Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Benoit Prefontaine on Wednesday said the signing of contact between Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd and Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) consolidates Canada’s position as a major aerospace sector partner of Bangladesh.
“It further expands the fleet of Canadian aircraft and helicopters being flown in Bangladesh skies by commercial airlines, private owners and government entities. We look forward to the entry in service of Biman Bangladesh Airline’s new Q400 aircraft for both domestic and international flights,” he said.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd, Bangladesh’s national commercial carrier, has signed a contract with the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) to deliver three 74 seated new Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircrafts.
The aircrafts will be delivered in March, May and June 2020 under the government-to-government contract.
“We are extremely pleased to be supporting Bombardier in selling their Q400 aircraft to Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd,” said Vice-President of Business Development and Sales, Canadian Commercial Corporation Ian McLeod.
He said Canada and Bangladesh enjoy strong bi-lateral ties through trade and investment, development cooperation, and people-to-people links.
“Increasing the capacity of the national carrier supports these efforts and the economic growth of the country, improving the lives of Bangladeshis by increasing their access to domestic and international destinations.”
VP, Sales, Asia Pacific, Bombardier Aerospace François Cognard said the Q400’s greater seating and cargo capacity really set it apart from the competition in this campaign.
“Furthermore, the Q400’s mix of turboprop economics and jet like performance was the best match for Biman’s mix of short and long-range routes. Operators coming back for more Q400 aircraft really validate the benefits of the aircraft’s unique characteristics,” he said.
The contract demonstrates CCC’s support for Canada’s aerospace sector as part of its diversification initiative, said the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka.
Aerospace remains one of Canada’s most important manufacturing sectors, creating high-quality jobs, technologies and global trading relationships.
The High Commission said Canada’s commercial relationship with Bangladesh has grown dramatically over the last 10 years.
The value of bilateral merchandise trade with Bangladesh has more than doubled from just under Can$950 million in 2008 to nearly Can$2.4 billion in 2017.
Bangladesh is the second largest destination for Canadian merchandise exports to South Asia, after India.
In 2017-18, the Canadian Commercial Corporation was active in 78 countries around the world, working with 182 Canadian companies, to sign export contracts worth over Can$1.3 billion.