4H UBD Fleet size 11 Founder Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury Number of employees 1,000 (2014) | UBD UNITED BANGLADESH Founded 2005 | |
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Commenced operations 10 July 2007 (operations temporarily suspended) Hubs Shahjalal International Airport CEO Mohammad Mahatabur Rahman (24 Sep 2014–) Hub Shahjalal International Airport | ||
United airways
United Airways (BD) Ltd. (DSE: UNITEDAIR, CSE: UNITEDAIR), operating as United Airways (Bengali: ইউনাইটেড এয়ারওয়েজ), is a Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Uttara, Dhaka. It operates flights from its main hub at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and secondary hub at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong. It was founded in 2005 and began flights on 10 July 2007 with a Bombardier Dash 8–100, purchased from Island Air. United Airways is the first listed company in the aviation sector of Bangladesh; it became listed in July 2010.
Contents
- United airways
- United airways bd ltd
- History
- Controversies
- Destinations
- Fleet
- In flight amenities
- Accidents and incidents
- References
The airline is often criticised for their poor service due to frequent delays, flight suspensions and poor in-flight amenities. In September 2014, the airline temporarily suspended its operations for three days following a conflict among its board of directors and a financial crisis. The airline again suspended all operations on 6 March 2016, after a previous gap in service from mid-January to 24 February of that year.
United airways bd ltd
History
United Airways (Bangladesh) Limited, was founded by Captain Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, a British-Bangladeshi businessmen from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh, along with few businessman and entrepreneurs in 2005. It obtained the Air Transport Operating License (ATOL) from Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh on 28 June 2005. The airline started operating scheduled domestic flights on 10 July 2007, its maiden flights being Dhaka—Sylhet and Dhaka—Chittagong, with a Bombardier Dash 8–100, purchased from Island Air. After few months, domestic flights to Cox's Bazar, Jessore, and Barisal started, along with international service to Kolkata from Dhaka and Chittagong. Another Dash 8–100 was delivered in 2008.
In 2009, the airline received a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft, and launched flights to London, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu.
In 2010, it commenced flights to Jeddah, and launched the lucrative Sylhet-London flight with an Airbus A310-300, while an ATR 72–200 and McDonnell Douglas MD-83 were delivered. In 2011, it added a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, another Airbus A310-300 and an ATR 72–200. Flights to Bangkok started and the carrier launched the route Dhaka-Rajshahi-Saidpur. In 2012, it began flights to Muscat from Dhaka and Chittagong, restarted the Chittagong-Kolkata flight, and it also resumed flights to Bangkok.
In 2013, it added two McDonnell Douglas MD-83 and an ATR 72–200. It launched flights to Singapore and domestic flights to Ishwardi.
In 2014, the carrier launched flights to Doha in May. The airline was scheduled to commence flights to Karachi
On 24 September 2014 evening, United Airways temporarily suspended all domestic and international flights. A conflict of interest among board members was the reason for the short suspension. The day before the suspension, the resignation of Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury, the chairman and managing director was announced by the airline; following that the board was reshuffled and temporary chairman and managing director were appointed. More than two thousand passengers were stranded in Bangladesh and abroad because of flight cancellations; international flights to Doha, Muscat and Kuala Lumpur from Dhaka did not leave. The suspension also affected the investors of the listed company, as stock prices fell by 7.63 percent at Dhaka Stock Exchange. However, on 27 September, three days after the suspension, the carrier resumed operations with a domestic flight following a consensus among board members.
The airline again suspended all service as of 6 March 2016. As of that date, all nine of its aircraft were reportedly grounded for technical reasons.
Controversies
In June 2011, a court in London had ordered United Airways to repaint its fleet and change its name in the UK after a legal action was taken by American carrier United Airlines. Lawyers for United Airlines said that United Airways had "illegally violated" its trademark and "wrongly associated its services with" those of the American airline. The problem arose when United Airways had services to London Gatwick Airport, which may have confused passengers flying with United Airlines.
In November 2012, United Airways was alleged of inflating its FY 2012–13 first quarter earnings. The Securities and Exchange Commission later formed a panel to look into its irregularities. Earlier in an investigation, the Dhaka Stock Exchange found anomalies in preparing financial statements by United Airways. It also detected a manipulative trading pattern by an individual investor to create artificial demand for the airline shares. The carrier falsified its first quarter earnings' report to show positive earnings per share. United Airways later admitted that it did not show deferred tax in its financial statement.
In April 2014, CAAB threatened to suspend the carrier's operations due to outstanding aeronautical and non-aeronautical fees of around BDT 770 million. The regulator also imposed a ban on sale or purchase of aircraft by United Airways until it clears all current and outstanding charges in the next one year. CAAB also criticised the airline for not making payments on-time in the past. Following an order from the High Court, CAAB temporarily renewed the airline's AOC.
Destinations
United Airways serves the following destinations (as of August 2015):
Fleet
As of September 2016, the United Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:
In-flight amenities
United Airways operates all economy cabin seats in all of its aircraft. In-flight meals are provided on international flights, and juices and candies are provided on domestic flights. None of its aircraft are equipped with in-flight entertainment. It has an in-flight magazine called Welcome Bangladesh.