.:bash:

I agree with you 100% all the way. You can arrest the man, but what they did was just unacceptable. Totaly unjust. and to add to the comments of shatilislam, I disagree with your comments mate, I think you need to check your sourse first before concluding! It's the likes of you that incourages these unprofessional people in the first place.:bash:

Thanks Akbar bhai. For those using Facebook, click this link to find out more and to keep yourself updated as things develop. Rizwan was able to identify the 5 soldiers by name who did this to him. If no justice can be served in this incident then there is no hope for Bangladesh.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12323537407

Also, there is an online petition giving more details of the story and I would urge everyone here to sign it and encourage others to do so:

http://www.petitiononline.com/rizwan/petition.html

Was he beaten by soldiers or customs/security guards?

Was he beaten by soldiers or customs/security guards?

It seems it was soldiers. See the facebook link for more details. I expect the video of the press conference will be up there soon too.

^^
"You cannot clap with one hand" is very apt here, although on balance the authorities came out to be the villain in this case. They should apologise and offer compensation for his pain and suffering, and make sure these things do not repeat. But it isn't so easy because that requires a change in attitude, mentality, training, and of course, time. On the other hand, people should checkout their vanity, sense of self worth, elitist attitude, whatever you may want to call it, at the gate, when they are in a public place with restricted areas, unless they have the appropriate waivers, in hand. That is just common sense.

I nearly got myself in trouble going through the security check at Dubai airport, a few years ago. I was removing stuff from my person, opening my laptop, etc., while holding my six months old baby. The security personnel, a young woman, was just mean spirited, could have been in a bad mood, or whatever, appeared to be bent upon harrassing me. While complying, I protested her attitute and said something to that effect, "if that's what you're driving at, you should have told me, I could have taken it out", and "what do you want me to do, put my baby down on the floor?". Boy, she exploded! She asked for my passport and my ticket, made me stand in a corner, and went away to check something. I soon realized that I shouldn't have opened my mouth and that I am bloody nobody here, totally at their mercy. I kept my mouth shut from then on. While she appeared to make things difficult for me, luck favored me. After examining my documents she went to speak to someone who appeared to discourage her in escalating things further, probably because I had a baby and my flight was leaving soon and the security check lines were getting longer. Since then, I've learned to appear like a mouse while passing through airports, and such.

Belongs to this South Asian Airlines based in Dhaka who rents this Robinson R-44. They also had this vintage B707-300 a couple of years back which they used for cargo, but I don't know where that is now.

Last but not least, their website is quite a "treat"! :lol:
http://southasian-airlines.com/index.htm

Good idea but bad choice of equipment. How do they expect to make any money carrying only 3/4 passengers? So what happened to their cargo operations?

Good idea but bad choice of equipment. How do they expect to make any money carrying only 3/4 passengers? So what happened to their cargo operations?

Maybe they cater to premium customers (ex. VIPS)

^^
"You cannot clap with one hand" is very apt here, although on balance the authorities came out to be the villain in this case. They should apologise and offer compensation for his pain and suffering, and make sure these things do not repeat. But it isn't so easy because that requires a change in attitude, mentality, training, and of course, time. On the other hand, people should checkout their vanity, sense of self worth, elitist attitude, whatever you may want to call it, at the gate, when they are in a public place with restricted areas, unless they have the appropriate waivers, in hand. That is just common sense.

Precisely. Without a shade of doubt, the scoundrels involved in torturing Mr. Rizwan should be taken to task, and be served with apt punishment. But, at the end of the day, Mr. Rizwan should also realise anew the importance of abiding by the rules, more so for he is himself a Barrister! Imagine if the 'torture' part of the incident didn't happen and he was simply taken to custody by the security people and was charged for his attempt to trespass into "off-limits" areas at the airport! That would've been a shame, for he is a highly respected person, for all good reasons, and doing what he did would've disgraced himself to his admirers. It doesn't take much to restrain from such acts and be modest, but not being able to do so often costs a lot...a whole lot!

Good idea but bad choice of equipment. How do they expect to make any money carrying only 3/4 passengers? So what happened to their cargo operations?

They charge about BDT 30,000 per hour of flying, irrespective of the perons on board. Until 1/11, there were thousands of people with enough money to afford such rides for say 'taking a leak at my home town 150 miles away'! I'd guess that group of people comprised mostly of these operators' target market, who are now having to take their leaks far away from their homes! :)

I have no idea why they began, or why they ceased their cargo operations. It must've been a tough task for that old bird!

They charge about BDT 30,000 per hour of flying, irrespective of the perons on board. Until 1/11, there were thousands of people with enough money to afford such rides for say 'taking a leak at my home town 150 miles away'! I'd guess that group of people comprised mostly of these operators' target market, who are now having to take their leaks far away from their homes! :)

I have no idea why they began, or why they ceased their cargo operations. It must've been a tough task for that old bird!

I had a great laugh Asif, because of the way you put it .... the part about taking a leak! Either this outfit is run by the same group of people with ill gotten wealth or if they are not, then hopefully they'll learn a good business lesson on how not to bank on an "here now gone tomorrow" segment of customers, to run a primary business (function), albeit painfully.

No more Sylhetis going to marry riding on a chopper?:)

No more Sylhetis going to marry riding on a chopper?:)

NO, but we will start doing it in a private jet, watch this space!!!!!!:lol:

It seems it was soldiers. See the facebook link for more details. I expect the video of the press conference will be up there soon too.

There's a low quality video of the press conference on the facebook group.

GMG Airlines plans to add new destinations in Middle East

April 16, 2008
– A Monitor Report

Dubai : GMG Airlines, the oldest private airline in Bangladesh and first to go international is planning to add four more destinations in the Middle East after Dubai. The new destinations are–Muscat, Doha, Qatar and Kuwait. This was announced by Abdus Satter Nini, Chairman of the airline at a function in Sharjah on March 28, organised to celebrate new route launching to Dubai. As the first Bangla-deshi private carrier on international route, GMG Airline started service to Dubai in February. The formal launching of the route was made on March 28.

The airline invited and carried a group of 26 media and cultural troupe from Dhaka to attend formal launching ceremony at Sharjah stadium. About seven thousand Bangladeshi expatriates enjoyed the cultural evening performed by Baby Najneen and Tawfiq Babu group. In addition to invited media representatives, the function was also attended by Vajaha Aziz Satter, Chairperson of GRM Group, Abdus Satter Nini, Chairman of GMG Airline, Ashis Roy Choudhury, Regional Director and Virender Nautiwal, Executive Director, Middle East and Africa.

Abdus Satter said that recently the government of Bangladesh has permitted GMG Airlines to start services to Muscat, Doha, Qatar and Kuwait. The airline has planned to lease 6 aircraft to start services to these destinations from June next. The airline, he said, has set target of one million passengers on international routes.

The Chairman of the airline further disclosed that his airline is currently negotiating with Boeing to buy four new aircraft. Abdus Satter, who expressed happiness to be the first Bangladeshi carrier to operate Jumbo B747 on international route, said that GMG would add more international destinations, if the government provides approval.

In 1998, GMG Airlines emerged as first private sector airline in the country. Its services were restricted to domestic route till 2005. In that year, the airline’s international operation started with service to Nepal. Later Kolkata, Bangkok and Dubai were added in the international route net.

On the occasion of launching new route, Abdus Satter announced special fare on Dubai-Dhaka-Dubai route. The fare is 651 Dihram one way and 1250 Dirham return. Travellers will also be able to luggage up to 50 kg free of cost. He also promised to improve customer service of the airline further.



Bangladesh Monitor (http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/aviation_story.php?recordID=1392)

First flight

Jenny Rumary van Tassel accompanied her balloonist daughter Jeanette Van Tassel when she died in an attempt at the first manned flight in Bangladesh in 1882.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aviation_in_Bangladesh

I just got this on wiki.

United Airways to procure $50m aircraft as sight set on int'l routes

A Z M Anas

United Airways plans to procure new aircraft at a cost of US$50 million as it moves to fly to international destinations including the Gulf aviation hub of Dubai, its chief executive said Sunday.

The country's second private carrier has already floated international tender and employed agents to buy two mid-sized passenger jets from either Boeing or Airbus, depending on the suitability of the offers, Tasbirul Ahmed Chowdhury, chief executive officer of the airline, said.

'We want to grow faster … It's just part of our attempt to add own aircraft to the fleet,' he told the Financial Express.

'Once procured, the new aircraft will make us stronger and give us leverage to compete and serve the expanding local aviation market in a more efficient way. We're committed to making the airline a world-class one in the future,' he added.

The carrier's chief executive unveiled the plan as the government last month gave its go-ahead to United Airways and Best Air to fly to international destinations including lucrative Dubai, Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur.

The civil aviation ministry accorded permission to United to fly to Dubai, Kolkata and Kathmandu seven days a week and operate thrice a week flight to Bahrian from the port city Chittagong.

The United chief, a career pilot, would not disclose the types of aircraft to be procured. But he said it will require an investment of nearly $50 million to defray the costs of purchase.

'Around US$20 million is now in our hands. The rest of the amount will be mobilised through syndicated financing from local and foreign banks,' he added.

Chowdhury said the airline is in preliminary talks with a number of foreign banks to secure low-cost financing for the aircraft procurement.

It will take at least five years for global aircraft makers to deliver new jets to the airlines, but Chowdhury said he would lease aircraft to operate on Dubai and Bahrain routes.

The airline with majority of it owned by expatriates has already signed a memorandum of understanding in Singapore to 'dry' lease two long-haul aircraft to make its debut on the international routes, he said in a recent interview. When one airline 'dry' leases an aircraft, it hires only the aircraft, not its crew, nor the leasing company shoulders responsibility for maintenance or insurance.

The delivery of one Airbus 310-300 with a capacity of 280 seats and another Boeing 767-300 ER having 260 seats to operate international and regional flights is scheduled for next month, United officials said.

The deadline for submitting financial and technical offer for supplying new jets is set on May 31 next and the proposals will be screened out by the first week of June.

The private carrier, 95 per cent owned by non-resident Bangladeshis, started its operation in July 2007 after purchasing a Dash-8 from its Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. It added another Dash-8 to its fleet in March.

Presently, the airline flies to Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Sylhet and Jessore from the capital. It plans to fly to Barisal by May.

He is hopeful that the carrier will reach breakeven by 2010 and start churning out profits in 2011.

It took GMG, the country's first private airline, some nine years to reach breakeven and 10 years to wipe out all its accumulated losses.

Since the airline started operation in July, its flight occupancy has always been over 75 per cent. It has already carried more than 50,000 people.

The airline's plan is to buy at least 10 long-haul and mid-haul passenger planes in the next five years. It will invest an estimated $300 million for the purchase.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=31369

Since the airline started operation in July, its flight occupancy has always been over 75 per cent

I find that sort of load factor amazing for a domestic carrier (if its not embellishment -- that is...)

United Airways to procure $50m aircraft as sight set on int'l routes

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=31369

If the report is half true, they'll be making an even mix of mistakes GMG and Best Air made. While GMG is learning from its mistakes, I see no real hope for Best Air (unless it is wholesomely taken up by Aqeeq and/or run by a whole new set of professionals). United will also have to learn from its mistakes, and its going to test their worth to the limit!

If the report is half true, they'll be making an even mix of mistakes GMG and Best Air made. While GMG is learning from its mistakes, I see no real hope for Best Air (unless it is wholesomely taken up by Aqeeq and/or run by a whole new set of professionals). United will also have to learn from its mistakes, and its going to test their worth to the limit!

Well Aqeeq already owns 70% of BestAir so I believe they run the management of the airline.

Well Aqeeq already owns 70% of BestAir so I believe they run the management of the airline.

I don't know what percentage of the airline do they own but reportedly Aqeeq had invested about US$ 3m in Best Air and had trusted the local folks led by the Chairman to run the airline, which isn't working out at all.

If the report is half true, they'll be making an even mix of mistakes GMG and Best Air made. While GMG is learning from its mistakes, I see no real hope for Best Air (unless it is wholesomely taken up by Aqeeq and/or run by a whole new set of professionals). United will also have to learn from its mistakes, and its going to test their worth to the limit!

Imran, with all due respect can you clearfy what you mean by mistake? All local airliners needs to grow and fast! It is one of the top objective of United. :)

Local airlines go for interlining agreements (http://www.bangladeshmonitor.net/aviation_story.php?recordID=1389)
April 16, 2008
– A Monitor Report

Dhaka : The aviation industry in Bangladesh sees a mutual endeavour among public and private airlines that will help local carriers to ensure their service commitments and make their flight operations more cost-effective. The state-owned carrier, Biman, had signed an interlining agreement with one of the new generation private sector airlines, Best Air, last week while similar agreements among all Bangladeshi carriers are under process, industry sources said.

A senior Biman official confirmed the media on April 12 that Biman had made interlining agreement with Best Air and working on proposals for similar agreements with other airlines, including GMG.

It is a good endeavour in local aviation industry and this will help carriers serving more their clients,’ said the official.

Interlining is an agreement between two carriers, where the airline partners can accept each other’s travel documents. The passenger, under the deal, has the opportunity to travel in the flight of an airliner with the tickets of another one on the both domestic and international routes.

Industry sources said proposals of interlining were made to Biman from private sector anilines as due to low rush of passengers in domestic routes the new generation carriers were facing difficulties in operating their flights timely.
Individual carrier often faces huge loss as it sometimes has to operate flights in domestic routes with very poor passenger loads,’ said a senior official of a private sector airline, ‘So, interlining can help the carriers in making the flights cost-effective.’

M Haideruzzaman, Chairman of Best Air, said interlining was a win-win agreement for both operators and it would help local carriers to make their flight operations, on domestic and international routes, more cost and service efficient.

Among private airlines, GMG at present operates flights on international routes and the aviation authority recently provided several international routes permission for Best Air and the United Airways.

