Banglar Bir
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Biman lost Tk200 crore by leasing two non-operational planes
SAM Staff, May 31, 2017
In another case of mismanagement, Biman has been forced to ground two leased Boeings from EgyptAir at a cost of Tk200 crore that was supposed to resume the Dhaka-New York flights in 2014.
The two Boeing 777 200 ER aircraft were leased for five years. One of them has now been grounded for five months because of engine failure and another is fully non-operational.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States of America warned Biman to replace its ageing DC-10s by December 2005 or be refused entry to it’s airspace. In 2006 The FAA officially graded Biman a category-2 aircraft carrier, meaning it does not meet the safety standards and cancelled all incoming Biman flights.
Since EgyptAir falls under FAA category-1, Biman authorities decided to lease the two aircraft from them.
A Biman engineer said soon after the lease the two aircraft were grounded at least 25 times including being grounded at Frankfurt, Germany twice because of engine failure.
“Biman authorities did not consider the national interest when they signed the lease.
“When they went to Egypt to inspect the aircraft, the two planes were not in the best of conditions. A private airline had also flown to Egypt for the same reason but returned without leasing them because of their condition.
Biman has been losing Tk1 crore every day, from not flying these planes. The financial loss keeps mounting over these two planes—as the lease expires in February, 2019 and Biman cannot recover the cost and these planes will most likely be grounded till 2019, according to a Biman source.
The lease costs Biman Tk 5 crore monthly and it stipulates that Biman return the aircraft back to Egypt Air in the same condition that they were leased in. Any and all maintenance cost will be borne by Biman.
Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is also investigating this case of mismanagement. Syed Iqbal Hossain, a director of ACC visited the Biman headquarters to figure out the motive behind leasing non-operational planes for five years, said the Biman official.
SOURCE DHAKA TRIBUNE
SAM Staff, May 31, 2017
In another case of mismanagement, Biman has been forced to ground two leased Boeings from EgyptAir at a cost of Tk200 crore that was supposed to resume the Dhaka-New York flights in 2014.
The two Boeing 777 200 ER aircraft were leased for five years. One of them has now been grounded for five months because of engine failure and another is fully non-operational.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States of America warned Biman to replace its ageing DC-10s by December 2005 or be refused entry to it’s airspace. In 2006 The FAA officially graded Biman a category-2 aircraft carrier, meaning it does not meet the safety standards and cancelled all incoming Biman flights.
Since EgyptAir falls under FAA category-1, Biman authorities decided to lease the two aircraft from them.
A Biman engineer said soon after the lease the two aircraft were grounded at least 25 times including being grounded at Frankfurt, Germany twice because of engine failure.
“Biman authorities did not consider the national interest when they signed the lease.
“When they went to Egypt to inspect the aircraft, the two planes were not in the best of conditions. A private airline had also flown to Egypt for the same reason but returned without leasing them because of their condition.
Biman has been losing Tk1 crore every day, from not flying these planes. The financial loss keeps mounting over these two planes—as the lease expires in February, 2019 and Biman cannot recover the cost and these planes will most likely be grounded till 2019, according to a Biman source.
The lease costs Biman Tk 5 crore monthly and it stipulates that Biman return the aircraft back to Egypt Air in the same condition that they were leased in. Any and all maintenance cost will be borne by Biman.
Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is also investigating this case of mismanagement. Syed Iqbal Hossain, a director of ACC visited the Biman headquarters to figure out the motive behind leasing non-operational planes for five years, said the Biman official.
SOURCE DHAKA TRIBUNE
