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US-Bangla Airlines

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US-Bangla Airlines Ltd.
IATA ICAO Call sign
BS UBG BANGLASTAR
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)[1]
Commenced operations17 July 2014; 10 years ago (2014-07-17)
HubsShahjalal International Airport
Frequent-flyer programSky Star
Fleet size18
Destinations19
Parent companyUS-Bangla Airlines Ltd.
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh[2]
Key people
    • Mohammed Abdullah Al Mamun, (MD)
    • Capt. Lutfor Rahman, (CEO)
    • Md. Habibur Rahman Akand, (CFO)
    • Jitendra Pandey (Head - Commercial & Contracts)
Websitewww.usbair.com

US-Bangla Airlines (Bengali: ইউএস বাংলা এয়ারলাইন্স) is the largest airline in Bangladesh by fleet size.[3][4][5] The airline is headquartered in Dhaka and based at Shahjalal International Airport under the umbrella companies of US-Bangla Group.[6][7]

Though the airline is the flagship company of the parent US-Bangla Group, the group owns numerous businesses in other industries such as real estate, education, media, electronics, and consumer foods.

History

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US-Bangla Airlines commenced operations with domestic flights on 17 July 2014.[7][6] Initially, the airline launched two domestic destinations, Chittagong and Jessore from its hub in Dhaka.[7] Flights to Cox's Bazar from Dhaka were launched in August. In October, the airline launched flights to Saidpur.[8]

In July 2016, the airline announced plans to phase in its first three Boeing 737-800 aircraft in September of the same year, and to subsequently launch new international routes, for example to Singapore and Dubai.[9] On 29 April 2019, the airline started flights to Guangzhou, becoming the first Bangladeshi airline to operate flights to China.[10] The airline started flights from Dhaka to Chennai (via Chittagong) on 31 March 2019 also becoming first Bangladeshi airline carrier to operate flights to Southern India.[11]

In February 2019, US-Bangla Airlines announced an order for four ATR 72-600 aircraft, to be used on domestic flights. On 22 March 2019, the first aircraft was delivered from Toulouse to Dhaka via El Dabaa and Muscat.[citation needed]

By September 2019, US-Bangla Airlines had become the second largest airline after Biman Bangladesh Airlines, in Bangladesh in terms of fleet size.[5]

The airline was supposed to start direct flights from Sylhet to other Bangladeshi cities such as Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Jessore, as well as a flight from Chittagong to Jessore, in order to make the city of Sylhet more accessible, from mid-2020.[12] The airline also announced its plans to add four more international routes to Abu Dhabi, Colombo and Malé in the beginning of 2021.[13] However, these plans were postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 9 February 2024, the airline received its first wide-body aircraft, an Airbus A330-300 leased from Hi Fly's Maltese division. It has 436 seats in all economy configurations. The airline also has plans to acquire another one. The airline plans to use these fleets in routes to cities in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and also for Hajj flights.[3][14]

Planned expansion

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In November 2021, a senior authority of the airline expressed the plan of expansion of the airline for both of its destinations and its fleet, as the airline is willing to add seven new international routes, i.e. Jeddah, Dammam, Medina, Riyadh, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Colombo, Sydney, New Delhi, Hyderabad etc. from Dhaka. The airline is also planning to introduce Dhaka–New York flight in future, if Bangladesh earned Civil Aviation Category–I. Subsequently, a few destinations in Europe, i.e. London, Paris, Amsterdam and Rome are being planned to be introduced by 2024 with its newly acquired Airbus A330-300.[15][16]

Corporate affairs

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The branch office in Uttara, Dhaka

Its headquarters are in the Baridhara Diplomatic Zone in Dhaka.

Destinations

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US-Bangla Airlines ATR 72-600
US-Bangla Airlines Boeing 737-800
US-Bangla Airlines De Havilland Dash 8-400

The airline started flights to Dubai–International on 1 February 2021, which is its tenth international destination.[17]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Bangladesh Barisal Barisal Airport
Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport Focus city
Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar Airport
Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Hub
Jessore Jessore Airport
Rajshahi Shah Makhdum Airport
Saidpur Saidpur Airport
Sylhet Osmani International Airport
China Guangzhou Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
India Chennai Chennai International Airport
Kolkata Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Maldives Malé Velana International Airport
Nepal Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport Terminated [18]
Oman Muscat Muscat International Airport
Qatar Doha Hamad International Airport
Saudi Arabia Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport
Singapore Singapore Changi Airport
Thailand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport
Dubai Dubai International Airport
Sharjah Sharjah International Airport

Fleet

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Current fleet

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As of April 2024, US-Bangla Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[19][20][21][22][23]

US-Bangla Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
B E Total
Airbus A321LR — 8 TBA [24]
Airbus A330-300 2[3] — — 436 436 Both aircraft delivered in February 2024.
Leased for five years.[25][26][16]
ATR 72-600 10 — — 72 72 [23][27][28]
78 78
Boeing 737-800 6[29] — — 189 189 [28][16]
Total 18 8

Former fleet

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Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 3 2014 2024
1 2018 Crashed as flight BS211

Accidents and incidents

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Flight 211

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A US-Bangla Airlines De Havilland Dash 8-400 registered as S2-AGU, which crashed as US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211

On 12 March 2018, US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400-402 with registration S2-AGU, crashed while landing at Tribhuvan International Airport, killing 51 of the 71 people on board.[30][31] The final accident report, published on 27 January 2019, concluded that "the probable cause of the accident is due to disorientation and a complete loss of situational awareness in the part of a crewmember".[32][33]

