In 2021 Bangladesh’s gross domestic product was $416 billion, Vietnam’s was $366 billion and the Philippines’ was $394 billion. Bangladesh’s population was 169 million with 7.5 million emigrants, according to the World Bank, while Vietnam’s population was 97 million with 3.4 million emigrants and the Philippines’ 114 million with 6.1 million emigrants.
However, the fleet size of all airlines was only 36 in Bangladesh with 10 wide-bodied aircraft; the number was 187 in Vietnam with 35 wide-bodied aircraft and 172 in the Philippines with 29 wide-bodied aircraft.
Demand for international travel keeps growing along with the number of migrant workers, non-resident Bangladeshis and the upper-middle-class. A Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) report says Bangladesh's airports handled 9.63 million international passengers in 2022, which was 8.59 million in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
The number will grow by the day, with projections showing that air travel will double in Bangladesh by 2031.
But most of the Bangladeshi traffic is being operated by foreign carriers.
Expansion of Bangladesh’s aviation sector
“We believe that the aviation market [of Bangladesh] is not fully utilized,” Morad Bourouffala, Airbus chief representative in Bangladesh, told a group of Bangladeshi journalists on Monday while visiting the final assembly line of A350s in Toulouse, located in the south of France and known as the aerospace capital of Europe owing to the Airbus headquarters being situated there.
The Bangladesh government with its vision of a Smart Bangladesh in place by 2041 aims to expand its aviation sector. A state-of-the-art international terminal has been built recently at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. A joint communique was signed in May for a partnership in the aviation sector with Airbus, the biggest European airliner manufacturer.
French President Emmanuel Macron, during his maiden Bangladesh visit in September, thanked the country for keeping its “trust” in Airbus with Dhaka showing interest in buying 10 wide-bodied A350 aircraft, including two freights. Wide-bodied aircraft have two passenger aisles that can accommodate seven or more seats in a row.
“The future of Bangladeshi aviation starts in Toulouse,” Juan Camilo Rodríguez, widebody market development manager at Airbus, said. “We pioneer sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world.”
He said in the next 20 years, there will be global demand for over 40,000 new passenger and freighter aircraft. In Asia Pacific excluding China, the demand is 9,500 new aircraft – 2,000 wide-bodied ones – during the period between 2023 and 2042, according to Rodríguez.
“It means the demand for all the services that come together will also grow. For that 131,000 new pilots, 144,000 new technicians and 208,000 new cabin crews would be needed,” he said, adding that Airbus could provide that solution as it helped countries with the development of such skilled jobs.
“And Bangladesh’s passenger traffic is also going to double. Bangladesh needs more aircraft to capture market opportunities,” he said.
“It’s not just a transaction in which we will just sell something and leave the country. It’s a partnership, and we really want Bangladesh to be an aviation destination,” Morad Bourouffala said.
“Bangladesh is a shining economy. It’s the 34th [largest] economy worldwide last year. We see a lot of potential with its economic growth and population.”
The A350 and the future of aviation
The A350 made its first flight on June 14, 2013. In the last 10 years, it has delivered 552 aircraft, which are flying on 1,071 routes. Airbus dominates major airlines such as those based in Qatar and Singapore. India is also expanding its aviation sector with the Airbus A350.
IndiGo, an Indian private carrier, alone placed an order for 500 A320 family aircraft in June, setting the record for the biggest single purchase agreement in the history of commercial aviation.
With Bangladesh, the partnership began three years before May’s joint communique. Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University in 2020 to provide its students with world-class pilot training and maintenance engineering skills.
“From day one, we are there in Bangladesh with the intention of development of the aviation sector,” Bourouffala said, adding that the company was forging partnerships with different entities related to the sector in Bangladesh.
Airbus’s foray into Bangladesh’s market triggered a lot of speculation as the current wide-body aircraft are supplied by the American corporation Boeing Company. Some Bangladeshi analysts question whether the national flag carrier, Biman, is in a position to handle a mixed fleet.
Antonio da Costa, head of Airbus’s single-aisle marketing, said its aircraft today offered 25% lower fuel burn compared to the previous generation.
“That brings better efficiency, better economics and better sustainability for long-term development,” he said.
“Today a lot of Bangladeshi traffic is being operated by foreign carriers. By bringing in new-generation wide bodies of the A350 with 25% lower fuel burn and best passenger experiences, we believe we will be giving Bangladeshi airlines as a whole the right tool to fight right up there with all the other major foreign carriers that are taking advantage of the traffic.”
He said Bangladesh could be an aviation hub by taking advantage of the existing passenger flow. Location-wise, he said, Bangladesh was also very well located in Asia to be an aviation hub, which meant the country would act as a gateway for people travelling from one place to another.
Da Costa said this new-generation aircraft of Airbus was easier to operate and maintain than the previous one.
“The same pilot can operate all the lines in the Airbus family,” he said. For example, Bangladesh was now buying A350s and pilots would get training to operate those, da Costa added. In future, if Bangladesh bought A320s and other lines, the same pilot would be able to run those aircraft, which was something not possible in the case of Boeing, he added.
The A350 aircraft is reducing weight, enhancing performance, and increasing maximum takeoff weight and cabin volume, among others, as part of its continuous development.
The freight aircraft is also setting a new benchmark with the largest main deck cargo door, 17% wider than the competitors, lowest CO2 emission per trip and larger package size than any freighter in production.
France is one of Airbus's four founding countries along with Germany, Spain and the UK. As a global company with around 134,000 employees around the world, Airbus has business operations across the world.
