Civil Aviation
Biman Bangladesh Plans to Launch Flights to New York
In order to restore direct flights to the US, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the flag carrier of Bangladesh, has applied for a foreign air carrier authorization with the US Department of Transportation (DOT).
The airline now anticipates that Bangladesh will receive a Level 1 safety rating “soon, after the FAA and Bangladesh’s CAAB continue their joint work.” When that occurs, Biman plans to begin flying between Dhaka and Newark using its own aircraft. or possibly JFK. Both are mentioned in the report.
Biman expects the service to start out by operating five times a week. The 787-9 could potentially cover the almost 7,900-mile route nonstop, but according to Biman, the flight will stop in Izmir, Turkey.
As prospective future growth markets, the carrier lists Washington, DC, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Additionally, it includes a number of link locations along the way, including Abu Dhabi, Rome, Brussels, Manchester, Birmingham, Istanbul, New Delhi, and Amsterdam.
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Biman Bangladesh’s filing with the DOT includes the projected financials for the route and reveals that the airline anticipates it may lose more than $53 million in the first year. The airline projects costs of more than $153 million and revenue of close to $100 million with 260 roundtrip flights per year (5x weekly) and a 70% load factor.
According to a table in the filing, it operated 79 flights from DAC to New York in 2005/2006, carrying a total of 11,455 passengers (145 on average), including flights from New York to Brussels Airport (BRU), Belgium.