One of the nation’s private airlines, US-Bangla Airlines, welcomed the 10th ATR 72-600 into its fleet today when it touched down at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
The airline has added a new ATR 72-600 with 78 seats that it financed on its own, bringing its overall fleet size to 21 aircraft, including three Dash8-Q400, ten ATR 72-600, and eight Boeing 737-800.
According to a news statement, US-Bangla Airlines Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Captain Lutfor Rahman officially accepted the aircraft.
Before it was formally accepted, the recently added, brand-new airplane was given a water cannon spray at the airport upon its arrival at 4:35 pm in Dhaka from Blagnac Airport in France via Cairo International Airport in Egypt to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
With a current market valuation of around Taka 283 crore, the ATR 72-600 aircraft has been developed jointly with Airbus, and ATR is normally used to operate flights on regional routes by several carriers including IndiGo, Wings Air, Air New Zealand, Bangkok Airways and Iran Air, the release said.
Future plans call for the US-Bangla to fly the new aircraft on a number of internal routes as well as to Kolkata.
All domestic routes, including those to Kolkata, Chennai, Male, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Guangzhou, are currently served by regular flights operated by US-Bangla Airlines.
