Biman to hire 14 foreign pilots

Biman is going to hire 14 foreign pilots to fly its two new Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft and train local pilots.
Of the two, the first brand new wide-body jet is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka today, while the second one is due in next month.
The new planes are joining the ageing fleet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines under a deal signed with US aviation giant Boeing in June 2008.
"Apart from flying the two aircraft, the overseas crew will train up 14 sets of our cockpit crew who will be ready to fly the two new jets by March next year," Biman Managing Director Mohammad Zakiul Islam told The Daily Star.
Once local pilots are ready, there will be no foreign cockpit crew, he added.
Biman sources said the national airliner will have to pay the overseas pilots a hefty amount in monthly salaries, more than double the amount to a local air crew.
According to pilots, monthly salary of an overseas cockpit crew is between $14,000 and $15000, while a local pilot can be recruited with only $6000 to $7000.
Besides, Biman will have to provide them with air tickets to London each month.
Two sets of Biman's cockpit crew have already completed simulator training, while another is undergoing training at a Boeing training academy in Singapore, mentioned Biman officials.
A set of cockpit crew is comprised of a captain and a first officer.
"Under the aircraft purchase agreement, Boeing will bear the expenses of simulator training for Biman pilots," a top Biman official told The Daily Star, wishing anonymity.
Sources at Biman said had its management completed training of the pilots well ahead of the arrival of new aircraft, a huge amount of money could have been saved.
They feared the additional expenditure for foreign pilots will be a burden on the national airliner as it will now have to pay around Tk 60 crore in monthly instalment for the credit it took to purchase the aircraft.
Asked about the matter, the Biman MD said they did not send pilots for simulator training earlier as it is mandatory to complete six base trainings and flying 14 sectors by Boeing 777-300 within 45 days of simulation training.
"Had they completed the simulator training earlier, many of them could not have finished the base training and flying within the time frame," he mentioned.
A number of pilots contradicted his claim saying the time limit is not 45 days, rather it is six months.
Biman presently has a pool of 117 regular and 13 contractual pilots. Its fleet includes two Boeing 737, four DC10-30, three Airbus 310-300 and two F-28 regional jet aircraft. It operates flights to only 19 cities across two continents.
As per the contract with Boeing, Biman will procure 10 new aircraft -- four 777-300ERs, four 787-8 Dreamliners and two 737-800s -- at a cost of Tk 17,250 crore.
The two new Boeing 777-300 ER jets with a seating capacity of 419 each will fly on long-haul routes including Dhaka-Manchester-New York, Dhaka-London-Dhaka, Dhaka-Rome-Dhaka, and Dhaka-Sydney-Dhaka.
A delegation of around 40 Biman officials including its chairman and managing director was at the Boeing factory in Seattle, USA to bring the aircraft.
The new plane is likely to make its first commercial flight on Wednesday.