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Biman to further spread its wings

Plans to fly to China's Guangzhou and reopen flights to other cities as 2 more Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners set to join fleet

Shariful Islam
Biman is hoping to fly to China's Guangzhou from this September and two new destinations in Europe and Saudi Arabia by this year end.
The move comes as two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners Biman had bought are to join its fleet by September.
The national flag carrier is also considering reopening flights to Sri Lanka's Colombo and Male in the Maldives and increasing flight frequencies on existing routes, said a top marketing department official of Biman. Following a $2.1 billion deal made in 2008, the carrier has been receiving modern planes from Boeing since 2011. But Biman could not turn things around as it had been in the reds in six of the last nine fiscal years.
It incurred losses between fiscal years 2009-10 and 2013-14. It made profits in the following three years but lost money in 2017-18, according to Biman officials.
Corruption and irregularities, inefficient management, improper route planning, and absence of proper business plan were the reasons of the losses, said Kazi Wahidul Alam, a leading aviation expert of Bangladesh, recommendinga thorough reformation.
Wahidul, who was a member of the Biman Board of Directors when the deal for the purchase of 10 aircraft was signed, also said Boeing, at the time of the deal signing, gave a business
plan for best use of the planes. It also projected a timeframe for the return of the Biman investments into the planes.
"Unfortunately, Biman has not yet expanded its routes, rather slashed some routes. Planes suitable for ultra-long-haul flights are being used for short-haul flights," he told The Daily Star on June 25.
"Those aircraft which would have been an opportunity for us now have become burdens because of the losses," he said, adding that inefficient management was responsible for this.
Asked about the route planning after the last two Biman Boeing 787s join the fleet, Mohammed Salahuddin, general manager (marketing and sales) of Biman, said they were going to start flights to Guangzhou and Madina in Saudi Arabia.
Biman now has flights to three destinations — Jeddah, Dammam, and Riyadh - in Saudi Arabia.
They were also considering to open another destination in Europe and restarting flights to Colombo and Male with Boeing 737s by this year end.
Salahuddin, on June 23, said they have a plan to operate 787s on Dhaka-London route during hajj seasons as the Boeing 777-300ERs would be busy with hajj flights.
The hajj flights begin today and when asked yesterday about the hajj flights, he said two airbus planes leased for the hajj flights have joined the Biman fleet.
About flights to Guangzhou, he said there was a possibility to get the route permit in September.
Biman now serves seven domestic and 16 international destinations with 14 aircraft -- four Boeing 777-300ERs, two 787-8s, five Boeing 737-800s, and three Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 planes. In the 90's, Biman used to serve 26 international and seven
domestic destinations.
FINAL TWO 787s
On July 23, the third Boeing 787-8 aircraft of Biman, named "Gangchil", will fly from Seattle. Its 14.5-hour nonstop flight to Dhaka would end the next day.
The plane, capable of flying 16 hours nonstop with an average speed of 650 miles per hour, is expected to start commercial operations this month.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is to inaugurate the plane.
The fourth and final Biman Boeing 787, "Rajhangsha", is supposed to join the fleet in September. It would be the last of the 10 planes Bi man bought in 2008.
Biman's 271-seater 787s have 24 business and 247 economy class seats.
Biman's first 787, "Akash Beena", joined the fleet on August 19, 2018. And the second one, "Hangsabalaka", arrived on December 1, 2018.