Imran, with all due respect can you clearfy what you mean by mistake? All local airliners needs to grow and fast! It is one of the top objective of United. :)

Willingness to 'grow' is not the mistake...it is in the ways in which it is being attempted to be done! I'll try to be a little more comprehensive here:

1. Capacity growth should always be a result of capacity shortfall. The air travel market of Bangladesh will be catered by 3 groups of carriers: Biman, the local private airlines, and the foreign airlines. So long the government will have a stakeholding at Biman, it will continue to give Biman a privilege to use the Bangladeshi rights in all Air Service Agreements...even if it means depriving the local private carriers of their just rights. This is just the reason why you see SV operating 12 weekly flights to DAC whereas BG does about 7 on an averageto KSA and the government is still not letting private carriers use the unutilized frequencies. Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Muscat, Qatar, etc. are not nearly as lucrative as Jeddah/Riyadh and even Dubai only warrants a consistently sizeable one-way traffic (DAC-DXB) for the current capacity available. If you look at the inbound traffic data from the Middle-Eastern destinations to DAC, you'll see that barring the ones from KSA, the traffic from other points is already under-utilizing the current total capacity. This is further reflected in the RPK data for these routes.

The point I'm trying to make here, which applies to all private airlines and not just United is, unless the government shows honest indication to allow routes in an unbiased manner (which will only happen once Biman is owned completely by the private sector), there is no guaranteed route feasibility on offer for the private carriers, and adding capacity to routes already served with enough will mean splitting one-third of a pie into smaller pieces.

2. I've said this in my earlier posts, I don't understand the idea behind having an A310-300 and a B767-300ER, and that too on 'dry-lease'! With the lease of these 2 planes, United will have a fleet of 4 aircraft and 3 types which would complicate flexibility issues, the way it has with GMG to an extent. And then, operating aircraft on 'dry-lease' requires significant infrastructural development. Say United gets these 2 aircraft - the A310 and the B767 which are properly insured, buys maintenance package from a vendor, and hires cockpit crews rated for 2 different types...you think they'll be ready to go? That's what Best Air has started off like...not meeting as many as 8 mandatory requirements as prescribed by ICAO, and are now in trouble.

For example, to operate the A310 and the B767 on dry-lease, United will have to have, among many other requirements, 2 Check Pilots (with proper accreditions) for each of these 2 types and a comprehensive pilot checking programme and flight attandants training programme. Sounds simple? Not quite!

3. Last but not least, United will have to have a major e-enabling IT infrastructure before going international. IATA mandates 100% e-ticketing for all airlines by end of May, 2008 which means extensive GDS and BSP participation. As for now, United's office closes at 2000 hours and no one is even there to answer the phone...and their online schedules are apparently far from the real schedules flown! I've experienced this just over a week earlier, and I'd say yet once again: a lot of work to do to get the business right!

The bottomline is: grow the right way...and not in a deformed manner! :)

Biman will be signing the firm contract with Boeing tomorrow (22nd April, 2008) at 1400 hours local time at the auditorium of the Bangladesh Airlines Training Centre (BATC) at Kurmitola, Dhaka. Major differences from the previous MoU:

- 2x B737NG included ;)
- The delivery schedule deferred by a few months and/or stretched till 2019

Note: Biman will be returning its leased A310-300 (S2-ADH) and the capacity loss will be replenished with 2x B737-800/-900ER on lease well within the next 6 months.

On 9th April, 2008 I had said in a post here (#1685) that Biman would announce the B737NG choice within 15 days, and tomorrow is the 13th day since! Talk about making it in at the very last second! ;)

2019??? Why???:bash:

2019??? Why???:bash:

The EIS date of the 787 has been delayed by over 1 year so far, and even without it the plane was sold out till 2014. The delay of the EIS will affect all customers, and especially the newest ones like Biman.

Boeing has promised to deliver interim aircraft (777s, 787s, and 737NGs) on lease and in phases beginning from 2008 until the new planes ordered are delivered, so you can expect to see BG operating the leased 777s from 2009 (maybe even earlier) and the 787s by 2011/2012! :)

Boeing deal today

The government has decided to shoulder Biman Bangladesh Airlines' debt of about Tk 1,200 core to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), enabling the troubled national flag carrier to start anew with a.....

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=33248

What about signing Capetown convention??

iasif: how did u know by 9th april that biman will choose the 737ng within 15 days? that came out of nowehere! even after singing the mou biman never said anything about the 737 to the press!! :uh:

ive spoken to a few ppl in bd in the aviation trade and theyve told me that u r a very respected (and feared) avaition analyst and md of biman too admires u despite the criticisms u make about the airline bluntly (even on todays daily star report).

i seriously think u r writing the future of aviation in bd! :nuts:

What about signing Capetown convention??

Hopefully an imminent matter. :)

i seriously think u r writing the future of aviation in bd! :nuts:

Nah! Too big a thing for a mere mortal like me to do all by myself!! However, if things are changing for better, let's all be happy about it! :)

iasif: how did u know by 9th april that biman will choose the 737ng within 15 days? that came out of nowehere! even after singing the mou biman never said anything about the 737 to the press!! :uh:

ive spoken to a few ppl in bd in the aviation trade and theyve told me that u r a very respected (and feared) avaition analyst and md of biman too admires u despite the criticisms u make about the airline bluntly (even on todays daily star report).

i seriously think u r writing the future of aviation in bd! :nuts:

If they so "fear" him, it goes without saying that they should take Imran's advice, seriously!

On 9th April, 2008 I had said in a post here (#1685) that Biman would announce the B737NG choice within 15 days, and tomorrow is the 13th day since! Talk about making it in at the very last second! ;)

Great call.:) Any time-line on the withdrawal of the jet fuel tax?

The EIS date of the 787 has been delayed by over 1 year so far, and even without it the plane was sold out till 2014. The delay of the EIS will affect all customers, and especially the newest ones like Biman.

Boeing has promised to deliver interim aircraft (777s, 787s, and 737NGs) on lease and in phases beginning from 2008 until the new planes ordered are delivered, so you can expect to see BG operating the leased 777s from 2009 (maybe even earlier) and the 787s by 2011/2012! :)

I am sorry, but did you mean 737s by 2011/2012? Boeing surely isn't jumping the queue and delivering 787s to Biman by 2012 when they are already sold out till 2014! With more delays even before the first test flight, I have a feeling Boeing will face similar(if not worse) delays like A380.

edited

What happened was unfortunate. Now lets move on and continue to post things related to Bangladesh Airports and Aviation.

I don't remember your answer to this question but i will ask again. Before you stated that you and your associates were about begin an airline of your own but it fell through the cracks. After things settles down will your revive your plans on the Airline? you don't have to answer this question if you don't want to. (BTW I would fly on that Airline given it's run efficiently ;))

I don't remember your answer to this question but i will ask again. Before you stated that you and your associates were about begin an airline of your own but it fell through the cracks. After things settles down will your revive your plans on the Airline? you don't have to answer this question if you don't want to. (BTW I would fly on that Airline given it's run efficiently ;))

Aren't you a student, amar? If so, you won't be able to afford it because it was going to be all business class. Unless of course, Imran let's you fly gratis!
:D

Great call.:) Any time-line on the withdrawal of the jet fuel tax?

Now, thats a tough one! Certainly not before the upcoming budget though. Let's see how it works out. :)

I am sorry, but did you mean 737s by 2011/2012? Boeing surely isn't jumping the queue and delivering 787s to Biman by 2012 when they are already sold out till 2014! With more delays even before the first test flight, I have a feeling Boeing will face similar(if not worse) delays like A380.

Nope, I meant the 787s that Biman is supposed to receive on lease until the new ones are delivered. The leased ones to Biman would come from Boeing's leasing customers for the 787 (ILFC, LCAL, etc.) and would be arranged by Boeing as promised under the agreement.

The delays for the 787 is a result of the degree of outsourcing Boeing has made on this project, and Boeing might take a while before settling down with all the suppliers doing their job right. The delays of the A380 was more due to wiring and design weight issues which is quite a different scenario than Boeing's with the 787. :)

Aren't you a student, amar? If so, you won't be able to afford it because it was going to be all business class. Unless of course, Imran let's you fly gratis!
:D

Yes I am. "fly gratis!" thats what I was counting on. Free and luxurious ;)

I don't remember your answer to this question but i will ask again. Before you stated that you and your associates were about begin an airline of your own but it fell through the cracks. After things settles down will your revive your plans on the Airline? you don't have to answer this question if you don't want to. (BTW I would fly on that Airline given it's run efficiently ;))

It was to be a JV with a Swiss airline, which got stuck up due to the declaration of emergency rule in Bangladesh. This is understandable because in countries like Bangladesh where the legal system is already weak, practice of emergency rule and such sends an alarming signal to foreign investors. Once the launch of the JV was deferred following 1/11, the specific aircraft we were supposed to use went in service with other carriers on lease, and you know we can't get a BBJ every fine morning!

Once the Capetown thingy goes through, I plan to take another attempt at it without a JV and by myself. Time will have to tell though! :)

It was to be a JV with a Swiss airline, which got stuck up due to the declaration of emergency rule in Bangladesh. This is understandable because in countries like Bangladesh where the legal system is already weak, practice of eergency rule and such sends an alarming signal to foreign investors. Once the launch of the JV was deferred following 1/11, the specific aircraft we were supposed to use went in service with other carriers on lease, and you know we can't get a BBJ every fine morning!

Once the Capetown thingy goes through, I plan to take another attempt at it without a JV and by myself. Time will have to tell though! :)

I wish you well in your future endeavors. Good luck. :cheers:

Biman signed the firm contract with Boeing today, for 4x 777-300ERs and 4x B787-8s, with options for 4 more (2x of each).

After the firm contract was signed for the 777s and 787s, Biman announced a "breaking news" - an MoU for 2x B737NG as well for short/mid-haul routes! ;)

On a serious note, this was an historical event for Biman not only because the size/value of the order which is the biggest for Biman so far, but more because of the timing of the order when the airline was literally facing death, and this could be just the point from where it can turn around and head for glory! A bigger endeavour to pursue now will be to build the organizational strength from within to support and make best use of these planes.

PS: Biman has also decided to take on a 2nd B747 on lease by May/June 2008. The bidder primarily chosen is Orient-Thai Airlines and the secondary option is again AusBan Aeronautical Services. Hopefully, with the 2 leased 747s and the remaining operational DC-10s, Biman will be able to take care of the upcoming Hajj season.

People like shitlislam fail to realise that we ae all muslims. Peace is our religion. However, Shitlislam and the like should realise that if all probashi unite and boycot using the biman, stop sending money etc Bangladesh will
not be able to survive. we are the ones keeping BD afloat. Recently I invested over 500k in various projects but i will be forced to invest any further monies elsewhere and am working on transferring my investments so far back to a civlised country like UK or US......at least they dont kill passengers at the airport.

These soldiers or whoever it was arejust cowards.....he was out numbered. They are just lucky....what goes around comes around! One day they will not be with their friends and who knows......!BUt I i am a muslim and i Allah will no punish them so lets leave for Allah to give them hidaya.....

The government of BD whether care-taker or so called democratically elected ones.....they are all corrupt...so i dopubt it if true justice will be served.....so just pray to Allah that these people are punsihed with leprosey, the plague or aids...or better still some gay man rapes them....with a hot poker....

you psychic nerd.......control your mouth, that is the lesson of islam.....

tomar 500k investment na hole Bangladesh er manush na kheye thakto tai na? beta sagol........koi taka tax dish bangladesh government-ke?

Biman signed the firm contract with Boeing today, for 4x 777-300ERs and 4x B787-8s, with options for 4 more (2x of each).

After the firm contract was signed for the 777s and 787s, Biman announced a "breaking news" - an MoU for 2x B737NG as well for short/mid-haul routes! ;)

On a serious note, this was an historical event for Biman not only because the size/value of the order which is the biggest for Biman so far, but more because of the timing of the order when the airline was literally facing death, and this could be just the point from where it can turn around and head for glory! A bigger endeavour to pursue now will be to build the organizational strength from within to support and make best use of these planes.

PS: Biman has also decided to take on a 2nd B747 on lease by May/June 2008. The bidder primarily chosen is Orient-Thai Airlines and the secondary option is again AusBan Aeronautical Services. Hopefully, with the 2 leased 747s and the remaining operational DC-10s, Biman will be able to take care of the upcoming Hajj season.


A real good move, specially taking care of the short haul aircrafts in the same negotiation is awesome......B737NG is a good choice indeed.

Now we already know the leased airbus 310-300 will be returned. anybody has any idea about what would be done with the f-28 fleet? how those will be eventually disposed?

you psychic nerd.......control your mouth, that is the lesson of islam.....

tomar 500k investment na hole Bangladesh er manush na kheye thakto tai na? beta sagol........koi taka tax dish bangladesh government-ke?

I found his expressions and language obnoxious too, but didn't choose to reply because I didn't think he'd have a mind rational enough to understand an argument.

If you ask me for a word of advice: don't bite the dog back! :)

By the way...I'm asking this to everyone: do we have a moderator in this forum here who can screen out unwanted stuff, and creatures?

I found his expressions and language obnoxious too, but didn't choose to reply because I didn't think he'd have a mind rational enough to understand an argument.

If you ask me for a word of advice: don't bite the dog back! :)

By the way...I'm asking this to everyone: do we have a moderator in this forum here who can screen out unwanted stuff, and creatures?

Dear Imran and others,

Sorry for my own language also.......I was out of control......his post was so provocative that I could not resist......

let's forget this issue forever and concentrate on aviation and airports.....

and yes, we may need a moderator.....

you psychic nerd.......control your mouth, that is the lesson of islam.....

tomar 500k investment na hole Bangladesh er manush na kheye thakto tai na? beta sagol........koi taka tax dish bangladesh government-ke?

Shatil, ignore that sifu character. Clearly he is immature.

Anybody has any idea about what would be done with the f-28 fleet? how those will be eventually disposed?

