14 Aircraft to be Purchased for Tk35,000 Crore

Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national flag carrier, is set to make its most significant fleet expansion decision this evening by signing a formal agreement with the American aircraft manufacturer, Boeing.

Under the proposed deal, Biman will procure a total of 14 new aircraft. The order includes 8 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners, 2 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and 4 Boeing 737-8 MAX jets.

The estimated market price of these aircraft is approximately 3.7 billion USD, which translates to nearly Tk35,000 crore.

Boshra Islam, General Manager of Public Relations at Biman, confirmed the information to Agamir Somoy.

The official signing ceremony is scheduled for 7:30 PM tonight at a hotel in the capital. The event will be attended by high-ranking government officials, diplomats, and aviation industry executives.

Managing Director and CEO Kaizer Shohel Ahmed will sign the agreement on behalf of Biman, while a representative from Boeing will sign for the manufacturer.

The ceremony is expected to be attended by Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam Rita, State Minister M. Rashiduzzaman Millat, and U.S. Ambassador Brent T. Christensen.

Officials concerned said that this decision was made to modernize Bangladesh Biman's fleet and enhance long-haul flight capabilities to meet increasing passenger demand.

The Dreamliners will be deployed on routes to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, while the 737 MAX aircraft will be used for regional and short-haul flights.

This massive purchase order ends a three-year competition between Boeing and the European manufacturer Airbus.

During the previous Awami League government, a policy decision was made to purchase 10 Airbus aircraft. However, following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the 2024 mass uprising and amid strategic pressure to reduce the trade gap with the United States, the interim government made the final decision in favor of Boeing.

An anonymous top official has revealed that the cost of these 14 aircraft could range between Tk30,000 and Tk35,000 crores. The payment will be made through long-term installments spanning 10 to 20 years, meaning Biman may need to pay Tk1,500 to Tk2,000 crore annually. In exchange, it is expected that the United States will play a positive role in reducing tariffs on Bangladeshi products.

Earlier, State Minister for Civil Aviation Rashiduzzaman Millat stated that the government was working with the goal of signing this deal with Boeing by April 30 to transform Biman into a profitable organization.

Currently, Biman's fleet consists of only 19 aircraft. The fleet shrank further last year after two aircraft were returned following the expiration of their lease. The existing fleet includes four Boeing 777-300ERs, four Boeing 787-8s, two Boeing 787-9s, four Boeing 737s, and five Dash-8-400 aircraft.

In addition to domestic routes, Biman currently operates flights to 22 international destinations. There are plans to launch new routes to Male (Maldives), Jakarta (Indonesia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), and Sydney (Australia), which are considered potentially profitable destinations.

Sources indicate that Biman has been unable to add any new aircraft since two Canadian-built Dash-8 planes joined the fleet 5-year ago. The indecision over whether to purchase aircraft from Europe or the United States had been the primary cause of the long delay in fleet expansion.

In the face of rising travellers number on international routes and intense competition from foreign airlines, Biman adopted an ambitious 10-year plan in 2024. The plan aims at purchasing 26 new aircraft and expand routes. Since then, both Boeing and Airbus have presented various proposals to the authorities, but Biman was unable to finalize an agreement with either manufacturer for a long time.

Finally, on December 30, Biman's Board of Directors made a policy decision to purchase 14 aircraft from Boeing. The current BNP-led government is upholding that decision.

Boshra Islam noted that Biman will have to wait until November 2031 to receive the first delivery of the new Boeing aircraft. Consequently, there is almost no possibility of resolving the aircraft shortage in the short term.