‘Rajhangsha’ lands in Dhaka
Water cannons spouted as the wheels of Rajhangsha -- Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ fourth brand new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- touched the taxiway of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday afternoon.
“The fourth Dreamliner, last in the row, landed at the airport directly from USA’s Seattle’s Boeing Factory at 4:39 pm,” Biman’s Manager (PR) Tasmin Akhtar told BSS.
Capt Farhat Hasan Jamil, the acting managing director and CEO of the country’s flag carrier, along with other high officials received the Dreamliner at the airport as the 16th aircraft to the national flag carrier, she said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina -- who named all the Dreamliners -- is scheduled to inaugurate Rajhangsha at 4pm on Tuesday, Akhtar said.
A Bangladesh delegation, comprising officials of Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, Civil Aviation Authority,
Bangladesh (CAAB) and Biman Bangladesh Airlines, led by Biman’s board chairman Air Marshal (retd) Muhammad Enamul Bari received the aircraft from the Boeing Company in Seattle yesterday. Four pilots of Biman, led by its Chief of Flight Safety Capt Shoeb Chowdhury operated the new aircraft, with the delegation on board, from Seattle to Dhaka.
Earlier, the first and second Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners -- named Akash Beena and Hangsabalaka respectively -- arrived here in August and December last year, while the third one -- Gaangchil -- arrived in July.
In 2008, Biman signed a US$2.1 billion agreement with Boeing to purchase 10 new aircrafts. Of those, Boeing has already delivered four 777-300ER’s, two 737-800’s and three Dreamliners to Biman.
The 271-seater Rajhangsha has been designed to be 20 percent fuel efficient compared to other aircrafts. The airliner has the capacity to fly 16 hours nonstop with an average speed of 650 miles per hour, and is also equipped with on-board Wi-Fi.
It will provide passengers with Wi-Fi services at a height of 43,000 feet, allowing passengers to browse the internet or connect with their friends and family from any place of the world.