Perhaps a few more aircraft restaurants? The one already there is awful, and I only hope someone does it retaining the authentic qualities. Biman itself is in the best position to do this, with a little help from their catering centre. That's just one of 3 frames though, and I guess the remaining ones will have to be scrapped!

By the way...I'm asking this to everyone: do we have a moderator in this forum here who can screen out unwanted stuff, and creatures?

guys, I have been super busy lately and because of that I hardly have time to read through all the posts. I went ahead and deleted Situ's post. We cannot allow language like that here. If it happens again, then please PM me right away and I will take care of it. I apologize for not being on top of this. Next time message me right away.

guys, I have been super busy lately and because of that I hardly have time to read through all the posts. I went ahead and deleted Situ's post. We cannot allow language like that here. If it happens again, then please PM me right away and I will take care of it. I apologize for not being on top of this. Next time message me right away.

Dear Tmac,

Thank you a lot. I know this is not easy to follow every post in this thread for you. Just would like to apologize for my response to his post. I could not resist, as he was mentioning my name. If you feel it required, you can delete my response post to him also.

thanks once again for your understanding......

this is very shocking!

http://www.ittefaq.com/content/2008/04/22/news0954.htm

ive heard similar complaints recently from a number of people i know, so the report cant be all wrong.

Aren't you a student, amar? If so, you won't be able to afford it because it was going to be all business class. Unless of course, Imran let's you fly gratis!
:D

I'm sure all us SSCers will be invited on the maiden flight, right Imran bhai? :okay:

I'm sure all us SSCers will be invited on the maiden flight, right Imran bhai? :okay:

Hmmm...and airline business doesn't seem so fascinating to me anymore! :lol:

this is very shocking!

http://www.ittefaq.com/content/2008/04/22/news0954.htm

ive heard similar complaints recently from a number of people i know, so the report cant be all wrong.

It appears that Imran has been correct in his assesment of/for the private sector airlines in Bangladesh! Now, now, don't gloat Imran. :)

What is the point of going into business if you know you'll have to fold soon because you haven't done due diligence as in market analysis, cost, revenue analysis, industry requirement, regulatory mandates, etc.? I have seen many times, Imran stating that the required traffic for certain sectors aren't there for the private airlines to derive any gains. It seems to me, GMG is making lame excuses for flight cancellations when in fact the truth all along has been that they'd have to operate flights at a loss which they are trying to avoid/minimize. :ohno:

GMG to add another Boeing 747 to fleet
Star Business Report

GMG Airlines, the country's first private carrier, is going to add another Boeing 747 to its fleet soon, ATM Nazrul Islam, director (human resources and PR) of GMG, told a press conference in Dhaka yesterday.

"Within the next two years we will expand our routes to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat,” he added.

Now, the airline has 7 aircraft for its six international and three domestic routes.

The official was speaking at the briefing organised to mark the 10th founding anniversary of the airline.were also present.

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=33384

this is very shocking!

http://www.ittefaq.com/content/2008/04/22/news0954.htm

ive heard similar complaints recently from a number of people i know, so the report cant be all wrong.

It appears that Imran has been correct in his assesment of/for the private sector airlines in Bangladesh! Now, now, don't gloat Imran. :)

What is the point of going into business if you know you'll have to fold soon because you haven't done due diligence as in market analysis, cost, revenue analysis, industry requirement, regulatory mandates, etc.? I have seen many times, Imran stating that the required traffic for certain sectors aren't there for the private airlines to derive any gains. It seems to me, GMG is making lame excuses for flight cancellations when in fact the truth all along has been that they'd have to operate flights at a loss which they are trying to avoid/minimize. :ohno:

Very disappointing indeed! I'm not absolutely sure about the blankets, but adequate water at the lavatory should be among "no-go items" for scheduled commercial flights anywhere in the world. The more serious matter is how the DFO thought he could get away citing that the plane was due for a C-Check all of a sudden! As rightly mentioned in the report, C-Checks are always a routine task and every airline knows exactly when the aircraft will be due for one based on the published schedules. Its a lame thing to try and fool the passengers for any airline meaning business seriously!

As for cancelling flights to gather enough passengers, I've heard of GMG doing that recently but I haven't confirmed it as a fact yet. Apparently, the B747 on lease to Biman from Kabo has significantly enhanced its capacity strength to the Middle-East and despite all the odds, BG still has infrastructural strength for sales far ahead of Z5 to fill up the seats. From what I know, between 21-26 April, BG will be selling over 600 extra seats to routes to the Middle-East which could well leave Z5 a bit too dry than they'd like!

It isn't the smartest of things to do to plan your entire growth hoping (and praying for) another airline's demise. Like Twain said it - truth is stranger than fiction.

Anyone catch my drift here? ;)

Very disappointing indeed! I'm not absolutely sure about the blankets, but adequate water at the lavatory should be among "no-go items" for scheduled commercial flights anywhere in the world. The more serious matter is how the DFO thought he could get away citing that the plane was due for a C-Check all of a sudden! As rightly mentioned in the report, C-Checks are always a routine task and every airline knows exactly when the aircraft will be due for one based on the published schedules. Its a lame thing to try and fool the passengers for any airline meaning business seriously!

As for cancelling flights to gather enough passengers, I've heard of GMG doing that recently but I haven't confirmed it as a fact yet. Apparently, the B747 on lease to Biman from Kabo has significantly enhanced its capacity strength to the Middle-East and despite all the odds, BG still has infrastructural strength for sales far ahead of Z5 to fill up the seats. From what I know, between 21-26 April, BG will be selling over 600 extra seats to routes to the Middle-East which could well leave Z5 a bit too dry than they'd like!

It isn't the smartest of things to do to plan your entire growth hoping (and praying for) another airline's demise. Like Twain said it - truth is stranger than fiction.

Anyone catch my drift here? ;)

I believe that GMG would, in a long run, be able to overcome the difficulties it is facing specially with its Dubai route. I have the following reasons to believe that:

1) The growth rate of the DAC-DXB sector and other middle eastern routes is increasing in such a rate that the combined capacity of EK, BG , EY , SV and other middle eastern carriers won't be sufficient to cope with that. Therefore, GMG would always have a substantial chunk of the pax load.

2) Consdering the point that the overwhelming majority of outbound passengers in these routes are low-wage Bangladeshi workers working in the Middle Eastern Countries, the alleged problems of the GMG operation won't make them turn away from GMG, as comfort and punctuality might not be their top priorities. They just need a a carrier to carry them to their workplaces.

3) Considering the past history of GMG, I believe that this airline has shown that it is a long range horse, capable of continuing withstanding multifaceted constraints.

The inclusion of the 2nd leased B747 would also give them a bit more flexibility with regard to their middle east operation.....

I believe that GMG would, in a long run, be able to overcome the difficulties it is facing specially with its Dubai route. I have the following reasons to believe that:

1) The growth rate of the DAC-DXB sector and other middle eastern routes is increasing in such a rate that the combined capacity of EK, BG , EY , SV and other middle eastern carriers won't be sufficient to cope with that. Therefore, GMG would always have a substantial chunk of the pax load.

2) Consdering the point that the overwhelming majority of outbound passengers in these routes are low-wage Bangladeshi workers working in the Middle Eastern Countries, the alleged problems of the GMG operation won't make them turn away from GMG, as comfort and punctuality might not be their top priorities. They just need a a carrier to carry them to their workplaces.

3) Considering the past history of GMG, I believe that this airline has shown that it is a long range horse, capable of continuing withstanding multifaceted constraints.

The inclusion of the 2nd leased B747 would also give them a bit more flexibility with regard to their middle east operation.....

GMG may very well survive but the question is, would they be an airline barely alive or a thriving one? It is all boils down to the fact that they need to take lessons from their mistakes and problems and have the attitude of "must do more than better, next time".

With the passing of time, airline business is becoming more complex and highly competitive.

I believe that GMG would, in a long run, be able to overcome the difficulties it is facing specially with its Dubai route. I have the following reasons to believe that:

1) The growth rate of the DAC-DXB sector and other middle eastern routes is increasing in such a rate that the combined capacity of EK, BG , EY , SV and other middle eastern carriers won't be sufficient to cope with that. Therefore, GMG would always have a substantial chunk of the pax load.

2) Consdering the point that the overwhelming majority of outbound passengers in these routes are low-wage Bangladeshi workers working in the Middle Eastern Countries, the alleged problems of the GMG operation won't make them turn away from GMG, as comfort and punctuality might not be their top priorities. They just need a a carrier to carry them to their workplaces.

3) Considering the past history of GMG, I believe that this airline has shown that it is a long range horse, capable of continuing withstanding multifaceted constraints.

The inclusion of the 2nd leased B747 would also give them a bit more flexibility with regard to their middle east operation.....

Just like you, I also sincerely hope that GMG gets past the hurdles and become a thriving carrier. The single-most important reason why I want them to succeed is the fact that stronger competition would ultimately benefit the travellers whilst continuously improving the quality of the product. However, I have the following to opine against the 3 points you mentioned:

1. When you say the rate of growth between DAC-DXB is growing at a higher rate than the capacity foreseen to be available, do you have the figures? From what I know, the curve of the traffic growth rate (between DAC-DXB) has topped-out and will probably hold the level while the curve of the projected capacity is just beginning to pick up. EK, EY, and QR would largely contribute to this phenomenal capacity growth and EK would come stomping with capacity over all others - that is just their fundamental plan. Besides, as the Middle-Eastern countries would take lesser number of unskilled workers over the forthcoming decades, the traffic volume might just dip down as well.

2. To the worklers, the comfort of travelling may not be of utmost importance, but punctuality certainly is. They need to be there by a ceratin date in order to be able to join at their jobs, and since you can't take them all in just one day, you'll have to spread the volume over the scheduled flights and once you do that, you can't fail on the dates because that might as well cost them their jobs even before they got it! This is even more serious in case of all these workers who travel once in every 3-5 years in very strict vacation periods.

3. GMG hasn't been profitable doing the domestic runs for almost 10 years...the MD himself said that numerous times to the local media. It is from the international routes that they're hoping to make money out of to offset the accumulated losses, and they're just in into this whole new world of interntaional passenger services. The margin for error isn't too generous, and I only hope they get their acts together before its too late!

The 2nd B747, without rights given to GMG to fly into and out of Saudi Arabia, would only create an even greater surplus number of seats against the traffic available.

Here's the News Release at Boeing's website regarding the contract with Biman:
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2008/q2/080422d_nr.html

Hey guys, i have a little question. I was going through the thread and noticed that along with English writing on signs, there was also Sanskrit writing. Do people in Bangladesh use this alphabet in stead of the Arabic alphabet? Or does this have something to do with india?

Hey guys, i have a little question. I was going through the thread and noticed that along with English writing on signs, there was also Sanskrit writing. Do people in Bangladesh use this alphabet in stead of the Arabic alphabet? Or does this have something to do with india?

Bengali is the closest derivative of Sanskrit. Alphabet wise Bengali is close to Hindi but its very different than Arabic alphabet (like Urdu is).

For example Bengali Alphabet:
http://www.betelco.com/bd/bangla/consnant.gif

For example Hindi Alphabet:
http://www.lingvozone.com/languages/Language%20Information24_files/image002.gif

I totally forgot my Standard 1 Hindi consonant list. I'm pleasantly surprised to have stumbled upon it here...ka kha ga gha...lol...I still remember my first Hindi teacher...Mrs. Francis...too much! Thanks for posting, Amar.

There is simply no similarity what so ever with Arabic alphabets. Bengali kept it distinct and original form even though part of the bengali population embraced islam. Yes, there are many words induced from Arabic becuase of religion, but, very gladly, the religion could not change the alphabet of the language.

On second note, Bengali is a very old language and it is one of the direct disendent of Sanskrit. But it evolved into totally new shape than sanskrit, although basic aryan feature like left to right format is still maintained. Unlike Urdu, it was not created few hundred years ago ( i think Urdu is about 300 years old). Like many great language, bangali kept its originality in alphabets and grammer even there were foreign influence for more than 1000 years.

Your Welcome KB335ci

Like many great language, Bengali kept its originality in alphabets and grammar even there were foreign influence for more than 1000 years.

And thats why we are immensely proud of it. :)

Hey guys, i have a little question. I was going through the thread and noticed that along with English writing on signs, there was also Sanskrit writing. Do people in Bangladesh use this alphabet in stead of the Arabic alphabet? Or does this have something to do with india?

JOY BANGLA:lol::lol::lol:

Battling it out in Bangladesh

Biman Bangladesh has been forced to step up its expansion plans due to pressure from a trio of private carriers, which are ready to start challenging the flag carrier on international routes.

Following a radical shakeup in Bangladesh's domestic market that saw new entrants virtually pushing out national carrier Biman Bangladesh, private carriers are now turning their attention to the international arena.

The current caretaker government in Bangladesh has been quick to give the new private players international rights, forcing Biman to step up expansion plans of its own to retain market share. It agreed in March to purchase Boeing 777-300ERs and 787-8s for international operations after years of deferring fleet modernisation plans.

The country's largest privately owned operator, GMG Airlines, is also looking to purchase 777-300ERs and 787s for a further expansion of its fledgling international network. GMG managing director Shahab Sattar says there is "enormous potential" for international services out of Bangladesh as Biman has not been taking advantage of the traffic rights available to it.

Another private carrier, Best Air, is also preparing to launch international services after securing traffic rights for destinations in Asia and the Middle East, and it is also assessing new aircraft purchase offers.

Bangladesh's other private scheduled carrier, United Airways Bangladesh, is meanwhile eyeing international services as well, to points in Europe and the Middle East. It intends to do so with leased widebody aircraft.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/04/24/223143/bangladeshi-private-carriers-go-international.html

Can someone read the following article of Gulf Times and tell me whether the number of aircrafts they have mentioned is correct or not?

