Biman invites global bids to dry-lease three 787-9 Dreamliners by early 2027

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has invited international proposals to dry-lease three Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft for six years, with plans to add the wide-body jets to its fleet by January 1, 2027.

Under a dry-lease arrangement, the aircraft owner supplies only the aircraft, without crew, maintenance or insurance.

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The lessee assumes full operational control and is responsible for providing pilots, maintaining and insuring the aircraft, and operating it under its own Air Operator Certificate (AOC).

According to a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued on July 15, the national flag carrier is seeking offers from airlines, aircraft operators, owners, manufacturers and leasing companies for the dry-lease of three Boeing 787-9 aircraft for a period of 72 months.

The deadline for submitting proposals is August 9.

The RFP states that the aircraft should preferably be delivered by January 1, 2027, although bids offering later delivery schedules up to February 28, 2027 will also be considered during the technical evaluation.

Biman has specified that the aircraft must be no more than 15 years old as of June 30, 2027, and should be powered by GEnx-1B74/75 engines with a maximum take-off weight of 254 tonnes. Preference will be given to sister-ship aircraft from the same lessor.

Under the proposal, each aircraft must feature a two-class cabin configuration with more than 300 passenger seats.

All seats must be new, and the aircraft must be delivered in full operating condition with valid Certificates of Airworthiness and Registration.

The airline has also stipulated that major scheduled maintenance, including heavy maintenance checks and landing gear overhauls, must not fall due within the first 24 months of the lease period. Each aircraft must be delivered immediately after undergoing a fresh C-check.

The RFP outlines extensive technical requirements, including advanced avionics, Engine Health Monitoring systems, Aircraft Health Monitoring capability, Flight Data Monitoring, upgraded flight recorders, TCAS Version 7.1, ACARS, Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems, satellite communications, GPS/GNSS navigation, and compliance with all applicable regulations of the FAA, EASA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.

Biman has also required the aircraft to be painted in its own livery at the lessor's expense before delivery and equipped with Atlas-standard galley facilities capable of serving two major and two minor meals for passengers and crew.

Financial proposals must separately quote monthly lease rentals for each aircraft, maintenance reserves for major components, and security deposits.

Biman said it expects each aircraft to operate about 4,000 flight hours annually.

The evaluation process will consist of technical and financial assessments.

Technical proposals meeting all mandatory requirements will qualify for financial evaluation. Overall scores will be calculated by assigning a 25 percent weight to the technical evaluation and 75 percent to the financial evaluation, with the highest-scoring proposal selected as the lowest evaluated bid.

Biman said negotiations would be held in Dhaka with qualified bidders before signing the lease agreement. The airline also reserved the right to accept or reject any or all proposals without assigning any reason.

At present, Biman's fleet comprises 19 aircraft. These include four Boeing 777-300ERs, four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, four Boeing 737-800s and five Dash 8-400 aircraft.

To modernise its fleet with new-generation aircraft, Biman signed two agreements with Boeing in April and May 2008 to purchase four Boeing 777-300ERs, four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and two Boeing 737-800s.

The four Boeing 777-300ER aircraft joined the Biman fleet in October and November 2011, February 2014 and March 21, 2014. The two Boeing 737-800 aircraft joined the fleet in November and December 2015.

Three Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners joined the Biman fleet in August and December 2018 and August 2019. The fifth Boeing 737-800 joined the fleet on May 16, 2019, while the sixth arrived on June 30, 2019.

The fourth Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was delivered in September 2019.

The first of the three Dash 8-400 aircraft purchased under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement between Bangladesh and Canada was added to the fleet on December 26, 2020. The second and third aircraft joined the fleet on February 24, 2021, and March 5, 2021, respectively.