UNB, Dhaka :
National flag-carrier Biman has failed to make any headway in its plan to lease three Boeing aircraft, as all respondents to the recent tender in relation to the plan were found ‘non-responsive’.
“All the respondents of the tender were found non-responsive,” a Biman official told UNB on condition of anonymity.
‘Non-responsive’ denotes companies that submit their proposals without fulfilling the requirements set out in the tender document.
He also said, Biman is in a good position now and it has to maintain its quality to guard its reputation.
“We cannot just add any aircraft that affects our fleet’s reputation and standard,” he said.
According to the Biman sources, the average age of an aircraft in Biman’s fleet is just below 10 years, whereas the world standard age is seven years.
This was the second failed attempt by Biman to get three Boeing aircraft as part of expanding its fleet.
An earlier tender had failed to evoke any response from suppliers and Biman had to relax its imposed restriction on the age of the aircraft to get three Boeing aircraft on dry lease basis.
“Although we have received some responses, they are non-responsive to us,” the Biman official said. He also said that the national airline’ s board of directors will be informed of the matter during its next meeting on June 20.
In its second tender, Biman increased the maximum age of the 3 Boeing aircraft it would consider to 12. Earlier, the maximum age of the aircraft it would consider was set at 10.
Biman had decided to induct three new aircraft for five years on dry lease basis (only the aircraft) in its fleet from July to December this year with a view to expanding to more destinations.
The trio would comprise one each from Boeing’s 737-800 (162 seats), 777-200ER (319 seats) and 777-300 ER (419-seater) series.
In the first tender document Biman had stated that the commencement of the dry lease would be from July this year. The Biman management was also counting on the three Boeings as two aged Airbus planes in its fleet would be phased out in the next year. The two decades-old A310-300s in its fleet have a seating capacity below 200.
With the acquisition of two new Dash8-Q400s, the number of aircraft in Biman fleet now stands at 12 — four Boeing 777-300ERs, the two Airbus A 310-300s, two Boeing 777-200ERs and two Boeing 737-800s.
The 737-800 would be used on Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu routes, while another two wide-bodied aircraft would be mainly used for the Middle Eastern countries. The 777-300ER and 777-200 ER would be used on Dhaka-London-Dhaka route as the frequency on this route has increased recently.
The Biman official said the airliner has a plan to introduce routes to Guangzhou in China, Madina in Saudi Arabia, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Male in the Maldives. He said the survey of the Madina market has been completed, and they are planning to start flights there soon.
On addition of Tokyo route, the Biman official said even the air traffic agreement with the authorities concerned has been completed.
National flag-carrier Biman has failed to make any headway in its plan to lease three Boeing aircraft, as all respondents to the recent tender in relation to the plan were found ‘non-responsive’.
“All the respondents of the tender were found non-responsive,” a Biman official told UNB on condition of anonymity.
‘Non-responsive’ denotes companies that submit their proposals without fulfilling the requirements set out in the tender document.
He also said, Biman is in a good position now and it has to maintain its quality to guard its reputation.
“We cannot just add any aircraft that affects our fleet’s reputation and standard,” he said.
According to the Biman sources, the average age of an aircraft in Biman’s fleet is just below 10 years, whereas the world standard age is seven years.
This was the second failed attempt by Biman to get three Boeing aircraft as part of expanding its fleet.
An earlier tender had failed to evoke any response from suppliers and Biman had to relax its imposed restriction on the age of the aircraft to get three Boeing aircraft on dry lease basis.
“Although we have received some responses, they are non-responsive to us,” the Biman official said. He also said that the national airline’ s board of directors will be informed of the matter during its next meeting on June 20.
In its second tender, Biman increased the maximum age of the 3 Boeing aircraft it would consider to 12. Earlier, the maximum age of the aircraft it would consider was set at 10.
Biman had decided to induct three new aircraft for five years on dry lease basis (only the aircraft) in its fleet from July to December this year with a view to expanding to more destinations.
The trio would comprise one each from Boeing’s 737-800 (162 seats), 777-200ER (319 seats) and 777-300 ER (419-seater) series.
In the first tender document Biman had stated that the commencement of the dry lease would be from July this year. The Biman management was also counting on the three Boeings as two aged Airbus planes in its fleet would be phased out in the next year. The two decades-old A310-300s in its fleet have a seating capacity below 200.
With the acquisition of two new Dash8-Q400s, the number of aircraft in Biman fleet now stands at 12 — four Boeing 777-300ERs, the two Airbus A 310-300s, two Boeing 777-200ERs and two Boeing 737-800s.
The 737-800 would be used on Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu routes, while another two wide-bodied aircraft would be mainly used for the Middle Eastern countries. The 777-300ER and 777-200 ER would be used on Dhaka-London-Dhaka route as the frequency on this route has increased recently.
The Biman official said the airliner has a plan to introduce routes to Guangzhou in China, Madina in Saudi Arabia, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Male in the Maldives. He said the survey of the Madina market has been completed, and they are planning to start flights there soon.
On addition of Tokyo route, the Biman official said even the air traffic agreement with the authorities concerned has been completed.
