Bangladesh national carrier to replace fleet of 17 aircraft

DHAKA, Nov 15 (AFP) - State-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines will sell all its 17 aircraft and replace them with Airbus or Boeing jets in hopes of ending decades in the red, a spokesman said Saturday.

Biman will pay the difference between the revenue from selling its aging fleet and the costs of new aircraft, the spokesman for the airline told AFP.

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"We are going to sell off our entire fleet of 17 aircraft to replace them with absolutely new ones so that we can cut down overhead costs and emerge as a profit-making organisation," he said.

The state carrier has proposals from rival aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus.

"The authorities are now reviewing offers from both the companies as well as the balance amount that has to be paid," the spokesman said.

He blamed Biman's financial woes on high overhead costs and said its flights were on average 70 percent full.

"Overhead costs like maintenance and operating cost of old and leased aircraft has denied Biman seeing profit," Civil Aviation Minister Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin said separately.

The airline currently has six Airbus and two Boeing jets, along with four McDonnell Douglas DC 10-30 planes, three Fokker F-28s and two British ATP short-haul aircraft.

Biman is the only Bangladeshi airline to fly overseas with 26 international routes.

The government has allowed private airlines to operate within Bangladesh for the past decade and in September said they would be permitted to fly on select international routes.

Privately run GMG Airlines, which was founded in 1998, has said it is ready to start international routes immediately once the government gives it the green light.

GMG would begin with flights to nearby Calcutta and Kathmandu connecting on to New Delhi and Colombo to ensure passenger turnout, airline spokesman Vijay Alreja said.

Three other airlines -- Air Bangladesh, Air Parbat and Bismillah Airlines -- have also expressed interest in flying beyond domestic routes but are considered further away in meeting license requirements.

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