Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG, Dhaka) is poised to order up to ten A350s from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) as it moves away from the all-Boeing strategy for jet aircraft. The deal was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to the South Asian country.

"We have asked for 10 aircraft in phases. The technical committee is now evaluating. These aircraft will be used on new and old routes," Mahbub Ali, Bangladesh's Minister of Civil Aviation was quoted by Reuters, adding the initial order will be for two widebodies, with more due in stages.

The ch-aviation fleets module shows the state-owned carrier currently operates six B737-800s, four B777-300(ER)s, four B787-8s, two B787-9s, and five DHC-8-Q400s. The carrier secured the funding to order the ten A350s earlier this year via the UK Export Finance scheme. The news prompted Boeing to pitch a new offer for B787s in a last-ditch attempt to sway Biman away from its rival European manufacturer.