Bangladesh's United Airways execs mull relaunch challenges

Ex-board of Bangladesh's United Airways under investigation

Bangladesh CAA faces resistance over boneyard clean-up

Applications to resume flight operations by the owners or management teams of three defunct Bangladesh-based airlines are frustrating attempts by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) to sell aircraft left parked at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Bangladesh's Financial Express reports that the CAAB wants to sell 12 aircraft which have sat at the airport for between one and 12 years, with the owners/operators largely ignoring requests to pay the overdue and ever-escalating parking fees. The report flags eight aircraft belonging to United Airways, two belonging to Regent Airways, and one belonging to GMG Airlines. ch-aviation research has identified those company-owned aircraft as;

United Airways:

• two ATR72-200s registered as S2-AFE (msn 385) and S2-AFU (msn 402);
• one DHC-8-100 registered as S2-AES (msn 363); and
• five MD-83s registered as S2-AEU (msn 49790), S2-AEH (msn 49937), S2-AFV (msn 53377), S2-AEI (msn 53183); and S2-AEJ (msn 53189).
• a ninth United Airways aircraft parked at Dhaka, an A310-300 registered as S2-AFF (msn 672).

Regent Airways:

• one B737-800...

Bangladesh's United Airways eyes cargo amid resumption plans

Bangladesh PM directs United Airways' relief

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed that United Airways' debt to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) be scrapped to attract new investors keen on turning the stricken airline into a cargo carrier.

This is the word from Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Chairman Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, who told The Daily Star newspaper the prime minister had issued the instructions to the relevant ministries. This followed a plan by the BSEC to attract investors to turn the airline into a cargo-only carrier. "I told her that we want to revive the airline as a cargo operator as new clients have started contacting us in that regard. They will use the airline as a cargo carrier." The new investors planned to sell the company's old aircraft and purchase new cargo aircraft, he disclosed, "but we couldn't bring buyers as the airline owes several crores of taka to the CAAB in surcharges." The BSEC requested that the CAAB surcharges be waived while the unnamed investors would pay the airline's principal dues to the regulator.

According to...