Biman to operate weekly two Boeing flights to Cox's Bazar

Biman Bangladesh Airlines on Sunday announced their plan to operate two weekly flights with wide-bodied aircrafts on the Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route. Biman General Manager Shakil Meraj told the BSS that initial plans called for one weekly flight with aircrafts with higher seat capacities. “After meeting today, we are going to move forward with two weekly flights – on Thursdays and Saturdays – from May 18 with a 162-seater Boeing 737-800. Currently, Biman only has a 74-seater Dash Q-400 flying once a week to Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka. "With the Boeing, we can offer business class seats to tourists for the first time on this route," he said. The lowest fare for a one-way business class will be Tk9,000 and Tk4,000 for economy class. "Our operations will see an expansion in winter in the tourist season," Meraj said. Cox's Bazar airport, constructed during World War 2, is only used domestically. Aircraft with less than 76-seats could only use the airport until the recent expansion. But the government has been working to upgrade the airport to international standards to make Cox's Bazar itself an international tourist destination. As part of the "Cox's Bazar Airport Development Project", a Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (Caab) official said the runway of the airport was extended to 9,000 from 6,775 feet and widened to 200 from 150 feet that allows wide-bodied aircraft to use the airport. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the operation of wide-bodied aircraft by arriving at Cox’s Bazar on a Biman Boeing 737-800 on Saturday. Caab sources claim 80% of the work has been completed, and hope to wrap up the development by 2018. Aside from Biman, privately-owned US-Bangla Airlines and NovoAir also operate two flights daily while Regent Air operates one flight daily.