Best Air, the country's third private airline, will start flying on Dhaka-Colombo route ahead of Saarc summit from July 28 to carry passengers from Bangladesh.
“We have got the permission of Sri Lankan Civil Aviation Authority this afternoon and will start our operation from July 28,” Best Air spokesperson Tito Siddique told the news agency yesterday.
Initially, the lone Boeing 737-200, already in operation on Dhaka-Bangkok route, will fly on the Dhaka- Colombo route.
“As two of our leased aircrafts are in the pipeline, we have to use our Boeing for this route also,” Tito Siddique said.
The airline got permission to operate seven flights a week, but remains undecided on how many flights they will operate per week at the initial stage.
Two aircrafts, MD-83 and ERJ-145, will be added to the fleet of Best Air to fly on Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka-Dubai and Dhaka-Kolkata routes.
The 162-seat MD-83 will fly on Kuala Lumpur and Dubai routes, while the 50-seat ERJ-145 will fly on Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Kolkata and Dhaka-Bangkok routes. Both the aircrafts will be brought under dry lease system.
Best Air has already got permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to operate four flights a week on Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route.
Negotiations, which are at the final stage, are on with the Malaysian Civil Aviation Authority.
Best Aviation started its journey in 1999 as a helicopter operator followed by its operation as a Freight Airline in 2000. It obtained license in 2006 from the Civil Aviation Authority to operate passenger services on the international and domestic routes. The company launched its passenger fleet with Boeing 737-200, which was the first to arrive in Bangladesh.
The airline started its operation on the country's busiest Dhaka-Chittagong route on January 14 this year with the Boeing 737-200. It operates flight to Bangkok four days a week with the same aircraft.
The aviation industry in Bangladesh has witnessed a boom with the launch of three private airlines in last one year. Yet, another is set to start commercial flights next month.
The industry is growing at 7.5 to 8 percent a year, while the market size is worth around Tk 3,500 crore, according to private operators.