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Biman Bangladesh Ready To Drop Boeing and Order Airbus A350s
BYMICHAEL DORANPUBLISHED 15 HOURS AGO
Access to funds and aggressive marketing appears to be behind Biman Bangladesh's switch to Airbus A350 widebodies.
Photo: Airbus
A high-level agreement signed between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom on Friday has paved the way for expansion in the Bangladeshi aviation sector. The two nations have formed an Aviation partnership to develop the industry, which includes provision for purchasing Airbus passenger and cargo jets.
The UK's Investment Minister, Lord Dominic Johnson and Salman F Rahman, the private investment and industry adviser to Bangladesh's Prime Minister, signed the agreement in London. The aim is to strengthen Bangladesh's trade and investment relations with the UK and the other European partners of Airbus to develop aviation.
What does the deal deliver?
In a practical sense, it will give Bangladesh access to long-term credit facilities from the UK Export Finance Scheme on favorable terms for purchasing Airbus aircraft. This brings to life the purchase of Airbus A350s by Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Biman), which announced a decision to order two A350F freighters earlier in the week.While firm details on the number of aircraft that will be ordered were not released, reports in Bangladesh's Business Standard said Biman is ready to purchase up to ten Airbus A350s, including the two A350F freighters. These will be the first dedicated freighters in the Biman fleet and are expected to arrive in 2026.
Photo: Fasttailwind I Shutterstock.
According to Flightradra24.com, Biman has an all-Boeing jet fleet of 16 aircraft, including four 777-300ERs, four 787-8 and two 787-9 Dreamliners and six 737-800s. The carrier also uses five De Havilland DHC-8-Q400 turboprops for its regional operations. The 777-300ERs have an average age of around ten years, and with delivery dates for A350s stretching out to the second half of the decade, the Boeing widebodies are obvious candidates for replacement.
Why switch from Boeing to Airbus?
Apart from wet leasing aircraft, the only Airbus planes operated by Biman were the six A310-300s in its fleet between 1996 and 2016. This decision to switch from Boeing to Airbus marks a change of direction and is part of the broader national goal to develop the nation's aviation industry.Photo: Airbus
The state minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Mahbub Ali, said last week:
Biman's Managing Director and CEO, Shafiul Azim, explained that the airline plans to launch several new routes, with a decision made on services to the United States and Japan. He added that "the procurement of the Airbus fleet is part of our plans for the region.""The government plans to revive and regain the international aviation market following the Prime Minister's directives on turning the country into an aviation hub in the subcontinent. We have taken a policy decision to purchase 10 new state-of-the-art aircraft for Biman."
Photo: Airbus
The shift into running a dedicated cargo operation is uncharted waters for Biman, which the Business Standard is because the airline wants to capture a slice of the garment and textile exports currently moved by overseas cargo carriers. In March, Airbus produced its first parts for the A350F, which was initially due to enter service in late 2025, but that has now been shunted back to early 2026.
What do you think of Biman Bangladesh's shift to Airbus? Let us know in the comments.