Five international companies are ready to provide aircraft to Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited on ACMI lease as the national flag carrier is planning to increase flights to its Middle East destinations, reports UNB.

"Five (international) com-panies have submitted their tender papers to Biman. Our evolution committee is evaluating the papers," Biman managing director and CEO MA Momen told UNB.

He said the evaluation committee, headed by Biman director (Planning) Nafiz Imtiaz, will submit its evaluation report after holding a meeting. "We''re very much hopeful of reaching a deal with one of the companies by April 15," said the Biman MD. Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, now spreading its wings in a turnaround, is likely to have another Boeing in its fleet in May to increase flights to its Middle East and gulf destinations.

The latest procurement is part of its ongoing renovation process to make the national flag carrier a world-class airliner. Then Boeing 747 will be incorporated under the Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) lease process for one year. This latest aircraft will be used to operate flights to the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries.

"We''re looking for re-furnishing and strengthening our activities in the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries. The process of taking the next Boeing 747 on lease is a bid towards that destination," Biman MD Momen said.

A tender was floated in this connection on March 10 where it was stated that the Boeing 747 has to be of 200 or 300 or 400 series and the manufacturing year of the aircraft must not be earlier than 1980.

The tender mentioned that the lease would be applicable for a year commencing from May 2008 and it is extendable subject to a mutual agreement. Biman wanted to have the guarantee that the leased aircraft has at least 3,000 block hours (every flying hour from takeoff to landing) for the one-year period. Aircraft manufacturers, airlines, owners, operators and leasing companies having aircraft of their own can participate in tender.

Biman restricted any agent or broker from participating in the tender as it said that the organization would not deal with any agent or broker during the process of evaluation and finalisation of contract.

The last date for submission of tender was April 2. Recently, Biman has taken a 542-seat Boeing 747-200 on lease from a Nigeria-based airline, Kabo Air, in a bid to minimise the disruptions in its flight schedules.

The national flag carrier has long been facing serious troubles in maintaining flight schedules due to acute shortage of aircraft. It was also taken under the ACMI lease process for six months.

But its lease might be extended after that following a negotiation between the two sides. Under the lease conditions, Biman will have to pay $5,300 to Kabo Air Ltd for per block hour. Biman currently owns three types of aircraft-four DC10s -30s, four F28s, and three A310-300s.

Of those, only four or five can fly everyday while the rest are grounded due to technical glitches. Biman is going to purchase eight Boeing aircraft at a cost of $ 1.265 billion and signed a MoU with Boeing representatives here on March 15.

Of the eight, the first consignment of four aircraft will be arriving here in 2013 while the second consignment in 2017. The first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will cost US$ 182.17 million while the other three US$ 182.51 million, US$ 183.20 million and US$ 184.01 million. The initial selling price of this kind of aircraft is US$ 272 million.

The first Boeing 787 aircraft will cost US$ 132.83 million, while the other three will cost US$ 133.08 million, US$ 133.53 million and US$ 133.81 million. The initial selling price of these planes are US$ 167 million.

Biman, which turned into a moribund state-run national flag carrier due to wanton corruption and mismanagement, was transformed into a public limited company in July last year to give it a new lease of life.

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