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=214357&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24

Yes, seems like the total number of orders / mou / options is 22

4 777s confirmed orders
4 787s confirmed orders
2 737-800s under mou
4 777s options
4 787s options
4 737-800 options

Best,

Wasim

Yes, seems like the total number of orders / mou / options is 22

4 777s confirmed orders
4 787s confirmed orders
2 737-800s under mou
4 777s options
4 787s options
4 737-800 options

Best,

Wasim

In my opinion, based on the little knowledge at my disposal:

- the options for the 787s should be used to book early slots for the -10 model when Boeing launches it.

- the 737 options should be kept valid for -900ERs as well apart from the -800 (and maybe even open for Boeing's Y1 if its available by the time Biman exercises the options).

Logic: Capacity with commonality.

Here's the News Release at Boeing's website regarding the contract with Biman:
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2008/q2/080422d_nr.html

iasif: how did you have that same photo as on boeing's news release which you posted here probably over a month ago? yours even had the 737 in it with the 777 and 787 which was apparently kept secret by biman until the day of siging the definitive agreement the other day!

it seems like u r more informed than anyone in biman itself! :nuts:

Bengali is the closest derivative of Sanskrit. Alphabet wise Bengali is close to Hindi but its very different than Arabic alphabet (like Urdu is).

For example Bengali Alphabet:
http://www.betelco.com/bd/bangla/consnant.gif

For example Hindi Alphabet:
http://www.lingvozone.com/languages/Language%20Information24_files/image002.gif

Thanks for the answer amar. Very interesting.

Here's a page on the 787 from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (plenty of photos and videos -- warnings to those on modems).

Best page I found on the 787 yet!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/boeing/787/787primer.asp

the national flag carrier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the U.S. plane-maker to procure two 737-800 aircraft. The MoU also has the option on the purchasing rights of buying two more 737-800 aircraft.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010723483

iasif: how did you have that same photo as on boeing's news release which you posted here probably over a month ago? yours even had the 737 in it with the 777 and 787 which was apparently kept secret by biman until the day of siging the definitive agreement the other day!

it seems like u r more informed than anyone in biman itself! :nuts:

(Let me see if this works on you), this is a top-secret matter and you better not tell anyone *hush*hush*: I'm the super-secret-spy # 007...the name's Bond, James Bond...ok? :bowtie: Now be quiet and keep it a secret!

any news on delivery schedule for the first NG's? As a long time closet fan of Biman (the brand that is) with a fair few hours on the 737, this announcement might open the door for a move to Biman for me.

Hey Asif, there is a video on youtube called Helicopter - Sylhet Wedding the Helicopter is exactly the same as the one we were takling about a few days a go. This is classic. :lol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mr1EelxHVU

any news on delivery schedule for the first NG's? As a long time closet fan of Biman (the brand that is) with a fair few hours on the 737, this announcement might open the door for a move to Biman for me.

The first two which are expected to come within 6 months will be on wet-lease. The new builds will take a while to come, considering the massive production backlog. Therefore, it might be quite a long time before Biman hires 737 pilots and I'd say you try and keep building hours on the type in the meanwhile! :)

You can also become a 777 pilot & join Biman after they receive the 77W's.

Plane Lease
Biman team to go to Bangkok to see Orient Thai aircraft
Unb, Dhaka

A four-member technical team is likely to go to Bangkok this week to see the Boeing 747 of Orient Thai that won the bid for leasing out to Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

The team is comprised of three Biman officials and one Civil Aviation Authority official.

The board of directors of Biman on April 20 in a marathon meeting continuing till midnight decided to take on lease an aircraft from Orient Thai that quoted the lowest price. Another decision was taken to put Osborne Aeronautical Services as the second option of getting a Boeing 747 under ACMI lease system.

“After the overall report of the team we will start negotiation with the Orient Thai about signing an agreement,” Biman General Manager (Planning) Md Belayet Hossain said.

He is hopeful of getting the aircraft on lease and adding to the existing fleet next month.

The 512-seat capacity Boeing 747 will be incorporated under Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) lease process for one year.

This latest aircraft will be used to operate Biman's flights to Gulf and Middle East countries.

A tender for lease was floated on March 10 seeking an aircraft manufactured not before 1980. Five international companies responded.

Recently, Biman has taken on lease a 542-seat Boeing 747-200 from a Nigeria-based airline, Kabo Air, in a bid to minimize disruptions in its flight schedules.

The national flag carrier has long been facing serious problems in maintaining the flight schedule with barely eleven aircraft - four DC10s-30s, four F28s and three A310-300s.

Of them, only four or five could fly everyday, while the rest were grounded due to technical glitches.

Biman signed a deal to purchase eight Boeing aircraft at a cost of US$ 1.265 billion. Four of those will be available in 2013 and four in 2019.

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=34132

Plane Lease
Biman team to go to Bangkok to see Orient Thai aircraft
Unb, Dhaka

http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=34132

I had mentioned about this on my post back on 22nd April (post # 1866) and there's an apprehension by a group of people that Orient Thai may get disqualified at the deliberation of Biman to favour AusBan Aeronautical Services. The truth remains to be seen in the coming weeks!

I had mentioned about this on my post back on 22nd April (post # 1866) and there's an apprehension by a group of people that Orient Thai may get disqualified at the deliberation of Biman to favour AusBan Aeronautical Services. The truth remains to be seen in the coming weeks!

How can they pull that off, I thought Orient Thai aircraft is the lowest bidder?

How can they pull that off, I thought Orient Thai aircraft is the lowest bidder?

They are, but they have to meet certain delivery preconditions at Biman's satisfaction before signing up the agreement. Some people are of the belief that AusBan maintains a relationship with Biman so as to influence the deal their way, even if it takes Biman to deliberately disqualify other eligible bidders.

Whether this apprehension has any basis to it will be seen in the coming weeks!

In my opinion, based on the little knowledge at my disposal:

- the options for the 787s should be used to book early slots for the -10 model when Boeing launches it.

- the 737 options should be kept valid for -900ERs as well apart from the -800 (and maybe even open for Boeing's Y1 if its available by the time Biman exercises the options).

Logic: Capacity with commonality.

I agree. Biman mostly have passengers for Middle East routs where they need high capacity 777 and they need quickly to increase flight frequency in various destinations. I am not sure whether Biman is planning to replace the A310s with Dreamliners which should have similar seating capacity in two-class configuration. Dreamliners should be used for Europe and Far East routs. They need 737s (and especially 900 series which have extended range with higher passenger capacity) for routes in South East asia and may some routes in Far East as well.

Is Biman planning to start NY rout with 777ER? I am not sure wether ETOPS will allow a direct flight and they may have to choose a stopover in Europe. I wonder whether 380-400 passenger aircraft should be the right choise for Dhaka - NY route. Any opinion?

With all the growth happening in Bangladeshi aviation Sector, I am trying to predict the Bangladeshi commercial fleet in 2010....
Here is my prediction under the best case scenario:

Biman
737-NG(2)
A310-300(4)
777-300ER(3)
747-300(2)
Total 12

GMG
D8-100(2)
D8-300(1)
MD-83(2)
747-300(2)
777-200ER(2)
Total 9

UNITED
D8-200(2)
A310(1)
767(1)
777-200ER(2)
Total 6

RBA
D8-200(2)
767(2)
Total(4)

BESTAIR
737-200(1)
320/737NG(2)
767(2)
747-200/300(2)
Total (7)

Grand Total:37

So what you guys' think?

With all the growth happening in Bangladeshi aviation Sector, I am trying to predict the Bangladeshi commercial fleet in 2010....
Here is my prediction under the best case scenario:

Biman
737-NG(2)
A310-300(4)
777-300ER(3)
747-300(2)
Total 12

GMG
D8-100(2)
D8-300(1)
MD-83(2)
747-300(2)
777-200ER(2)
Total 9

UNITED
D8-200(2)
A310(1)
767(1)
777-200ER(2)
Total 6

RBA
D8-200(2)
767(2)
Total(4)

BESTAIR
737-200(1)
320/737NG(2)
767(2)
747-200/300(2)
Total (7)

Grand Total:37

So what you guys' think?

Welcome to the forum bd-ottawa. :) Cool chart. Under the best case scenario the total fleet should be much more than 37. Assuming the reports on the newspaper about the expansion of GMG, United and BestAir is indeed true. But haven't really heard anything about RBA yet. Also you might the able to answer this question the best.... Whats the size of the Bangladeshi community in Ottawa/Canada? Are there enough people to fly between Bangladesh and Canada which will be commercially viable?

I agree. Biman mostly have passengers for Middle East routs where they need high capacity 777 and they need quickly to increase flight frequency in various destinations. I am not sure whether Biman is planning to replace the A310s with Dreamliners which should have similar seating capacity in two-class configuration. Dreamliners should be used for Europe and Far East routs. They need 737s (and especially 900 series which have extended range with higher passenger capacity) for routes in South East asia and may some routes in Far East as well.

Is Biman planning to start NY rout with 777ER? I am not sure wether ETOPS will allow a direct flight and they may have to choose a stopover in Europe. I wonder whether 380-400 passenger aircraft should be the right choise for Dhaka - NY route. Any opinion?

The primary role of the 777-300ERs should be to operate on high-density routes to the Middle-east and the UK. 4x 777-300ERs would be well utilized to these routes alone. 4x 787-8s should be used to operate to routes warranting 2-class travellers and to explore a few new routes.

I don't think Biman should ever do Bangladesh-US non-stops, for 2 reasons: (i) ultra-long-haul flights are still not appreciated by many travellers, as being experienced by Air India who aren't doing well at all on their India-US non-stops whereas Jet Airways is doing great operating through their European scissor-hub Brussels; and (ii) operating to US non-stop would require additional infrastructural strengthening at the originating BD airport, especially in the area of security. This is exactly the problem which hasn't so far allowed PIA to do Pakistan-US non-stops with their 777-200LRs. Not only there'd be significant additional cost to develop that security infrastructure, it'd also be equally expensive to maintain it. At the end of the day, these costs would get passed onto the passengers which would negate any attractiveness of a ULH flight to the US.

The 4x 787-8s can be used to operate DAC-MAN-JFK in a 2-class arrangement and the load factor is also likely to be better, even without 5th freedom rights out of UK. They can also be deployed on routes like DAC-SIN/KUL-SYD/MEL and DAC-LGW/STN/MAN-YYZ to address the growing number of Bangladeshis in Australia and Canada, subject to initiation of Air Service Agreements with these countries.

The 2x 737NGs (-800s/-900ERs) should be well-utilized to cater to the regional routes to India, Far East, and Southeast Asia. They should be deployed in such manner so as to allow them to feed passengers from the region onto Biman's westbound flights. That's just what 9W is doing, using their 737s to regional routes which feeds important traffic for its westbound flights through India.

With all the growth happening in Bangladeshi aviation Sector, I am trying to predict the Bangladeshi commercial fleet in 2010....
Here is my prediction under the best case scenario:

Biman
737-NG(2)
A310-300(4)
777-300ER(3)
747-300(2)
Total 12

GMG
D8-100(2)
D8-300(1)
MD-83(2)
747-300(2)
777-200ER(2)
Total 9

UNITED
D8-200(2)
A310(1)
767(1)
777-200ER(2)
Total 6

RBA
D8-200(2)
767(2)
Total(4)

BESTAIR
737-200(1)
320/737NG(2)
767(2)
747-200/300(2)
Total (7)

Grand Total:37

So what you guys' think?

By 2010, at least 2 operators from the list of 5 will be long gone! If anyone is interested in a bet over this, I'm game! :D

And here's what I think about BG and Z5:

- BG would find it extremely difficult to have any 777-300ERs by 2010. Best chances are for -200ERs on lease until the new build -300ERs begin to arrive from 2013. By 2010, there would be fewer airworthy 747-300s (under 70 were built anyway) and if they're wise they should lease 2x-3x 747-400s for about 3 years from 2009. I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of DC-10s still in service in 2010, along with the A310s.

- I'm not convinced if Z5 can expand its fleet as fast as they'd like to. If they go ahead with an order with Boeing, they won't receive the new birds anytime before BG would. If they can get hold of 3x-4x 737NGs by 2010 on lease, they should let the MD-80s go. If they don't get the rights to fly to KSA, I can't see them operating 2x 747s for too long. Again, 747-400s would be a better choice by large instead of the Classics.

LEt me guess Iasif,

Let me guess....RBA and Best Air...I think United would still be around.

What happened to RBA? Their PR/Marketing department created a lot of buzz to attract investors when they were a paper airline. Now they have become a real airline with real aircrafts, I don’t see anything from their PR/Marketing department. Sounds kinda fishy to me. Are they still planning to serve the UK market with 767 via Dubai?

You are right about the short number of 747-300. But I ment all the classic variants, not just the 300. I should be more specific next time. If Biman can manage to get some 747-400, that would be even better, but i doubt it. The current shortage of widebody aircraft is making it extremely difficult for airlines around the world to get any decent aircraft at a good price.

As for the size of the Bangladeshi community in Canada, there is n'tany reliable figures available. Based on 2001 Canadian census, my estimation is, the number should be around 80k-120k today.

Cheers guys...

How tough will it be to have 5th Freedom rights from UK for DAC-MAN-JFK flight? However, why doesn't BG leave LHR & shift it's operations to STN & make it a hub/focus city? Then it can route all it's trans-Atlantic flights through STN. BG can also make an interline agreement with Ryanair which will allow BG to fly passengers from DAC to STN & Ryanair to carry them to various European destinations from STN.

a bit of research revealed that our 'iasif' (imran asif) had been in boeing! here's what this news release said in 2004:

New consulting coordinator of Boeing Tech Team
Imran Asif has rejoined Boeing Technology Team as associate consulting coordinator (ACC) for the joint collaboration task by Boeing and Honeywell Aerospace to develop flight control electronics for the new 7E7 jetliner.

