Biman Bangladesh Airlines plans to buy at least 26 new aircraft by 2034. The company will buy this aircraft in the context of international air travel and competition with foreign airlines. According to a new plan recently approved by Biman's board of directors, the new acquisition will increase Biman Bangladesh's fleet from 21 to 47. That is, the aircraft fleet will increase by 122 percent by 2034.

At least 8 aircraft with 300 seats, 6 with 270 seats, 6 with 160 seats, 4 with 70 seats and one with 400 seats will be added to the Bangladesh aircraft fleet.

With this expansion, the aircraft's seating capacity will more than double. The current daily passenger capacity of the aircraft is 5,000.

In line with the government's efforts to transform Bangladesh into an aviation hub, Biman Bangladesh Airlines plans to expand its business to new routes including Australia and New York through new aircraft.

According to Biman sources, the state-owned airline is evaluating proposals from both Airbus and Boeing for purchasing new aircraft. As a result, Boeing's dominance is waning and the company's fleet is soon to diversify.

Biman Bangladesh initially decided to purchase 10 Airbus A350 widebody aircraft, including two cargo freighters, from Airbus following an offer from European manufacturing giant Airbus. A Techno-Financial Committee has also been formed on March 5 to evaluate this purchase proposal. Meanwhile, after Airbus' proposal, rival Boeing has also made its fresh offer to the state-owned airline.

Biman Managing Director (MD) and CEO Shafiul Azim said, "The 10-year fleet and route expansion plan was under consideration for several years. It was approved in the recently held 300th board meeting. We can revise the plan anytime."

"We plan to add two to three aircraft to the fleet a year. Our routes are ready, we just need to start operations," he said.

If you want to cover the market in Bangladesh, there is no option to buy new aircraft, he said, "Although we are sitting, neighboring countries like India, Thailand, Vietnam are adding hundreds of aircraft. And our market is also among their targets."