Biman Bangladesh Airlines has started procedure for adding four aircraft to its fleet to increase the domestic flight frequency to all the seven domestic routes of the country.
The national flag carrier will purchase three Dash 8 Q400 aircrafts and get another one on lease from Bombardier, Canada, Biman Bangladesh official said.
The officials said they are expecting to get the aircrafts by next year, reports BSS.
Biman's Managing Director and CEO Mosaddek Ahmed said they are operating the domestic and regional routes by using two Dash 8 Q400 aircraft, acquired in 2015 on lease basis for five years.
"We need more narrow body aircraft to continue operations as the lease agreement for the existing two will be expired in 2020," Ahmed said.
Canadian commercial company has given a proposal to the civil aviation and tourism ministry for completing the purchase procedure of three aircraft on government to government procurement basis, officials said.
The ministry is set to send a proposal for purchasing the three aircraft to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) soon for getting nod, said the report.
"After purchasing the aircraft, we will be able to improve our performance and increase flight frequencies on different domestic and regional routes," Biman's General Manager for public relations Shakil Meraj said.
Biman is now operating seven domestic routes and some regional routes by Dash 8 Q400 aircraft.
The domestic destinations from Dhaka include Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Sylhet, Jessore, Rajshahi, Saidpur and Barishal while Kolkata, Kathmandu and Yangon are the major regional destinations.