Asif earlier served as associate consulting programmer under the traffic management division of the Boeing for the development of flight-deck software for the 737 jetliner, says a press release.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/11/02/d41102051564.htm

very impressive!

my brother works for Honeywell in Toronto. He is designing several parts of the Airbus A380. He has to fly to France often. Here are some photos of him in the cockpit from one of his recent trips. He has been working on this project for last 5 years. His name is Asif as well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/A380_cockpit.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/AB_A380_cockpit.jpg

a bit of research revealed that our 'iasif' (imran asif) had been in boeing! here's what this news release said in 2004:

New consulting coordinator of Boeing Tech Team
Imran Asif has rejoined Boeing Technology Team as associate consulting coordinator (ACC) for the joint collaboration task by Boeing and Honeywell Aerospace to develop flight control electronics for the new 7E7 jetliner.

Asif earlier served as associate consulting programmer under the traffic management division of the Boeing for the development of flight-deck software for the 737 jetliner, says a press release.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/11/02/d41102051564.htm

very impressive!

Not bad at all! It seems that we have a good mix of investigators and aviation experts in the this forum :cheers:.

Like iasif, I am not very much optimistic about the future of Z5 and other private airliners as well, mainly because arranging huge funds (both locally and from Exim) to procure brand new aircrafts would be real challenging for them. Also the fact that, with a fleet mainly consisting ACMI lease aircrafts, profitibility of their operation will always remain a question for any bank/FI. One way to turnaround for them and may be other operators would be to shift their main hub from Zia to Shah Amantat or Osmani. Because BG needs a much expanded fleet to operate from 2/3 hubs. Routs like direct ZYL-LHR or Chittagong to Korea or Middle Eastern destinations should able draw enough passengers for them.

As for fleet compostion of Biman, 777s are for Middle East and may be UK, 787s are for a bit more prestigious Eouropean as well as JFK (and Toronto, Melbourn and Sydney should be added), 737NGs for South/South East Asia. But for BG to operate routs in Far East (specially Korea and Japan - the two countries that invest heavily in Bangladesh plus China, because with Global reality you simply can not do without them), Airbus 310-300 still porbably the ideal choise considering the capacity and configuration. Any thoughts?

Hello everyone,
its been time since i joined this forum but couldnt post because of exams. however ive read each and every post in this thread, and i must say its simply the best place to reveal news on bangladesh's aviation industry.
Anyway, im mahruf, friends call me mash. Im a student of north south university but my true goal is to become a civil pilot. Ive been dreaming to become so since the age of five and currently im a trainee pilot at the country's only flight school bangladesh flying club (BFC) located at ZIA. i just completed my PPL ground technical exams held at CATC a week ago. I must say, i was kinda disappointed that not a single line has been mentioned in this thread regarding flight training in bangladesh. I hope it becomes a growing topic from now.
As almost all the airliners are busy with shopping, i was wondering if anyone knows how the airliners are planning to fill in the need for pilots in the future. being the only flight school in bangladesh, i doubt the output of fresh new CPL holders from BFC will meet the future demands.
Also does anyone have any news about new flight schools in bangladesh? Kihak Sung, president of YOUNGONE previously mentioned in an interview that they plan to open a flight school in Bangladesh. This was later assured by some Grand Caravan Pilots (The grand caravan is owned by Youngone) whom i know since the grand caravan is parked at the BFC hangar.
In my next post il brief everyone on BFC and the happenings around it with some pictures.

Cheers
mash

What aircraft does Mr. Asif fly?

Bangladesh Flying Club (BFC), previously known as Bangladesh Flying Accademy (BFA) & General Aviation Ltd was established in earstwhile East Pakistan in 1948 with a clear vision, " Create Next Generation Pilots". It was then located at Tejgaon airport. However, now it is located at the south side of zia international airport and uses the ZIA airfield and tower as its training facility. Since its establishment, the club as generated a huge number of pilots, mostly recruited by Biman. Some 80-90% of the graduates who were recruited are said to have been recruited by biman, while others have been recruited by the private sector. From there many have gone the mile and joined well reputed airlines such as Saudi, emirates, Qatar etc. The Club provides Private Pilot License (PPL) Training, Commercial pilots License (CPL) Training and Instrument Rating (IR). Licensing lies in the hands of the civil aviation authority of bangladesh (CAAB).
For training, currently 4 aircrafts are used namely:
Cessna 150, Cessna 152 II, Piper tomahalk PA38 and the viriable pitch Cessna 182 used for advanced instrument training. The Piper Seneca Multi-Engine aircraft with retractable gears has been grounded for quite a while due to structural damage and high operating costs.
Rates for training by the hour is BDT.13000 for cessna 182 and BDT.9000 for the reamaining three. A minium of 150 hours is required to obtain PPL, IR and CPL with 15-20 hours in the Cessna 182.
After its only rival, Air Parabat closed down, bangladesh flying club is the only flight school in bangladesh. however, in 2006-2007, the club had to abandon its air training due to the expiry of engine hours of all 3 aircraft (at that time). during this time only ground training was held. In June 2007, with the arrival of the new cessna 152 II, flight training resumed uninteruptedly till today in all four training aircrafts.
The club currently has 2 full time flight instructors and 2 part time senior check pilots and the Chief Flying Instuctor (CFI) Capt. Joardar, who is also a captain and DFO of United airlines. An independant managing commitee elected for a year runs the flying club. Capt. Shahab (Bir Uttam) is the President of the current managing commitee.
Ground classes are held by the finest ground instructors available. some names are, Johurul Huq sir (secretary, organization of Retired officers of Biman*), Arif sir (biman flight planning dept), Kaiser Alam sir (ex-chief ATC), Monjurul Huq Sir (chief, ZIA Met dept), Mawla Sir (ex-deputy chief medical officer, Biman) and more.
Thats it for now, il try and post more on this club in the comming days


Cheers
mash

* im not sure about the name of the organization, will correct it soon. There is actually a lot more to say about Johurul Haq sir which i'll put up later. He's considered to be the most senior person in the aviation industry and is undoubtedly a true talent. :)

P.S: Can someone explain how to upload pictures from my hard drive on to the forum. tnx

Budget carriers Air Arabia and Bahrain Air are to start flights from Dhaka in a move that will intensify competition on the lucrative routes carrying workers to the Middle East region.

The entry of the low-cost carriers, analysts say, will help thousands of Bangladeshi workers go to the Middle East region at fares approximately $100 lower than that of the conventional carriers.

Air Arabia and Bahrain Air are expected to fix the launch date of the new services in the next two months.

Sales of agents of these low-cost carriers said they want to begin operation from the country's main international airport Dhaka within June 2008 this year.

Local conventional carriers however expressed concerns over the entry of the low cost carriers saying that it would affect their business if passenger pressure were lower.

The low cost carriers got government approval to start operation from Dhaka following a recommendation from an inter-ministerial committee.

“It's a good start for the market. It will be very much beneficial for the Bangladeshi workers,” said an aviation analyst Imran Asif.

Asif also said entry of low cost carriers will be an eye opener for the local airlines, who will have to improve competitive edges to retain their market share.

Air Arabia has already been operating from Shah Amanat Airport, Chittagong since June 18 last year.

On receipt of the government endorsement, the carrier will now be able operate its flights on Dhaka-Sharjah-Dhaka route daily. Bahrain Air will operate on the Dhaka-Bahrain-Dhaka route.

Air Arabia will put Emirates, Etihad, Biman Bangladesh Airlines and GMG Airlines into competition, while Gulf Air will face competition from Bahrain Air.

“Our charges will be at least 20 percent lower than the conventional carriers'. We hope to start from Dhaka within May,” said Shaheenuzzman Khan, general manager of Air Arabia's sales agent One World Aviation.

The official, however, said the airfare on the low cost carriers depends mainly on the supply and demand situation. The higher the demand for tickets, the higher the fares, he said, adding that the minimum charge on the Dhaka-Sharjah-Dhaka route is $376.

“But it may go up depending on the demand,” he said.

Operators said budget carriers can charge low fares due to the cut in various onboard services like food and beverage, restrictions on baggage weight, online booking system and non-refundable tickets.

According to travel agents, conventional carriers operating on the Dhaka-Dubai-Dhaka route charge between $772 and $592. UAE- based Emirates, the leader in Bangladesh aviation market, charges the highest, while local private GMG Airlines charges $592.

Abdul Kadir, chairman of Flight Link, GSA of Bahrain Air, said the carrier will take off flights from Dhaka within the next two months. He said the fare difference between Bahrain Air and Gulf Air will be at least $150.

“We are concerned at it. We will be affected much, if passenger pressure is low,” said Ismail R Chowdhury, vice president of the country's biggest private carrier GMG Airlines.

According to the GMG official, the international carriers, such as Emirates, will not face any major competition, as they merely offer passengers connecting flights from Dubai.

“Dubai is the hub for these carriers providing connecting flights. But it's a destination for us. At the end, the local carriers will face competition,” he said.

Hanif Zakaria, area manager of Emirates in Bangladesh, said their business would not be affected by low cost business because of air traffic growth in Bangladesh. “They (low cost carriers) will have a different market,” he said, adding that these carriers will help create new travellers.

Country's aviation industry is growing about 7.5 percent a year, encouraging a couple of local and international carriers to enter in the last one year. At present over 20 local and foreign airlines operate in Bangladesh.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=34257

^^http://thedailystar.net/photos/2008-04-29__b1.jpg
A file picture of an Air Arabia aircraft. Two budget carriers --Air Arabia and Bahrain Air -- are to start flights from Dhaka within June.

You beat me to it Moin. :)

P.S: Can someone explain how to upload pictures from my hard drive on to the forum. tnx

Certainly, First open an account at Flickr (www.flickr.com) or at Photobucket (http://photobucket.com/). Then copy the link of the picture and paste it at the pop up box. Hope this helps. http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj50/amar11372/Pic-20080428-145938.jpg

“We are concerned at it. We will be affected much, if passenger pressure is low,” said Ismail R Chowdhury, vice president of the country's biggest private carrier GMG Airlines.

According to the GMG official, the international carriers, such as Emirates, will not face any major competition, as they merely offer passengers connecting flights from Dubai.

“Dubai is the hub for these carriers providing connecting flights. But it's a destination for us. At the end, the local carriers will face competition,” he said.

Its the first time that GMG seems to be seriously concerned by this action. Before they seem to just shrug off any obstacles that were mentioned.

I must say, i was kinda disappointed that not a single line has been mentioned in this thread regarding flight training in bangladesh. I hope it becomes a growing topic from now.

I am told Rahimafrooz is in preliminary talks with some ex-Biman pilots regarding putting up a flight training school, though I don't have any more information on how they're progressing with the idea.

I had tried to bring in Lufthansa Flight Training to Bangladesh about 4 years ago, but the then Chairman of CAAB (Haroon Chy) turned down the logistic & infrastructural commitment I requested. The idea then was to provide training from the scratch up to CPL in Dhaka and then offer type-rating and simulator training in Germany with over a dozen aircraft types to choose from. Maybe sometime in the future, I'll give it another try...but for now I've got my hands full! :)

Its the first time that GMG seems to be seriously concerned by this action. Before they seem to just shrug off any obstacles that were mentioned.

They're waking up to the realities. Better late than never! And like I said, the non-LCC carriers (I can't call BG or Z5 legacy/network carriers still!) should stop taking the passengers for granted and offer enough "value" and "commitment" for the money they ask from them. There ain't gonna be any free lunch! ;)

They're waking up to the realities. Better late than never! And like I said, the non-LCC carriers (I can't call BG or Z5 legacy/network carriers still!) should stop taking the passengers for granted and offer enough "value" and "commitment" for the money they ask from them. There ain't gonna be any free lunch! ;)

As long as they learn and implement key changes I am happy but bankruptcy for private Airline doesn't seem too far-fetched.

Certainly, First open an account at Flickr (www.flickr.com) or at Photobucket (http://photobucket.com/). Then copy the link of the picture and paste it at the pop up box. Hope this helps. http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj50/amar11372/Pic-20080428-145938.jpg

thanks a lot, hopefully tomorrow il put some pictures up. :)

Bangladesh Flying Club (BFC), previously known as Bangladesh Flying Accademy (BFA) & General Aviation Ltd was established in earstwhile East Pakistan in 1948 with a clear vision, " Create Next Generation Pilots". It was then located at Tejgaon airport. However, now it is located at the south side of zia international airport and uses the ZIA airfield and tower as its training facility. Since its establishment, the club as generated a huge number of pilots, mostly recruited by Biman. Some 80-90% of the graduates who were recruited are said to have been recruited by biman, while others have been recruited by the private sector. From there many have gone the mile and joined well reputed airlines such as Saudi, emirates, Qatar etc. The Club provides Private Pilot License (PPL) Training, Commercial pilots License (CPL) Training and Instrument Rating (IR). Licensing lies in the hands of the civil aviation authority of bangladesh (CAAB).
For training, currently 4 aircrafts are used namely:
Cessna 150, Cessna 152 II, Piper tomahalk PA38 and the viriable pitch Cessna 182 used for advanced instrument training. The Piper Seneca Multi-Engine aircraft with retractable gears has been grounded for quite a while due to structural damage and high operating costs.
Rates for training by the hour is BDT.13000 for cessna 182 and BDT.9000 for the reamaining three. A minium of 150 hours is required to obtain PPL, IR and CPL with 15-20 hours in the Cessna 182.
After its only rival, Air Parabat closed down, bangladesh flying club is the only flight school in bangladesh. however, in 2006-2007, the club had to abandon its air training due to the expiry of engine hours of all 3 aircraft (at that time). during this time only ground training was held. In June 2007, with the arrival of the new cessna 152 II, flight training resumed uninteruptedly till today in all four training aircrafts.
The club currently has 2 full time flight instructors and 2 part time senior check pilots and the Chief Flying Instuctor (CFI) Capt. Joardar, who is also a captain and DFO of United airlines. An independant managing commitee elected for a year runs the flying club. Capt. Shahab (Bir Uttam) is the President of the current managing commitee.
Ground classes are held by the finest ground instructors available. some names are, Johurul Huq sir (secretary, organization of Retired officers of Biman*), Arif sir (biman flight planning dept), Kaiser Alam sir (ex-chief ATC), Monjurul Huq Sir (chief, ZIA Met dept), Mawla Sir (ex-deputy chief medical officer, Biman) and more.
Thats it for now, il try and post more on this club in the comming days


Cheers
mash

* im not sure about the name of the organization, will correct it soon. There is actually a lot more to say about Johurul Haq sir which i'll put up later. He's considered to be the most senior person in the aviation industry and is undoubtedly a true talent. :)

P.S: Can someone explain how to upload pictures from my hard drive on to the forum. tnx

Yes very true, that's Capt. Joardar the current DFO of United Airways Bangladesh Ltd. A great man.

my brother works for Honeywell in Toronto. He is designing several parts of the Airbus A380. He has to fly to France often. Here are some photos of him in the cockpit from one of his recent trips. He has been working on this project for last 5 years. His name is Asif as well.


