& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Best Air to fly beyond border in mid-March

Sonel Parvez
Best Air is the third local airline to begin operations on international route by flying to Thailand by midMarch, intensifying competition on the route already has four operators.
"It's exciting. We have got permission from the Thai authority to operate daily flights on the Dhaka-Bangkok route. Hopefully we will start flying on the route by midMarch," M Haider Uzzaman, chairman of Best Aviation, the parent organisation of Best Air, told The Daily Star.
Best Air will be the latest domestic carrier to fly any international route after Biman Bangladesh Airlines and GMG Airlines. However, the number of domestic airlines now in operation in Bangladesh is five.
Entry of Best Air, which began
operation in 1999 through air cargo, is expected to raise competition in the Bangladesh aviation market that grows by 8 percent on an average a year.
This private airline launched its passenger flight in mid-January with a 118-seater Boeing 737-200 on the domestic route. The carrier is also expected to increase its fleet through adding another Boeing 737 this month.
Haider said air traffic growth on the Dhaka-Bangkok route is about 5 percent a year.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines, Thai Airways and Druk Air are operating flights on the Dhaka-Bangkok route.
Imran Asif, an aviation industry consultant, however raised the profitability issue for the Best Air as it will be the fifth operator on the Dhaka-Bangkok route.
“Competition on the route is fierce. I think it will be difficult for any new entrant to make profit," he said.
The Best Aviation chairman is, however, hopeful of good busi-
ness.
"The standard of our services will go up with more passengers travelling by Bangladeshi airlines, enabling us to save foreign currencies. We will also work for developing eco-tourism in Bangladesh," he said.
Experts said bulk of foreign currency has been drained out of the economy due to failure of national carrier Biman, which has been losing out its market share to foreign carriers that enjoy about 90 percent of total volume of passengers from Dhaka.
Best Air, lion’s share of which held by Kuwait’s Aqeeq Aviation Holding, became one of the last entrants here followed by entry of at least five carriers, including one domestic operator United Airways, last year.
“We are proud that the government has given us the permission to operate flights in four countries as the third designated carrier from Bangladesh," Haider said, adding that the Best Air has plans expansion of its business to India, China and Malaysia.