US-Bangla Airlines, the largest private Bangladeshi carrier, has signed a Global Maintenance Agreement with ATR to optimize maintenance costs and boost the reliability of their fleet of eight ATR 72-600s.
On Monday (July 17, 2023), ATR announced the signing of a Global Maintenance Agreement (GMA) with US-Bangla Airlines, the largest private carrier in Bangladesh. The GMA will allow US-Bangla to optimize maintenance costs and improve the reliability of their fleet of eight ATR72-600s. The five-year pay-by-the-hour contract covers the repair, overhaul and pooling services of Line Replaceable Units, as well as the availability and maintenance of propellers and leading edges.
In Monday’s announcement, US-Bangla Airlines’ Managing Director, Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, said,
“Reliability, on-time performance, customer experience and safety are of paramount importance to US-Bangla. As US-Bangla celebrates its 9th Anniversary there is no better time to announce that we are strengthening our cooperation with ATR through this Global Maintenance Agreement. We are hopeful that this partnership will further optimise the reliability of our ATR fleet while reducing operating costs – creating a win-win partnership. Both our teams have worked relentlessly to innovate a commercial model which we hope will stand the test of time and be a new benchmark in aviation.”
Also commenting on the new GMA contract, ATR’s Senior Vice President – Customer Support and Services, Stefano Marazzani, said,
“We constantly strive to find innovative and cost-effective solutions to support our customers, and the ATR GMA is our way to partner with US-Bangla Airlines in their daily operations. While we share our expertise and look for efficiencies in components maintenance and reliability improvement processes, they can focus on their core business: offering the greatest travel experience to the Bangladeshi communities in the most responsible and sustainable way.”
US-Bangla Airlines Ltd. is part of the US-Bangla Group, a leading Bangladeshi conglomerate. The premium airline carries over 2.5 million passengers annually across their network, connecting all of Bangladesh and feeding customers to their international network via Dhaka.
ATR is the world’s number one regional aircraft manufacturer and their ATR 42 and 72 aircraft are the best-selling aircraft in the under 90-seat market segment. The company’s turboprop aircraft represent the optimal and most sustainable choice for regional deployment at the lowest operating costs, and offer the ability to serve isolated communities living near challenging airfields. Over the last decade, ATR has held 75 percent of the turboprop market and 36 percent of the overall regional aircraft market. ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo.
Source: ATR