Whose brother Tmac, yours? Oh what an envious job to have! Well, we should all feel proud. Way to go! :cheers:

The 4x 787-8s can be used to operate DAC-MAN-JFK in a 2-class arrangement and the load factor is also likely to be better, even without 5th freedom rights out of UK.

Why not the old DAC-BRU-JFK, where Biman had 5th freedom? Back when Biman begun the JFK service via BRU, I recall reading an article on Conde Nast Travel, where they suggested Biman for business class on the cheap. They thought the service and the food was decent, for the price.

Whose brother Tmac, yours? Oh what an envious job to have! Well, we should all feel proud. Way to go! :cheers:

yup, my older brother. He lives in Toronto.

Why not the old DAC-BRU-JFK, where Biman had 5th freedom? Back when Biman begun the JFK service via BRU, I recall reading an article on Conde Nast Travel, where they suggested Biman for business class on the cheap. They thought the service and the food was decent, for the price.

On the outbound flight from DAC, there'd be a higher load factor if the flight goes through MAN to JFK. That way, it'd pick up pax bound for UK and the US. If the flight goes through BRU, almost all the pax out of DAC will be the ones bound for JFK. Out of BRU, despite 5th freedom rights, BG won't have any significant traffic bound for JFK, more so because of the way 9W uses it as its hub now!

Bangladesh should try to get 5th freedom rights out of MAN by negotiating with UK with ZYL in hand. It might turn out to be a win-win deal for both Bangladesh and UK! :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2398/2449627983_475b66aa6e.jpg?v=0
The club hangar. GMG airlines uses it for maintainance purposes, as you could see in the picture the GMG a/c at the back.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2269/2449627697_b8473a1dde.jpg?v=0
3 of the four trainaing aircrafts, the PA38, Cessna 150, and Cessna 152 II (anti-clockwise). Pilatus-112 owned by youngone in the background

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/2449627083_21f6c6f303.jpg?v=0
The Cessna 152 II. Im currently training on this aircraft. Max HP 110 rated at 2700 RPM. Lycomming 0-235-L2C engine, 69" fixed pitch prop. S2-ABI. the reg says S2-AAI as it was untill CAAB for some reason assigned the same reg to Best airway's 737! :nuts:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2249/2449626467_342d7856ac.jpg?v=0
Piper Tomahalk PA38-112 (S2-ACN). Max HP 112 rated at 2600 RPM. same engine as the cessna 152. 72" fixed pitch prop.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/2450452260_562db7008c.jpg?v=0
Cessna 182, used for advanced instrument training such as ILS approach. Not sure about the configs. 2 blade single prop. variable pitch. four seater

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/2449639495_59b80a85bc.jpg?v=0
The grounded PIPER Seneca multi engine. As you can see, the props are not installed. As far as i know, its up for sale.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2450465334_b2e6de6211.jpg?v=0
BFC class room for ground classes

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2406/2449627433_38624eb946.jpg?v=0
Grand Caravan owned by Youngone at the BFC hangar. Flys every once in a while just to maintain requirements. The same company owned Pilatus 112 is kept at the MAF hangar

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2298/2450465108_3d4fb7bf42.jpg?v=0
Zoom Airways just before it had its engines & Props changed. Left with a more impressive look than it appears here!:banana:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2405/2449639243_a98315bd78.jpg?v=0
Inside the South Asian Airlines hangar. same choppers as discussed in earlier posts. jus love this pic :)

Thats it for now. il try putting up a pic of the Cessna 150. Plus il take a little walk to the MAF hangar and take a snap of the Pilatus 112. I also got some pics of the Saudi airlines with its emergency evacuation slides out after its engines caught fire.

Cheers
mash

Yes very true, that's Capt. Joardar the current DFO of United Airways Bangladesh Ltd. A great man.

Sorry, my mistake. mentioned United airlines. actually that would be United Airways. And yes, Capt. Joardar is truely a great flyer and maintains a great personality. He treats the training aircrafts like tiny toys! Every student just looks forward to flying with him. but unfortunately as per his busy schedule, he only takes pre-solo check rides and some other checks, pre-checks.

Hi Mash....

I've sent a PM.......

I have a CPL from the UK and my friend would like to follow.... but he doesn't have much savings in his bank so would like to train in Bangladesh to save some money... please could you answer the questions he asked me below?

What is is the CAAB minimum required hours for the license?
9000Tk per hour..... does that include ground school? If not how much is the ground school? What are the miscellaneous costs... i.e. flight computer, log book, headsets, etc?

As a student of BFC, are the instructors good and how much support do you get with the flying and the ground school/ exams?
How are the exams in Bangladesh?- In the UK the PPL exams are multiple answer (tick the right box) is it the same for Bangladesh?
Also with very few aircrafts how many students are there to an instructor and the club?
Finally.... are the exams in English or Bangla?

Thanks a lot!

Sorry, my mistake. mentioned United airlines. actually that would be United Airways. And yes, Capt. Joardar is truely a great flyer and maintains a great personality. He treats the training aircrafts like tiny toys! Every student just looks forward to flying with him. but unfortunately as per his busy schedule, he only takes pre-solo check rides and some other checks, pre-checks.

Though not associated with it in any way, I am a frequent visitor to the flying club, and I've even been there today late in the afternoon. I was told there are some 40+ students now but from what I've heard it doesn't have adequate number of instructors to run the show.

To add comments to your pics...

- The engineless Piper Seneca made a belly landing, albeit unintentional, since the student who was flying it forgot that it was a bird with retractable gears and hence...!

- The C-Check on the GMG Dash-8-100 (S2-AAA) was reportedly being carried out by engineers not adequaltely certified!

- The 208B Grand Caravan owned by Youngone is very well maintained but seldom flown. Mr. Kihak apparently loves his Pilatus 'sportsplane' better!

- There's another Grand Caravan at MAF (an amphib) which is also a beauty!

- I had once been onboard the HS-748 of Zoom and I have no idea how that thing flies...it looked like it was on the verge of falling apart in small pieces! I'm told that the man who dares to fly it, one Captain Ahsan, is one helluva bush pilot (so much so, he doesn't need much avionics to fly over Bangladesh in daytime, the terrain is good enough!).

- There's another Grand Caravan at MAF (an amphib) which is also a beauty!



The Bangladesh army has another Grand Caravan used for para troopers. i have a picture of it somewhere which i took a month ago when it was infront of our hangar, just can't find it :ohno:

I knew about the belly landing, actually everyone in the club does! just didnt want to mention it incase the person responsible is a browser in this forum. Didnt want to hurt his feelings :)

ohh, and about the zoom airways, well i heard someday its door fell off while flying over jessore. some farmers then caried it back to jessore airport. lol. not sure if its a rumor though. Capt. Ahsan is a part time instructor for bfc too

and yes, bfc deffinately needs some instructors. more over,it needs to move away from ZIA. ZIA is far to busy than before that we hardly get permission for flying from the tower.

The Bangladesh army has another Grand Caravan used for para troopers. i have a picture of it somewhere which i took a month ago when it was infront of our hangar, just can't find it :ohno:

I knew about the belly landing, actually everyone in the club does! just didnt want to mention it incase the person responsible is a browser in this forum. Didnt want to hurt his feelings :)

Well, you'd rather want to remind that bugger here about the wheels-up landing, than to be on a flight and find out he's in command! :) Apparently, there are a handful of such Bangladeshi pilots flying the heavy metals every day with thousands of passengers on board!

The Bangladesh army has another Grand Caravan used for para troopers. i have a picture of it somewhere which i took a month ago when it was infront of our hangar, just can't find it :ohno:

I knew about the belly landing, actually everyone in the club does! just didnt want to mention it incase the person responsible is a browser in this forum. Didnt want to hurt his feelings :)

I'm sure he'll get over it, and it'll probably be remembered as something funny, with the passage of time. Doesn't BFC carry insurance on these aircrafts? Since there aren't any airworthy multi-engines, how does BFC conduct multi-engine training? Or do they not?

- I had once been onboard the HS-748 of Zoom and I have no idea how that thing flies...it looked like it was on the verge of falling apart in small pieces! I'm told that the man who dares to fly it, one Captain Ahsan, is one helluva bush pilot (so much so, he doesn't need much avionics to fly over Bangladesh in daytime, the terrain is good enough!).

Now that's what I call is FLYING!

Well, you'd rather want to remind that bugger here about the wheels-up landing, than to be on a flight and find out he's in command! :) Apparently, there are a handful of such Bangladeshi pilots flying the heavy metals every day with thousands of passengers on board!

well you might be surprised to know, he's an first officer for Biman now. :ohno: infact he was recruited straight after completion of his CPL.

I'm sure he'll get over it, and it'll probably be remembered as something funny, with the passage of time. Doesn't BFC carry insurance on these aircrafts? Since there aren't any airworthy multi-engines, how does BFC conduct multi-engine training? Or do they not?

Im really not sure about insurance. and multi engine training, no, bfc hasnt been offering it since the belly landing incident. however, just 2 days ago, an instructor mentioned that if the seneca isnt sold, then steps may be taken to have it repaired and again conduct multi engine training. Just hope it works out.

On the outbound flight from DAC, there'd be a higher load factor if the flight goes through MAN to JFK. That way, it'd pick up pax bound for UK and the US. If the flight goes through BRU, almost all the pax out of DAC will be the ones bound for JFK. Out of BRU, despite 5th freedom rights, BG won't have any significant traffic bound for JFK, more so because of the way 9W uses it as its hub now!

Bangladesh should try to get 5th freedom rights out of MAN by negotiating with UK with ZYL in hand. It might turn out to be a win-win deal for both Bangladesh and UK! :)

Makes sense.

So, Air India may terminate their non-stop US-India flights eventually? I don't know why south asians do not prefer super long non-stop flights. I have made so many DTW-NRT (KIX) that I'd rather fly non-stop JFK-DAC than deal with all the stopovers.

well you might be surprised to know, he's an first officer for Biman now. :ohno: infact he was recruited straight after completion of his CPL.

Thanks for the info mash. I was never in great love with Biman despite being a strong nationalist. But I always though they must have some great pilots who have been able to maintain a relatively good records despite flying some old junks.

Could you give some more info on how to obtain PPL in BFC? Is it possible to the classes on weekends only? Generally how long it takes to complete mandetory 150 hours to obtain licence?

Cheers

Now that's what I call is FLYING!

Thank heavens that he flies shrimp fries (in that screeching junk) and not mere mortals like you and I! ;)

well you might be surprised to know, he's an first officer for Biman now. :ohno: infact he was recruited straight after completion of his CPL.

Not surprised at all. I for one know that if all Biman pilots were put into thorough ground and simulator tests tomorrow, only about 25-30% would pass!

There are 3 full-fledged captains at Biman who, as a matter of fact, regularly fails simulator tests! Rumour has it that one among them, popularly known as 'Batash Khan', used to get lost on his way from Chittagong to Dhaka when he was on the F-28s. That man now happens to be an A310 commander!

Now, how many of you folks who've just read this are feeling darn lucky for having survived rides on BG?!? :D

Now, how many of you folks who've just read this are feeling darn lucky for having survived rides on BG?!? :D

Good lord in heaven! I sincerely hope Biman will recurite some good pilots once they start receiving the new generation aircrafts.

It seems that one of the major priorities of Govt (as far as civil aviation is concerned) is to upgrade the facility the flight training school so that number of good pilots can be trained to fulfil the need for the future.

Thank heavens that he flies shrimp fries (in that screeching junk) and not mere mortals like you and I! ;)



Not surprised at all. I for one know that if all Biman pilots were put into thorough ground and simulator tests tomorrow, only about 25-30% would pass!

There are 3 full-fledged captains at Biman who, as a matter of fact, regularly fails simulator tests! Rumour has it that one among them, popularly known as 'Batash Khan', used to get lost on his way from Chittagong to Dhaka when he was on the F-28s. That man now happens to be an A310 commander!

Now, how many of you folks who've just read this are feeling darn lucky for having survived rides on BG?!? :D

That's just awful and alarming! Is it normal for stablished airline pilots to fail simulator tests? Or is this part of the general "sorry" state of affairs at Biman? If they fail SIMs, how can one have confidence in a pilot when a real emergency arises?

That's just awful and alarming! Is it normal for stablished airline pilots to fail simulator tests? Or is this part of the general "sorry" state of affairs at Biman? If they fail SIMs, how can one have confidence in a pilot when a real emergency arises?

These 3 pilots I was talking about are the worst of the lot, and have been passing the periodical sim tests on 3rd/4th attempts. In case of inflight emergencies these people are bound to just 'freeze', while others will end up in a mess...like the DC-10 crash at Chittagong. And guess what...the person who was singularly responsible for that crash, Capt. Selim, is now the Director of Flight Operations at Best Air! Howzzzat?!?

Moreover, you have a bunch of jackasses at CAAB who has the responsibility and the authority to check pilots' capabilities! :mad:

:lol:These 3 pilots I was talking about are the worst of the lot, and have been passing the periodical sim tests on 3rd/4th attempts. In case of inflight emergencies these people are bound to just 'freeze', while others will end up in a mess...like the DC-10 crash at Chittagong. And guess what...the person who was singularly responsible for that crash, Capt. Selim, is now the Director of Flight Operations at Best Air! Howzzzat?!?

