Is the plan to buy Airbus aircraft a good one?

Biman Bangladesh Airlines wants to increase its fleet from its present 21-strong fleet and in that direction it has decided to buy 10 Airbus aircraft from its European manufacturer in phases. These aircraft will include two wide-bodied A350 freighters cargo freighters from aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Reportedly, Bangladesh will get long-term loan facilities on soft terms under the UK Export Finance scheme to purchase the freighters.

However, aviation experts have expressed their reservations, and rightly at that, on purchasing Airbus aircraft, as the staff of Biman is not experienced and skillful enough to handle aircraft of this company. They are of the opinion that having aircraft from different manufacturers requires different sets of technical arrangements, expertise and manpower involving additional cost for a smaller fleet like Bangladesh Biman presently has.

Of Biman’s passenger fleet of 21, Boeing alone supplied 18 of its aircraft and experts in the field have suggested a planned purchase of aircraft to make Biman a commercially viable organisation. It has been also pointed out that in Bangladesh those who lead the airlines are always from a bureaucratic background and lack the expertise to make plans with aviation business in mind. That is why Biman’s service – and business – has not significantly improved over the decades, the opinion goes.
It is also being speculated among the concerned people that since Bangladesh’s bilateral relations with the US are not going well recently, Authorities have shifted its focus from Boeing to Airbus to purchase aircraft. They have termed this decision an unprofessional one in terms of benefit for Biman.

Still, there is criticism that the plan was put forward without doing any market research on the routes to assess passenger and cargo demand. Therefore, before making a final decision on aircraft purchase, it is well advised that authorities must take into consideration the many questions raised following their decision to purchase aircraft from a different manufacturer.