Airbus seeks to sell two more aircraft to Biman

Airbus Industrie is negotiating the sale of two more latest A300-600 aircraft to Bangladesh Biman to fly on its short and regional routes.

After delivering two A310s aircraft a few months back, Airbus Industrie, which is a European consortium, sees ample room to add A300-600s to the national carrier's fleet.

"Two A310s are already the workhorses of Biman Bangladesh Airlines' regional routes. It has the capability to grow into regional airliner and we believe that it needs to add A300-600 to its present fleet," said David Velupillai, a Airbus Industrie senior official, at a press conference held at a city hotel yesterday.

The 266-seat Airbus A300-600 might be a good substitute for old DC-10-30 not only for safety reasons but also due to economic considerations. "It is 13 per cent better than DC-10-30 in terms of operational expenditures and will save the airlines millions of dollars in fuel cost," David said.

"The price of per new Airbus is around 80 to 90 million US dollars including some spares and training facilities."

Airbus Industrie predicts an important market for 345 airliners worth $ 31.4 billion in the Southwest Asia region over the next 20 years. This is the result of its latest market forecast, based on a detailed analysis of nine airlines in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he added.

"Today, these carriers fly around 150 airlines," he said, adding "all these aircraft need to be replaced." In addition, a further 195 aircraft are necessary for traffic growth.

"Airbus Industrie is particularly well placed to meet Bangladesh's airliner needs, because its airliner family is the most comprehensive as well as most up-to-date, efficient and attractive," David said.