US-Bangla Airlines

US-Bangla Airlines (Bengali: ইউএস বাংলা এয়ারলাইন্স) is a privately owned Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Dhaka and based at Shahjalal International Airport.[2][4] The airline is the largest private airline in Bangladesh in terms of fleet size and overall second largest airline after the flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines.[5][6]

US-Bangla Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
BS UBG BANGLA STAR
Founded2010[1]
Commenced operations17 July 2014
HubsShahjalal International Airport
Focus citiesShah Amanat International Airport
Fleet size13
Destinations16
Parent companyUS-Bangla Group[2]
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh[3]
Key peopleAbdullah Al Mamun (MD),
Websitewww.usbair.com

History

US-Bangla Airlines commenced operations with domestic flights on 17 July 2014.[4][2] Initially, the airline launched two domestic destinations, Chittagong and Jessore from its hub in Dhaka.[4] Flights to Cox's Bazar from Dhaka were launched in August. In October, the airline launched flights to Saidpur.[7]

In July 2016, the airline announced plans to phase in its first three Boeing 737-800 aircraft in September of the same year, and to subsequently launch new international routes, for example to Singapore and Dubai.[8] On 29 April 2019, the airline started flights to Guangzhou, becoming the first Bangladeshi airline to operate flights to China.[9] The airline started flights from Dhaka to Chennai (via Chittagong) on 31 March 2019 also becoming first Bangladeshi airline carrier to operate flights to Southern India.[10]

In February 2019, US-Bangla Airlines announced an order for four ATR 72-600 aircraft to be used on domestic flights. On 22 March 2019, the first aircraft was delivered from Toulouse to Dhaka via El Dabaa and Muscat.

In September 2019, US-Bangla Airlines become the second largest airline after Biman Bangladesh Airlines, in Bangladesh in terms of fleet size.[6]

The airline was supposed to start direct flights from Sylhet to other Bangladeshi cities such as Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Jessore, as well as a flight from Chittagong to Jessore, in order to make the city of Sylhet more accessible, from mid 2020.[11]

The airline also announced its plans to add four more international routes to Abu Dhabi, Colombo and Malé in the beginning of 2021.[12]

Corporate affairs

Its headquarters are in the Baridhara Diplomatic Zone in Dhaka.

Destinations
US-Bangla Airlines ATR 72-600
US-Bangla Airlines Boeing 737-800
US-Bangla Airlines De Havilland Dash 8-400

As of February 2021, US-Bangla Airlines serves the following domestic and international destinations:[13] The airline started flights to Dubai-International on 1 February 2021, which is its tenth international destination.[14]

Country City Airport Notes/Ref.
 Bangladesh Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport Hub
Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport Focus city
Jessore Jessore Airport
Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar Airport
Saidpur Saidpur Airport
Sylhet Osmani International Airport
Rajshahi Shah Makhdum Airport
Barisal Barisal Airport
 China Guangzhou Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport [15]
 India Chennai Chennai International Airport [16]
Kolkata Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur International Airport [17]
 Oman Muscat Muscat International Airport
 Qatar Doha Doha Hamad International Airport [18]
 Singapore Singapore Singapore Changi Airport
 Thailand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport [19]
 United Arab Emirates Dubai Dubai International Airport[20]

Fleet

As of January 2020, US-Bangla Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[21][22][23]

US-Bangla Airlines Fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
B E Total
ATR 72-600 64–7272 Plans to add four more by June 2020.[24]
Boeing 737-800 438156164
Boeing 737 MAX 8 – 1 TBD Aircraft to be leased from AerCap. Delivery postponed from early 2020.[25]
De Havilland Dash 8-400 33–7676 2 aircraft are stored
Total 13 11

Accidents and incidents

Flight 211
A US-Bangla Airlines De Havilland Dash 8-400 registered as S2-AGU, which crashed as US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211.

On 12 March 2018, US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q-402 with registration S2-AGU, crashed while landing at Tribhuvan International Airport, killing 52 of the 71 people on board.[26][27] The final accident report, published on 27 January 2019, concluded that "the probable cause of the accident is due to pilot's failure to understand the situation and handle the aircraft. Due to which the aircraft crashed".[28][29]

Other incidents

On 26 September 2018, US-Bangla Airlines Flight 141, a Boeing 737-800 with registration S2-AJA, took off from Dhaka airport at 11:30 am with 164 passengers and seven crew members on board. It was scheduled to land at the Cox's Bazar Airport at 12:30 pm. On approach to Cox's Bazaar, the wheel mechanism jammed and prevented the wheel hatch from opening. The pilot then put the Boeing 737-800 into a holding pattern over Chattogram to burn off fuel so that it would be lighter and the risk of fire on impact would be reduced. The plane eventually touched down at 1:18 pm. Some passengers received minor injuries as they attempted to disembark the aircraft hurriedly.

See also

References
  1. "US-Bangla Airlines Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net.
  2. "About Us". US-Bangla Group. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016.
  3. "Contact Us". US-Bangla Airlines. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  4. "US-Bangla Airlines takes to the skies". The Daily Star. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  5. "US-Bangla airlines adds its 10th aircraft". The Independent. Dhaka. 20 October 2019.
  6. ইউএস-বাংলায় যুক্ত হলো দশম এয়ারক্রাফট. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 20 October 2019.
  7. "US-Bangla launched Dhaka-Saidpur flights from Oct 2". The Independent. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. "US-Bangla to procure 4 aircraft". The Independent. Dhaka. BSS. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  9. দেশের প্রথম কোনো সংস্থা হিসেবে ইউএস-বাংলা চীনে যাচ্ছে. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 20 March 2019.
  10. "US-Bangla Airlines offers Dhaka-Chennai direct flight". The Daily Star. 20 March 2019.
  11. "US-Bangla eyeing to make Sylhet more accessible". The Daily Star. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  12. "US Bangla set to add flights to 4 new int'l destinations". Dhaka Tribune. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. "US-Bangla Airlines". US-Bangla Airlines.
  14. "US-Bangla airlines spread wings to Dubai". US-Bangla airlines spread wings to Dubai | theindependentbd.com. Independent BD. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  15. Lui, Jim (11 April 2018). "US-Bangla Airlines revises Guangzhou launch to late-April 2018". Routes Online. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  16. "Dhaka-Chittagong-Chennai flight schedule". US Bangla Airlines.
  17. "US-Bangla flights to Singapore and KL from March". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  18. "US-Bangla airlines set to fly Doha". The Daily Star. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  19. Liu, Jim (27 March 2017). "US-Bangla Airlines expands international service in 1H17". Routesonline. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  20. "US-Bangla Dubai flights from February 2021". Dhaka Tribune. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  21. "Global Airline Guide 2018 (Part One)". Airliner World: 5. October 2019.
  22. "Boeing 737-800 fleet details". US-Bangla Airlines.
  23. "Dash 8Q fleet details". US-Bangla Airlines.
  24. "US-Bangla Airlines ads 13th aircraft to its fleet". UNB. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  25. Chong2019-02-25T07:14:59+00:00, Aaron. "US-Bangla to lease 737 Max 8". Flight Global. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  26. "Nepal air crash: 49 dead as plane veers off Kathmandu runway". BBC News. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  27. "Death toll in Nepal plane crash rises to 51, Bangladeshi experts join probe". Hindustan Times. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  28. Tourism (PDF), NP.
  29. "Accident: US-Bangla DH8D at Kathmandu on Mar 12th 2018, landed across the runway and fell down slope". The Aviation Herald.

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