Bangladeshi carrier US-Bangla Airlines has shown off its first Airbus A330, having disclosed last year that it would be stepping up to widebody operations.
The initial twinjet, an A330-300 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, was flown from Guangzhou in China to the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on 9 February.
It was originally delivered to Cebu Pacific in 2013 before being transferred to wet-lease specialist Hi Fly’s Maltese division.
The aircraft still carries its Maltese registration, 9H-POP, which reflected plans to operate for UK start-up Flypop.
Although it was painted in Flypop livery, and received by the airline in 2021, the aircraft has been repainted in US-Bangla colours.
The carrier indicates that it will be locally re-registered as S2-ALA, and describes the jet’s arrival as marking a “new era in the aviation history of Bangladesh”.
US-Bangla stated last year that it would be leasing two A330s from Irish-based Avolon, for use on routes to cities in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. The airline currently uses Boeing 737s and turboprops.
