UNB, Dhaka

The Bangladesh Biman Airlines Limited is likely to lose $20-25 million if they fail to reach a decision on the purchase of aircraft within this month.

Two aircraft suppliers, Boeing and Airbus, gave separate proposals to the Biman authorities, as the national flag carrier decided to procure some aircraft to have a smooth operation.

Sources in Biman confirmed that Boeing mentioned the deadline of their proposal as March 15, while the Airbus deadline is until the end of this month. If the Biman authorities fail to sign agreement before the deadline, the delivery of aircraft will be delayed by six months.

The fleet committee of Biman suggested that to make it a trouble-free airliner, Biman must procure at least eight aircraft. A high official in Biman told the news agency that to procure aircraft from Boeing or Airbus, it would need $800 million to $1500 million, depending on the type of aircraft selected.

But if the Biman, which was converted into public limited company on July 23 last year and started its journey on August 1, makes any delay in the procurement, it would have to spend additional $ 20-25 million.

If the Biman make the agreement within the deadline, the first phase supply of aircraft will come in 2012 while the second phase will come in 2017. Before the delivery, Biman will have to run its fleet with leased aircraft.

To lease aircraft it will need $4-9 million per month, depending on the type of aircraft selected and lease system. That means, due to the delayed delivery, Biman will have to pay $24-54 million extra per aircraft as lease money. There are two types of lease system — wet and dry.

A wet lease means an aircraft with its pilots and other staffs, while dry lease is just for the aircraft. An official of accounts section in Biman said if Biman could procure or lease at least eight aircraft, it will be very much possible for the national flag carrier to save Tk 2000 crore of the country that the foreign airliners take away through carrying Bangladeshi passengers to different destinations. Bangladesh’s aviation industry is growing about 7.5 per cent a year.

But Biman can carry only 31 per cent of the total passengers mainly due to aircraft shortage. Currently, Biman has only 11 old aircraft in its fleet. Many of its planes get frequently grounded for technical reasons due to its aging fleet, which has only old-generation aircraft aged between 17 and 29 years, except two.

Such grounding of planes is wrecking havoc on its flight schedule, chipping away at its market share. Biman presently owns three types of aircraft — four DC10-30s, four F-28s, and three A310-300s.

Production of DC10-30s and F-28s has been discontinued because of their lack of viability in business. Out of the four DC10-30s, three are 29 years old while the other is 17-year old, the four F-28s are 31 years old, and two of the A310-300s are 11 years old while the other is 7-year old.

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