Bangladesh Airlines Signs New Deal with Boeing Amid Criticism

Bangladesh's Biman Bangladesh Airlines has signed a supplementary agreement with Boeing for another 11 aircraft order, comprising five 787-10 Dreamliners and six 737-8s. This takes Biman's Boeing order book this year to 25 aircraft.

The deal was negotiated during the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade signed by Bangladesh and the United States on February 9, three days before the election. Washington had threatened Bangladesh with a 37% additional tariff but negotiations eventually produced a 19% rate, alongside preferential treatment for some Bangladeshi goods.

Critics have questioned why an unelected interim administration signed such a far-reaching agreement immediately before an election and accused it of being highly discriminatory. However, the Centre for Policy Dialogue has pointed out that Bangladesh already lives in a Boeing world, with 14 of its 19 existing aircraft being Boeings.

Biman's pilots, engineers, spare-parts inventories, maintenance procedures, and training systems have consequently developed around Boeing equipment. The airline carried 3.383 million passengers to 30 domestic and international destinations in FY2024-25, with revenue reaching 11,559 crore taka and operational profit 1,602 crore taka.