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Regent Airways to invest $ 100m in expansion

Suman Saha
Regent Airways plans to invest $100 million in expansion in the next two years to grab the growing aviation market of Bangladesh.
The private carrier will add five new aircraft to its fleet and launch 13 new international routes during the period.
“We want to be a preferred airline internationally. So, we are investing in technology, passenger facility, aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul," said Sam Issac, chief adviser to the airline, which began international flights in July last year.
"The new investment will ensure better safety and passenger comfort,"
he told The Daily Star at the airline's head office in the city yesterday.
The new aircraft - three Boeing 737-800 and two Embraer ERJ145/170 --will increase Regent's seat capacity by 93 percent to 71,370 and flights from 443 to 635 per month.
Issac, an Indian national who joined the airline in June, said Bangladesh has immense potential in the aviation business mainly due to its high population density and a strategic location.
The expansion will create at least 1,000 new jobs for the Bangladeshis, from more than 700 now, said Issac, who has around 18 years of experiences in the global airline industry.
Regent announces its expansion plan at a time when Bangladesh is poised to see robust growth in air traffic over the next six years.
The number of passengers will hit 10.2 million and the volume of air cargoes 3.6 lakh tonnes in 2020, up 76 percent and 56.5 percent respectively from the current levels, according to a projection by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
The annual market size is worth around $440 million now, involving 5.8 million passengers and 2.3 lakh tonnes of cargoes, industry insiders said. The new routes of Regent will connect Middle East with India and the Far East via Dhaka, Issac said.
Some of the new destinations would be Doha, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Gaya in India, and Johor Bahru in Malaysia.
The airline also aims to launch flights on
the domestic Saidpur route by this year, said the 46-year-old aviation expert, who was the chief financial officer at Spicejet of India before joining Regent.
The airline began commercial operations in November 2010 with two Bombardier Dash-8-Q300 aircraft. Now its fleet consists of two Boeing737-700and three Dash-8 and 6.
Since inception, Regent carried more than 7.85 lakh passengers on domestic and international routes.
Currently, 26 foreign and three local airlines, including the flag carrier - Biman, operate international flights in Bangladesh. Besides, four private local airlines - United, Regent, Novoair and US-Bangla -- operate flights on the domestic routes.
Regent is a subsidiary of Chittagongbased Habib Group, which has business in textiles, cement, steel, power, real estate, insurance and banking.
suman.saha@thedailystar.net