NovoAir sells two ATR-72 aircraft amid dwindling domestic passengers

NovoAir, one of the private airlines of the country operating mostly domestic flights, has sold two of its ATR-72 aircraft to Yeti Airlines of Nepal amid the low turnout of domestic passengers.

"While there is a 30% decrease in domestic passengers, we no longer need seven aircraft that we currently have for domestic routes. So we have sold two of them," Mofizur Rahman, managing director of Novoair, told TBS.

He added that all processes of the sale are already completed, and the aircraft will go to Nepal in two days.

However, he said the company is currently involved in expanding its international routes, and the process of buying new aircraft is underway.

The France-made ATR-72 aircraft is generally popular for short-haul flights, and NovoAir's ATRs can carry up to 78 passengers.

Mofizur Rahman said, "We are trying to procure three Airbus aircraft. These were supposed to be added to our fleet in September last year, but we took some time because of the national elections. After the election, the process has started again."

NovoAir aims to initially fly to six international destinations with the new aircraft, including popular locations such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.

Currently, NovoAir mainly operates flights on domestic routes, with its only international flight operating on the Dhaka-Kolkata route.

Local airlines are grappling with a diminishing revenue stream as better and faster road and rail travel attract domestic travellers, reducing their passenger loads.

At the same time, persistent inflation, exceeding 9% since March of this year, along with costlier fuel and higher government duties, has also increased ticket prices, prompting many families to cut down on air travel, according to industry insiders.

The opening of the Padma Bridge in June 2022 has sharply reduced the demand for domestic flights on the Dhaka-Jashore and Dhaka-Barisal routes, causing trouble for local airlines, they say.