Moreover, you have a bunch of jackasses at CAAB who has the responsibility and the authority to check pilots' capabilities! :mad:

IMRAN bhai, I admire your boldness:lol:

These 3 pilots I was talking about are the worst of the lot, and have been passing the periodical sim tests on 3rd/4th attempts. In case of inflight emergencies these people are bound to just 'freeze', while others will end up in a mess...like the DC-10 crash at Chittagong. And guess what...the person who was singularly responsible for that crash, Capt. Selim, is now the Director of Flight Operations at Best Air! Howzzzat?!?

Moreover, you have a bunch of jackasses at CAAB who has the responsibility and the authority to check pilots' capabilities! :mad:

Do you know how the govt recruits bureaucrats for CAAB? Reading from your post there seems to be obvious faults in the recruitment process. Have any suggestion for improvements?

TIslam,proficiency testing on sims (6 monthly under JAA, not sure how often under CAAB) is challenging but something seasoned pilots should never have problems with.Since emergencies thankfully are rare occurences in real life , forgetting the odd line in a drill is forgivable. what is not however is freezing on the controls when faced with it in a sim.

I dont know of any cases where pilots were offloaded as a result of failed sim tests. most are given extra sim sessions by which time the failed sections become so routine through continuous battery practice that i dont see how it can be deemed a valid test. What is extremely concerning is how a freezed up pilot can retain his command having screwed up 3/4 times.I know of airlines demoting captains to snr F/O for much less.

I really hope Biman plc get its act together and rings in the changes for the new aircraft arrivals.

And guess what...the person who was singularly responsible for that crash, Capt. Selim, is now the Director of Flight Operations at Best Air! Howzzzat?!?

Moreover, you have a bunch of jackasses at CAAB who has the responsibility and the authority to check pilots' capabilities! :mad:

Isn't he the one who was fired from Biman for "drunk driving", if you will? One would think that a person with such baggage would be un-employable for the rest of his life. I guess BestAir knows better!

If CAAB is so grossly incompetent, perhaps there's a clause somewhere (I wish) that ICAO invoke, throw it into a "receivership" and take over and save us all from imminent disaster!

TIslam,proficiency testing on sims (6 monthly under JAA, not sure how often under CAAB) is challenging but something seasoned pilots should never have problems with.Since emergencies thankfully are rare occurences in real life , forgetting the odd line in a drill is forgivable. what is not however is freezing on the controls when faced with it in a sim.

I dont know of any cases where pilots were offloaded as a result of failed sim tests. most are given extra sim sessions by which time the failed sections become so routine through continuous battery practice that i dont see how it can be deemed a valid test. What is extremely concerning is how a freezed up pilot can retain his command having screwed up 3/4 times.I know of airlines demoting captains to snr F/O for much less.

I really hope Biman plc get its act together and rings in the changes for the new aircraft arrivals.

Yes, so do I. Now I don't feel so bad about not patronizing Biman.

:lol:

IMRAN bhai, I admire your boldness:lol:

If CAAB is so grossly incompetent, perhaps there's a clause somewhere (I wish) that ICAO invoke, throw it into a "receivership" and take over and save us all from imminent disaster!

Wrote this a while back, when I actually underestimated their incompetence:
http://www.newagebd.com/2008/jan/07/oped.html

An article on runway safety (or lack thereof) at BD airports, on today's New Age (Op-Ed section):

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

An article on runway safety (or lack thereof) at BD airports, on today's New Age (Op-Ed section):

http://www.newagebd.com/oped.html
Bravo! Would the ICAO take any note of this because I doubt the CAAB would. They'll only take action if forced to do so. :bash:

So our "dearest" Capt. Selim is now the DFO of BestAir? I'm not surprised because he was the "chief of safety" of Biman when he successfully wrote-off the DC-10. That buggar was so drunk that he even forgot the flight number while communicating with CGP tower! I'm surprised he didn't land the plane on the Bay of Bengal!

So our "dearest" Capt. Selim is now the DFO of BestAir? I'm not surprised because he was the "chief of safety" of Biman when he successfully wrote-off the DC-10. That buggar was so drunk that he even forgot the flight number while communicating with CGP tower! I'm surprised he didn't land the plane on the Bay of Bengal!

He ignored the FO's concern regarding the approach on finals and had violated ATC instructions. For all good reasons, he should've been put behind bars and all his professional credentials as a pilot should've been seized and made void by CAAB. Instead, Biman "under pressure" only demoted him as an FO and retired him with full benefits et al.

CAAB, well, what can we expect from a house of pigs! :mad:

He ignored the FO's concern regarding the approach on finals and had violated ATC instructions. For all good reasons, he should've been put behind bars and all his professional credentials as a pilot should've been seized and made void by CAAB. Instead, Biman "under pressure" only demoted him as an FO and retired him with full benefits et al.

CAAB, well, what can we expect from a house of pigs! :mad:

when he was asked by a person who is also a part time ground instructor of bfc, he was asked, "why did you ignore the ATC's order to go around?", his lame reply was, "who is the ATC to tell me how to fly?" :mad:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2246/2454214355_bc7ae087f4.jpg?v=0
I took this picture of the saudi airline while evacuating passengers through the emergency evacuation slide shortly after its engine caught fire

[QUOTE=iasif;20202670]Instead, Biman "under pressure" only demoted him as an FO and retired him with full benefits et al.

Sounds like Mr. Selim is well "connected". I hope all his connections come to a naught post care taker government.

The more I read about CAAB, I find it incredible that such a totally disfunctional and incompetent body is trusted with the safety of civil aviation for the whole country. Just like the CTG revived Biman, they better do something about CAAB before they leave office otherwise there will be ticking time bombs over the skies and airports of Bangladesh.

[QUOTE=iasif;20202670]Instead, Biman "under pressure" only demoted him as an FO and retired him with full benefits et al.

Sounds like Mr. Selim is well "connected". I hope all his connections come to a naught post care taker government.

The more I read about CAAB, I find it incredible that such a totally disfunctional and incompetent body is trusted with the safety of civil aviation for the whole country. Just like the CTG revived Biman, they better do something about CAAB before they leave office otherwise there will be ticking time bombs over the skies and airports of Bangladesh.

Mr. Selim was connected well with the one and only Shamim Eskander.

Talking about ticking bombs, picture this:

During last winter, a BG DC-10 began descending from within the Indian airspace due to poor visibility conditions at nighttime and entered Bangladeshi airspace while it was descending and the pilot was trying to talk to the ATC at Dhaka for several minutes who was busy talking to an overflying traffic (asking rather unnecessary questions such as a/c reg, PIC's names, etc.). Over the intersection RAJ (thats Rajshahi) TCAS alerts came on in the cockpit of the DC-10 and the pilots quickly turned right to avert a possible collision with an outbound heavy.

That's just one example!

All over the world, GA traffic is given extra attention and care simply because they are the most vulnerable ones in the sky, and are more prone to making mistakes than anyone else. In Dhaka, the ATC treats GA traffic like they're nuisances in the sky making their otherwise easy time difficult and annoying!

In turn though, they get walked over by the Bangladesh Air Force every once in a while. Day before yesterday, later in the afternoon, a BAF F-7 landed ignoring the ATC's instruction to hold while a GMG Dash-8 would be allowed to depart. The BAF pilot said he wasn't going to hold and 'ordered' the ATC to keep the Dash-8 out of its way as it prepared to land!

Its a freaking wild world!

Referring to the post on ZIA's airfield, il like to add the following:

1. The Sierra taxiway from Golf to Charlie, just before where Hotel starts has some serious damage. There remains a big ditch theres which ive been noticing sine day 1 of my training. Since im on a small aircraft, my instructor will tell me to curve around it. I often see the mighty jets jerk about while crossing that point.

2. The Golf-Sierra holding point and the Charlie-Runway 14/32 holding point markings are not present. Im not sure if they've worn out or was it never marked. According to airfield markings, holding points should have one single bar and one dashed bar or 2 single bars and 2 single dash bars of yellow color. Its very unfortunate that when I was ordered to hold while taxying on the Golf taxiway to give way to an Saudi aircraft which exited runway 32, i was told by my instructor to hold in reference to a tree sited near the end of the Golf taxiway. :ohno: how pathetic.


About the pilots of Biman getting lost, i hear a lot of their stories since joining the aviation industry. one goes like this. A few months back a Biman DC-10 declared a missed approach at 400 feet only after the captain realized he was approaching the straight road leading towards Ashulia. :bash:
sounds odd when the aircraft is installed with equipments for precision approach like the ILS. How incompetant can these pilots be :bash:

[QUOTE=TIslam;20206724]
In turn though, they get walked over by the Bangladesh Air Force every once in a while. Day before yesterday, later in the afternoon, a BAF F-7 landed ignoring the ATC's instruction to hold while a GMG Dash-8 would be allowed to depart. The BAF pilot said he wasn't going to hold and 'ordered' the ATC to keep the Dash-8 out of its way as it prepared to land!

Its a freaking wild world!

I have heard of similar situation in India where the military held sway over the airfields since most of them are joint civil-military operations with control given to the airforce. Many a times IA flights have been abruptly delayed owing to airforce's sudden declared priorities. But look what happen in recent times. With the whole Indian nation gripped and obsessed with making money, the civilians won and the military lost its clout. So much so that the airforce now has no problem in opening up and allowing commercial flights on "their" airfields/bases that have been up until now, for military use only.

That arrogant jerk of an airforce pilot fails to realize, and ought to be reminded who paid for his fast toy and who pays for its fuel and upkeep. :bash:

. :bash:
sounds odd when the aircraft is installed with equipments for precision approach like the ILS. How incompetant can these pilots be :bash:

My goodness! Look how far has Biman gone ... backwards of course! Imagine what it would do to the confidence of all those who patronize the carrier, if all these leaked out. I think they should. I do not see any sign of (both) CAAB and Biman shaping up without the proverbial kick in the rear.

GMG Airlines

Bangkok - Suvarnabhumi International

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj50/amar11372/Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi.jpg

Biman Bangladesh

Suvarnabhumi International

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj50/amar11372/MyAviationNetPhotoI.jpg

Biman Bangladesh

London - Heathrow

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj50/amar11372/London-Heathrow.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj50/amar11372/MyAviationNetPhotoID01256244.jpg

Referring to the post on ZIA's airfield, il like to add the following:

1. The Sierra taxiway from Golf to Charlie, just before where Hotel starts has some serious damage. There remains a big ditch theres which ive been noticing sine day 1 of my training. Since im on a small aircraft, my instructor will tell me to curve around it. I often see the mighty jets jerk about while crossing that point.

2. The Golf-Sierra holding point and the Charlie-Runway 14/32 holding point markings are not present. Im not sure if they've worn out or was it never marked. According to airfield markings, holding points should have one single bar and one dashed bar or 2 single bars and 2 single dash bars of yellow color. Its very unfortunate that when I was ordered to hold while taxying on the Golf taxiway to give way to an Saudi aircraft which exited runway 32, i was told by my instructor to hold in reference to a tree sited near the end of the Golf taxiway. :ohno: how pathetic.


About the pilots of Biman getting lost, i hear a lot of their stories since joining the aviation industry. one goes like this. A few months back a Biman DC-10 declared a missed approach at 400 feet only after the captain realized he was approaching the straight road leading towards Ashulia. :bash:
sounds odd when the aircraft is installed with equipments for precision approach like the ILS. How incompetant can these pilots be :bash:

The pavement strength of ZIA has always been kept weak to allow for frequent repair jobs, and the markings have never been proper or adequate. As for the ILS, it is also very poorly maintained and calibrated, often rendering the precision approach systems in the aircraft rather useless. A BA pilot told me that once he was coming into land with his and his FO's hands off letting the 777 land itself, having being established on the ILS earlier. It was only a mile or so left to land when they realized that the ILS calibration was so out of place that the plane would be touching down entirely out of runway 14 to the left! That's when they seized the controls and override autoland to make it down on the runway.

Why are BG aircrafts so dirty? How frequently do they get paint-jobs?

Why are BG aircrafts so dirty? How frequently do they get paint-jobs?

At least once in their lifetime with Biman! :D

Is the vertical stabilizer of the A 310-300 supposed to look like this? Is it only dirt or damaged?

About the airfield in Zia, why don’t Air Force move their base to some idle airports like one in Comilla for example? Is it going to cost too much?

Budget airline AirAsia will fly daily to Trichy in South India from Kuala Lumpur effective October, offering a two-way flight for Rs 5,000 or nearly $125 inclusive of airport tax.

http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/05/01102442/Fly-to-Malaysia-at-125.html


Hope they will start from Dhaka soon.

GMG at ZIA

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/Bangladesh/bangladesh1/Bangladesh2/Bangladesh3/gmgairlines12.jpg

why don’t Air Force move their base to some idle airports like one in Comilla for example? Is it going to cost too much?

It will surely entail at least one HUGE cost: their ego!

An article on runway safety (or lack thereof) at BD airports, on today's New Age (Op-Ed section):

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

dat was an awwwesome article! u r right on the face there! thumbs up!

The pavement strength of ZIA has always been kept weak to allow for frequent repair jobs, and the markings have never been proper or adequate. As for the ILS, it is also very poorly maintained and calibrated, often rendering the precision approach systems in the aircraft rather useless. A BA pilot told me that once he was coming into land with his and his FO's hands off letting the 777 land itself, having being established on the ILS earlier. It was only a mile or so left to land when they realized that the ILS calibration was so out of place that the plane would be touching down entirely out of runway 14 to the left! That's when they seized the controls and override autoland to make it down on the runway.

Do they (the airlines, pilots) reports these problems? Other than CAAB, like ICAO or other relevant organizations (if any)? Why did the government spend money on ils if it cannot be utilized? They should just dispense with it and declare VGZR to be a VFR airport! :wallbash:

thanks mahruf for your nice pics of the Flying club.

