Airbus has called for Biman’s fleet decision to be based strictly on commercial and technical merit, saying it wanted the evaluation to remain factual and fair as Bangladesh entered a critical growth phase in aviation.
Talking to journalists during his Dhaka visit, Wouter van Wersch, executive vice-president — international of Airbus, said that he hoped the Biman Bangladesh Airline’s techno-financial evaluation would remain professional and objective.
‘We hope the evaluation will be based on the merits of the offers. We want the decision to be factual, based on commercial, technical and capacity-building value,’ he said.
Head of customer accounts for Airbus South Asia Edward Delahaye also accompanied him during the visit.
Describing Bangladesh’s aviation growth ‘one of the strongest in the world, Wouter said that Bangladesh was on ‘a strong development path’ and that air connectivity will increasingly shape economic progress.
‘Today, as we know, there are about 13 million passengers going through Bangladesh, and the objective is to reach 28.5 million in 2030, which means the growth of the aviation sector is quite substantial, six per cent yearly which is nearly double the world average,’ he said.
With air travel to the Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia rising sharply, Wouter argued that Biman was ideally placed to capture this demand.
‘Biman, as the flag carrier in Bangladesh, is very well positioned to capture this growth and to continue opening new routes and bringing a lot of revenue also to the country,’ he said.
For immediate needs, Airbus confirmed it has already proposed support to Biman to source leased aircraft before its own delivery slots.
Edward Delahaye said, ‘Yes. We always do that with every customer… We can help build a solution to source capacity before our own delivery slots.’
‘If Biman selects Airbus, we will push and convince lessors to provide aircraft as a bridge… We are not a lessor, but we will facilitate availability depending on what lessors have,’ Wouter said.
Airbus pitches the A321neo and A350 as core long-term solutions.
Describing the manufacturer’s product portfolio, Wouter said that Airbus held ‘a very strong position, if not a leadership position, on the commercial aircraft side,’ including single-aisle, widebody, defence, space and helicopter platforms.
He highlighted the A321neo as a natural fit for Biman’s regional and mid-haul needs, saying, ‘In September we overtook the number of deliveries from the 737 if you look at the whole family. There have now been more A320 family aircraft delivered than the 737s from Boeing.’
He described the type as ‘a very successful aircraft that could answer the needs on the single-aisle side.’
For long-haul ambitions, he positioned the A350-900 or A350-1000 as unmatched, ‘There is our long-range leader, the A350, in two versions – the -900 and the -1000 – and of course also the freighter… from Dhaka, you can open all the key cities in the US, until Los Angeles, and you can cover all the other key cities in Asia and Australia where the airline would go.’
Edward said that the A350-900 had the lowest seat-mile cost and the widest cabin in its class, while the A350-1000 is the longest-range aircraft in the world.
He added that on Dhaka-Toronto, the A350-900 could fly ‘non-stop with more passengers and more cargo,’ whereas the 787 currently cannot.
Wouter said, ‘For Dhaka-Los Angeles or Dhaka-New York, the A350-900 is the only aircraft that can do it non-stop.’
Edward said that market strength in Bangladesh is visible without detailed modelling.
‘You don’t need to make a market analysis – it stands in front of you. When you have 777s from Emirates, from Qatar, from Saudia, flights from Kuwait already here, it means there is a big market,’ he added.
On whether introducing Airbus would increase training or maintenance complexity, Edward explained that Airbus’ cockpit commonality eliminates many transition costs.
‘Introducing Airbus will not be more expensive… Our cockpit commonality – from A321 to A350 – saves significant cost because pilots can fly multiple types,’ he said.
Wouter said that Airbus was comfortable supporting either an all-Airbus or mixed fleet, ‘If Biman chooses a mixed fleet, we are ready. Many airlines operate mixed fleets, but Airbus offers major efficiency advantages due to cross-type commonality.’
He said that Airbus was not merely bidding to sell aircraft, but plans broader engagement to support Bangladesh’s aviation ecosystem.
He also called for raising capacity-building, MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) partnerships, regulatory cooperation, and skills development.
‘We also want to bring support in the cooperation between the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and, for example, European Union Aviation Safety Agency from a regulatory perspective, but also for flight safety, training and certification,’ he said.
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