Other incidents

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On 26 September 2018, US-Bangla Airlines Flight 141, a Boeing 737-800 with registration S2-AJA, took off from Dhaka airport at 11:30 am with 164 passengers and seven crew members on board. It was scheduled to land at the Cox's Bazar Airport at 12:30 pm. On approach to Cox's Bazar, the nose-wheel mechanism jammed and prevented the wheel hatch from opening. The pilot then put the Boeing 737-800 into a holding pattern over Chittagong to burn off fuel so that it would be lighter and the risk of fire on impact would be reduced. The plane eventually touched down at 1:18 pm. Some passengers received minor injuries as they attempted to disembark the aircraft hurriedly. This incident was very similar to JetBlue Flight 292.[34] Today the broken and burnt out parts of flight 211 are kept in Purbachol American city.[citation needed]

Other industries under US-Bangla Group

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Though US-Bangla Airlines is the flagship company of the conglomerate, it is arguably one of the fastest rising conglomerates in Bangladesh.[citation needed] It rebranded its current name from US-Bangla Assets in 2009. Its other notable business is real estate company US-Bangla asset which is developing Purbachal American City, one of the largest commercial and residential real estate projects in Bangladesh.[citation needed] The group now owns educational businesses such as Green University of Bangladesh, one of the earliest private universities of Bangladesh,[35] and US-Bangla Medical College and Hospital. The group also owns a leather company in Bangladesh, US-Bangla Leather, which has not yet started its production. It also owns US-Bangla Hi-tech Industries which is also yet to set up. It has its footing in media businesses through US-Bangla Media and Communications.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "US-Bangla Airlines Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net.
  2. ^ "Contact Us". US-Bangla Airlines. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "US-Bangla adds Airbus A330-300, another Boeing 737-800 to its fleet". The Business Standard. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  4. ^ "US-Bangla airlines adds its 10th aircraft". The Independent. Dhaka. 20 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b ইউএস-বাংলায় যুক্ত হলো দশম এয়ারক্রাফট. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 20 October 2019.
  6. ^ a b "About Us". US-Bangla Group. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "US-Bangla Airlines takes to the skies". The Daily Star. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  8. ^ "US-Bangla launched Dhaka-Saidpur flights from Oct 2". The Independent. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  9. ^ "US-Bangla to procure 4 aircraft". The Independent. Dhaka. Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  10. ^ দেশের প্রথম কোনো সংস্থা হিসেবে ইউএস-বাংলা চীনে যাচ্ছে. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 20 March 2019.
  11. ^ "US-Bangla Airlines offers Dhaka-Chennai direct flight". The Daily Star. 20 March 2019.
  12. ^ "US-Bangla eyeing to make Sylhet more accessible". The Daily Star. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  13. ^ "US Bangla set to add flights to 4 new int'l destinations". Dhaka Tribune. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  14. ^ Kaminski-Morrow2024-02-09T15:01:00+00:00, David. "US-Bangla prepares for long-haul expansion as first A330 arrives". Flight Global. Retrieved 10 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Bangladesh - US-Bangla to launch flights on seven new int'l routes in 2022". menafn.com. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "US-Bangla adds Airbus A330-300, another Boeing 737-800 to its fleet". The Business Standard. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  17. ^ "US-Bangla airlines spread wings to Dubai". US-Bangla airlines spread wings to Dubai | theindependentbd.com. The Independent. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  18. ^ "US-Bangla Airlines suspends flights to Kathmandu after Nepal crash kills 51". Hindustan Times. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2018 (Part One)". Airliner World: 5. October 2019.
  20. ^ "Boeing 737-800 fleet details". US-Bangla Airlines.
  21. ^ "Dash 8Q fleet details". US-Bangla Airlines.
  22. ^ Ibne Kamal, Md Ashequl Morsalin. "US-Bangla's fleet expands to 14". United News of Bangladesh (UNB). Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  23. ^ a b ইউএস–বাংলার বহরে যুক্ত হলো অষ্টম বোয়িং উড়োজাহাজ [Eighth Boeing aircraft joined the US-Bangla fleet]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  24. ^ "US-Bangla Airlines dusts off longhaul plans, eyes A321(LR)s".
  25. ^ "US-Bangla Airlines to add A330s in late 2Q22". Airsoc.
  26. ^ "Bangladesh's US-Bangla Airlines to take two A330s in 2Q23". Ch-Aviation. 11 January 2023.
  27. ^ "US-Bangla Airlines ads 13th aircraft to its fleet". UNB. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  28. ^ a b "US-Bangla Airlines to begin Dhaka-Colombo flights from January". Dhaka Tribune. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  29. ^ "US-Bangla adds Airbus A330-300, another Boeing 737-800 to its fleet". The Business Standard. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Nepal air crash: 49 dead as plane veers off Kathmandu runway". BBC News. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  31. ^ "Death toll in Nepal plane crash rises to 51, Bangladeshi experts join probe". Hindustan Times. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  32. ^ "Final Report on The Aircraft Accident Investigation of US Bangla Airlines, Bombardier (UBG-211), DHC-8-402, S2-AGU, at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal on 12 March 2018" (PDF). Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission 2018. 27 January 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  33. ^ "Accident: US-Bangla DH8D at Kathmandu on Mar 12th 2018, landed across the runway and fell down slope". The Aviation Herald.
  34. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-8Q8 (WL) S2-AJA Chittagong-Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  35. ^ "Green University inks MoU with US-Bangla group". The Financial Express. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  36. ^ "US-Bangla Group gets dubious rise by dodging huge revenue and hampering economic growth of the country". Daily Sun. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
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