Does anyone who is in touch with the CAAB can check out whether they have a comprehensive list of aircrafts registered with them? If we can get the list, it would help us figuring out the whole scenario....

Do they (the airlines, pilots) reports these problems? Other than CAAB, like ICAO or other relevant organizations (if any)? Why did the government spend money on ils if it cannot be utilized? They should just dispense with it and declare VGZR to be a VFR airport! :wallbash:

The calibration work gets done as frequently as the pavement jobs...which allows for spending $$$...catch my drift?


Does anyone who is in touch with the CAAB can check out whether they have a comprehensive list of aircrafts registered with them? If we can get the list, it would help us figuring out the whole scenario....

What scenario is still left to figure out? I've been saying this all along - the CAAB is a place full of pea-brainers, led by a bunch of knee-brainers! I mean, how else do you explain them assigning the same registration for 2 active aircraft?

It will surely entail at least one HUGE cost: their ego!

I honestly don't see any benefit of keeping an Air Force which has around 70 combat capable planes among which only 8 are modern aircraft. But IAF has around 300-400 combat planes consisting Su-30, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, MiG-21, MiG-23 etc. Forget about old Mig-21 & -23. IAF modern fighters still outnumber BAF by more than 3 to 1. Whatever good BAF's new F-7's are, do you think they can beat the Sukhois? I'm sure they can't. So in a dogfight BAF can put up 8 Fulcrums & some junk F-7's which will be shot down in a single day if IAF pushes with a little extra effort. On the other side, Myanmar isn't in a state to attack Bangladesh. Even if they do, they'll still outnumber BAF with their MiG-29 & F-7's. They already have 12 Fulcrums & has placed order for more in 2006. They use French & Israeli munitions while BAF is far from using modern Western equipments. So we are paying to keep an Air Force which can't protect our country when necessary.

I honestly don't see any benefit of keeping an Air Force which has around 70 combat capable planes among which only 8 are modern aircraft. But IAF has around 300-400 combat planes consisting Su-30, MiG-29, Mirage 2000, MiG-21, MiG-23 etc. Forget about old Mig-21 & -23. IAF modern fighters still outnumber BAF by more than 3 to 1. Whatever good BAF's new F-7's are, do you think they can beat the Sukhois? I'm sure they can't. So in a dogfight BAF can put up 8 Fulcrums & some junk F-7's which will be shot down in a single day if IAF pushes with a little extra effort. On the other side, Myanmar isn't in a state to attack Bangladesh. Even if they do, they'll still outnumber BAF with their MiG-29 & F-7's. They already have 12 Fulcrums & has placed order for more in 2006. They use French & Israeli munitions while BAF is far from using modern Western equipments. So we are paying to keep an Air Force which can't protect our country when necessary.

To begin with, no country is insane enough to rage a war against and invade a country with 150 million people!

Now, if you assume a hypothetical situation...should India ever decide to launch an air attack against Bangladesh, I doubt if it will last more than an hour altogeher! BAF has the few operational Mig-29s without its key armaments (Adder, Aphid, Archer, etc.) so they basically will be able to fly like a swan until taken out without offering any real combat whatsoever.

But then, like I said in the beginning...there's no possibility of a territorial warfare that Bangladesh might get engaged in with any country. India has already and will continue to win the 'economic war' day in and day out...but thats off-topic here! :)

We've just reached the 100th page on this forum, and I'd like to take this opportunity and urge everyone in joining me to applaud TMAC, the thread starter, without whose initiation this forum wouldn't have been what it is today!

:applause:

Thank you TMAC! If it wasn't for you...we probably wouldn't have had this great opportunity to share our thoughts and opinions the way we do!

:)

But then, like I said in the beginning...there's no possibility of a territorial warfare that Bangladesh might get engaged in with any country. India has already and will continue to win the 'economic war' day in and day out...but thats off-topic here!

That is the point I'm trying to say. We DON'T need an Air Force. Disband this pathetic fighting arm & save millions of $.

What scenario is still left to figure out? I've been saying this all along - the CAAB is a place full of pea-brainers, led by a bunch of knee-brainers! I mean, how else do you explain them assigning the same registration for 2 active aircraft?

Dear Imran,

Yah I agree with you on the inefficiency of CAAB.

But the reason I was looking for a comprehensive list for the aircrafts registered in Bangladesh is ff we can get something like that, it would help us finding out how many civil aircrafts are actually there in Bangladesh. For example, I remember you have posted a pic of a vintage F-27 in Chittagong airport. Now is that F-27 one of the members of Biman's former F-27 fleet? Or it was brought from somewhere else? These type of queries can be easily addressed by that list. I know it might not be easy to collect such a list from the junkheads from CAAB, and I am doubtful whether they have such a list in one comprehensive document.


One related question, what S2 stands for, as all aircrafts registered with CAAB has a registration number beginning with S2?

Dear Tmac,

Congrats dude, you have done a terrific job.......

We've just reached the 100th page on this forum, and I'd like to take this opportunity and urge everyone in joining me to applaud TMAC, the thread starter, without whose initiation this forum wouldn't have been what it is today!

:applause:

Thank you TMAC! If it wasn't for you...we probably wouldn't have had this great opportunity to share our thoughts and opinions the way we do!

:)

Yes, my compliments to Tmac and other early forumer who helped open the BD sub-forum and this thread in particular. And my compliments to Imran Asif and many other recent forumers in bring more dynamism to this thread. :cheers:

That is the point I'm trying to say. We DON'T need an Air Force. Disband this pathetic fighting arm & save millions of $.

With all due respect, I don’t think the question should be raised whether to have an Air Force or not, because that will led to a question whether the country needs the armed forces at all or not. I personally believe, like every other nation we should have an arm forces and try to make it as strong as the economy permits. Like iasif, I also believe that the chance of Bangladesh getting engaged in a territorial warfare with India or any other nation is almost non-existent. But there can be other defense threats to the country. Think about what happed in Chittagong Hill Tracts, the ugly affairs of JMB/terrorists or the border smuggling and illegal fishing in the bay. What we should start thinking is what should be the right defense strategy for us and what are the forces that we need strengthen/modernize to ensure national security. May be it makes more economic sense for a country like Bangladesh to modernize forces like coast guard, BDR or RAB than spending money to procure Mig 29 or SU 30s, or develop a strong intelligence network.

However, I understand this discussion is not quite relevant to this forum and I really don’t want to prolong this. The other day I was visiting website of CAAB (god knows when is the last time it was updated….) and was really surprise to find out the number of airports Bangladesh have; or I should rather say had. Some of them may well turned into EPZ (which may be a good thing) or a parade ground (which, I believe, a rather stupid thing), but may be some of them can be used for the purpose they were originally built for. Domestic flights in Bangladesh will never be viable financially (that GMG has proven long ago), so there is little sense in preserving them for civil use. They can be used as air force base if financially viable, but as iasif has mentioned, the ego of those nutcases will make that option much more difficult.

With all due respect, I don’t think the question should be raised whether to have an Air Force or not, because that will led to a question whether the country needs the armed forces at all or not. I personally believe, like every other nation we should have an arm forces and try to make it as strong as the economy permits. Like iasif, I also believe that the chance of Bangladesh getting engaged in a territorial warfare with India or any other nation is almost non-existent. But there can be other defense threats to the country. Think about what happed in Chittagong Hill Tracts, the ugly affairs of JMB/terrorists or the border smuggling and illegal fishing in the bay. What we should start thinking is what should be the right defense strategy for us and what are the forces that we need strengthen/modernize to ensure national security. May be it makes more economic sense for a country like Bangladesh to modernize forces like coast guard, BDR or RAB than spending money to procure Mig 29 or SU 30s, or develop a strong intelligence network.

However, I understand this discussion is not quite relevant to this forum and I really don’t want to prolong this. The other day I was visiting website of CAAB (god knows when is the last time it was updated….) and was really surprise to find out the number of airports Bangladesh have; or I should rather say had. Some of them may well turned into EPZ (which may be a good thing) or a parade ground (which, I believe, a rather stupid thing), but may be some of them can be used for the purpose they were originally built for. Domestic flights in Bangladesh will never be viable financially (that GMG has proven long ago), so there is little sense in preserving them for civil use. They can be used as air force base if financially viable, but as iasif has mentioned, the ego of those nutcases will make that option much more difficult.

You read my mind, QGR! Ditto in agreement. Having said that, there must be a way to revitalize CAAB. It should be wholly manned by experts as far as operations is considered but I wouldn't care, if it had to be managed by government bureaucrats. Perhaps Imran (as he is so technically eloquent) could begin a letter writing campaign where we would all be signatories? :)

Those buggers in CAAB must have read my last post, as the website of the CAAB has been updated recently claiming the security in Bangladesh is rated A-1 by FAA. The number of Airports managed by CAAB has been rationalized. Can anyone tell me what sort of airport they are making it in Bagerhat (I mead domestic or international) and when it is expected to be done (if at all!!!)?

http://www.caab.gov.bd/adinfo/airports.html

Hold your breath!!! Biman Flys to Australia! Don't beilive me? Spend some time visiting the following link:

http://www.caab.gov.bd/secfiles/atinfo.html

My sincere appology to Imran Asif, as honestly, I couldn't help thinking he was going a bit far with the adjectives he was using for CAAB. Now I can sense why.

Hold your breath!!! Biman Flys to Australia! Don't beilive me? Spend some time visiting the following link:

http://www.caab.gov.bd/secfiles/atinfo.html


Biman flies to Africa as well, according to the above link. Bagerhat is/was supposed to be a domestic STOL airport, as was Khulna. Who are they developing these airports for, since no airline is interested in providing service to any (domestic) airport other than CGP, SYL, JSR, and BZL?

Biman flies to Africa as well, according to the above link. Bagerhat is/was supposed to be a domestic STOL airport, as was Khulna. Who are they developing these airports for, since no airline is interested in providing service to any (domestic) airport other than CGP, SYL, JSR, and BZL?

Develop unnecessary infrastructure by the past-political govt for votes?

Develop unnecessary infrastructure by the past-political govt for votes?

Perhaps. If the government (and people) desires most Bangladesh cities to be linked by air, may be chopper service (private sector) should be encouraged, like PIA used to have, back in the 1960s. This would eliminate the wasteful political incentives for building airports where none are needed.

But the reason I was looking for a comprehensive list for the aircrafts registered in Bangladesh is ff we can get something like that, it would help us finding out how many civil aircrafts are actually there in Bangladesh. For example, I remember you have posted a pic of a vintage F-27 in Chittagong airport. Now is that F-27 one of the members of Biman's former F-27 fleet? Or it was brought from somewhere else? These type of queries can be easily addressed by that list. I know it might not be easy to collect such a list from the junkheads from CAAB, and I am doubtful whether they have such a list in one comprehensive document.

One related question, what S2 stands for, as all aircrafts registered with CAAB has a registration number beginning with S2?

CAAB must be having a list but I don't think they make it publicly available. CAR84 is a non-classified public document, which these idiots don't make publicly available so I reckon they'd be equally reserved about the aircraft reg list, if not more...as if aircraft reg are strictly confidential information pertinent to national sovereignty....blah blah blah...!

The F-27 belonging to this Voyager Airlines is not an ex-Biman frame, and S2 is the country designator defined by ICAO for all civil transport aircraft registered in Bangladesh. The military transport aircraft of Bangladesh bears the designator S3. These are prefixes following which the rest of the letters/numbers of the aircraft's reg are supposed to be. For example, S2-ACR (Bangladesh), VT-AIL (India), N764AA (US), G-BNLI (UK).

Hold your breath!!! Biman Flys to Australia! Don't beilive me? Spend some time visiting the following link:

http://www.caab.gov.bd/secfiles/atinfo.html

My sincere appology to Imran Asif, as honestly, I couldn't help thinking he was going a bit far with the adjectives he was using for CAAB. Now I can sense why.

I'm actually at a loss of adjectives when it comes to commenting on CAAB! You have no idea how grossly incompetent these people are. Just consider these for examples: (i) they've approved the Operations Manual of an operator which has not conformed to as many as 8 issues pertinent to flight safety and all these issues were to be mandatorily conformed to as prescribed by ICAO; (ii) they've allowed operators to continue to operate aircraft with an expired airworthiness certificate on scheduled passenger flights!

Like I said, I'm at a loss of words....

Those buggers in CAAB must have read my last post, as the website of the CAAB has been updated recently claiming the security in Bangladesh is rated A-1 by FAA.

Bullshit! I have factual and graphic evidence to prove that ZIA is one of the world's worst international airports as far as security is concerned! I just can't publish the photos here yet because there is an embargo on them that I promised to maintain.

Bullshit! I have factual and graphic evidence to prove that ZIA is one of the world's worst international airports as far as security is concerned! I just can't publish the photos here yet because there is an embargo on them that I promised to maintain.

Nice.. now have the authorities decided to fix the problem with the security issue?

Who's the head of CAAB now? And who makes these decisions like making an airport at Bagerhat?

they've allowed operators to continue to operate aircraft with an expired airworthiness certificate on scheduled passenger flights!

Like I said, I'm at a loss of words....

Unless highly confidential/classified, can you mention the name of the operator operating aircraft without airworthiness certificate? I love my car to move around within Bangladesh and generally avoide Biman for travelling abroad, but just in case...:ohno:

I must say, when I joined the forum there was a lot of positive posts regarding Biman buying new generation aircrafts and GMG and Best Air is also planning (!!!), but in recent time, the posts have only revealed disappointing facts. Unfortunately these facts are the reality and we can not hide from them, but I just wish if we can have some positive and interesting discussions as well. :)

Who's the head of CAAB now? And who makes these decisions like making an airport at Bagerhat?

Visit CAAB website and you will find the names of all present and past heads of CAAB. At least, they maintain very good track of this, unlike the records that really matter and most important to keep for country's civil aviation gurdian.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/2455063464_c9827edbfe.jpg?v=0

Repost. the previous link broke.
Picture taken while passesngers were being evacuated through the emergency evacuation slide just after the engine caught fire at ZIA