Biman owns two more Boeing planes after debt payment

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has finally become the owner of two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, having paid off the loan in regular instalments since 2011.

Biman had to pay a total of USD343.90 million (approximately Tk 3,782 crore) to JP Morgan as loan and interest in the last 23 years, Shafiul Azim, managing director and CEO of the national flag carrier, told The Daily Star today.

Earlier in October last year, Biman also bought a Dash-8Q 400 aircraft at the cost of USD3.99 million (approximately Tk 44 crore) which it had taken on lease from Nordic Aviation Capital.

With these three, Biman now owns 19 of the 21 aircraft in its fleet, said Azim. The remaining two have been taken on lease up to 2026, he added.

Biman now boasts one of the youngest fleets in Asia with 21 modern aircraft, including four Boeing 777-300 ER, four Boeing 787-8, two Boeing 787-9, six Boeing 737-800, and five De Havilland Canada Dash 8.

After turning into a public limited company in 2008, the national flag carrier had inked an agreement with US plane maker Boeing for purchasing four 777-300ER, four 787-8, and two 737-800.

The first and second Boeing 777-300ER were added to Biman's fleet in October 2011 and November 2011, according to Biman documents.

The Boeing 777-300ER is known as wide-bodied aircraft having a seating capacity of around 419.

"In a show of great success, I want to say with delight that Biman did not miss a single instalment payment to JP Morgan… even… during the time of Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

The last instalment was paid in November, Azim told the 300th Board of Directors meeting at the Biman headquarters in the capital's Kurmitola.

This proved the national flag carrier's capability in many aspects, he said.

"Except for getting the sovereign guarantee, Biman didn't take any taka from the government or anyone. We paid all the instalment with our own income," he also said.

Owning the two aircraft will have manifold effects on Biman, including its profit volume, said the Biman MD.

Work is underway to get all three aircraft registered under Biman's name, he said.