Many are being bought from Boeing, let’s buy 10 from us too – Airbus requests Biman

❐ Special Correspondent

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has made a new offer to Biman Bangladesh Airlines to buy 10 aircraft from its company, amid the process of purchasing 14 aircraft from Boeing for $3.7 billion or about 45 thousand crore taka.

Biman General Manager (Public Relations) Bosra Islam informed the media about this on Sunday, May 17.

Airbus made the new offer just weeks after signing a $3.7 billion deal to buy 14 aircraft from American manufacturer Boeing.

Earlier last week, Airbus Vice President Edward Delah held a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Afroza Khanam, State Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, and Biman Managing Director and CEO Kaiser Sohel Ahmed at the Secretariat.

Regarding the proposal, the Biman General Manager said, Airbus recently made an offer to sell the aircraft. The relevant committee of Biman is evaluating the proposal. However, he could not provide details of Boeing’s proposal.

Airbus has argued for including Airbus aircraft alongside Boeing in the airline’s fleet. According to the company, a mixed fleet would be beneficial for Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

In light of Airbus’ proposal, the Minister and State Minister pledged to work closely with the company on the formation of Biman’s future fleet.

Biman internal sources said that Airbus formally submitted the proposal to Biman’s Techno-Finance Committee. The proposal calls for the supply of four ‘A350-900’ widebody and six ‘A321neo’ narrowbody aircraft.

When asked about this, an Airbus spokesperson responsible for South Asia said, “We do not comment on whether our discussions with customers are ongoing or not.”

Biman officially signed an aircraft purchase agreement with Boeing on April 30. Under the historic deal, financed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Biman will purchase eight Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners, two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and four Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

Boeing and Airbus have submitted several offers to Biman for the sale of two aircraft. Airbus has been trying hard for the past four years to secure a place in Biman’s fleet. After French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Dhaka in 2023, the then Awami League government took a policy decision to buy 10 Airbus aircraft.

But after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the terrorist attacks of July-August 2024, Dr. Yunus’ interim government took a stand in favor of buying Boeing to appease the United States. Even the BNP government is adamant on that position.

Biman’s current fleet is dominated by Boeing aircraft. Out of the 19 aircraft in the fleet, 14 are Boeings. The remaining five aircraft are Dash-8s, which are manufactured by Canada’s de Havilland.