Hasina names Biman aircraft

The third and fourth new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines will be named Akashprodip and Rangaprobhat.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday chose the names after Biman authorities placed a list of 50 names picked by its public relations department.
The aircraft scheduled to join the fleet in February and March next year were supposed to join by the end of this year, Biman officials said.
But the national carrier's inability to pay in time delayed the procedure, they said.
The first and the second wide-body Boeing 777-300ER -- Palki and Arunalo -- joined the Biman fleet last year.
With the 419-seater third and fourth Boeing 777, Biman will be able to resume its Dhaka-New York flights, which are waiting for US approval.
The airlines currently has a fleet of eight aircraft, comprising two Boeing 777-300 ERs, two Airbus A 310s, two Boeing 737s and two DC 10s.
In 2008, Biman sealed the deal with US plane-maker Boeing to buy 10 new aircraft, including four 777-300ERs, four 787-8 Dreamliners and two 737-800s, at a cost of Tk 17,250 crore.
The last consignment of four Dreamliners will join the fleet by 2017 and 2019, said Khan Mosharraf Hossain, general manager for public relations at Biman.