The national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, plans to introduce Boeing 737-800 aircraft to mid-haul destinations across Middle-East, replacing B777-300 ER, in the wake of its continuous losses.
Biman authorities say labour migration to ME has shrunk significantly that has affected B777-300 ER operation on the route.
According to a top Biman official, the number of passengers bound for ME countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar is shrinking, leading the Biman authorities to go for small carrier like B737-800 instead of wide-body aircraft B777-300 ER.
Sometimes, cabin factor or passenger capacity gets reduced to 60% while less than 70% cabin factor fails to bring any profit for a single flight, he said.
The official said if the number of passenger increases, the management will introduce more aircraft.
But unlike Biman, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways are making a huge profit, operating their flights on ME routes from Dhaka.
Biman has now four B777-300 ERs and three B737-800 aircraft, and of the three, two were taken on lease.
To ensure smooth operation on mid-haul routes, Biman will take two more Boeing 737-800 aircraft on dry lease, said sources.
Biman is one of the smallest flag carriers in Asia, operating only 13 aircraft on a network of 22 destinations.
The 13 include four Boeing 777-300 ERs, two 310 Airbuses, two Boeing 777-200 ERs, two Dash 8 Q400s and three 737s. Of those, six were taken on lease.
According to Biman management, 737 aircraft is operated by more than 500 airlines, flying to 1,200 destinations in 190 countries.
On average, a 737 takes off or lands every five second somewhere in the world. Since entering service in 1968, 737s have carried over 12 billion passengers over 120 billion kilometers and accumulated more than 296 million hours in the air.
A Biman official said he is very much optimistic that the new plan will bear fruit.
But a B777-300 ER captain gave a different version of the idea.
While talking to Dhaka Tribune, he termed the Biman authority’s effort a suicidal attempt.
He said most competitive airlines use 777 aircraft on middle-eastern routes.
“If other airlines can use the big carrier with full passenger capacity why is then Biman planing to replace Boeing 777? It is a complete failure of the marketing department,” added the captain.
Asked about it, the market department denied the allegation. They laid blame on the Biman engineering department.
Frequent flight disruptions are attributed to the fall of the airlines business, said a source in the marketing department.
Echoing the same as the captain, an official of cargo department of Bangladesh Biman said most Bangladeshi labourers carry heavy luggage and the capacity of 737-800 is much lower than 777-300.
Biman is facing this problem on Malaysian route where the national carrier operates Boeing 737-800, he added.
