Bangladesh airline Biman tenders to lease aircraft

Biman Bangladesh Airlines, bailed out by a government loan in September, said it plans to lease four aircraft so that it can reintroduce some routes it has had to cut for lack of airworthy planes.
The state-owned airline has issued a tender for a four-year lease of two A310-300 and two A300-600 aircraft which will close on January 10, 2007, said Biman's Managing Director M.A. Momen.
Biman has been forced to stop flights to New York, Paris, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Brussels this year because of aircraft shortages.
It now flies to 21 international destinations with a fleet of 13 aircraft, although two of these are grounded awaiting repairs.
Airline officials declined to say how much of a $22 million life-line provided by the government in September had been spent so far, and would not provide financial details on the likely cost of leasing two more aircraft.