US-Bangla wet-leases two Boeing aircrafts from Ukraine's SkyUp Airlines

US-Bangla Airlines has signed a one-year ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) contract with Ukraine's SkyUp Airlines covering two Boeing 737-800s.

Also known as wet or damp leasing, ACMI leasing is an agreement between two airlines, where the lessor agrees to provide an aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) to the lessee – in return for payment on the number of block hours operated.

ACMI provides the lessee with additional or replacement capacity, even at short notice.

US Bangla General Manager (PR) Md Kamrul Islam told TBS, "We sometimes have to ground our own aircraft for various reasons including C-checking. So as an alternative, we bring in aircrafts from other airlines."

"Apart from that, new aircraft are being added as our flight frequency is increasing on various routes. These aircrafts have been leased as a part of preparation to cater to the increasing passenger demands," he added.

UR-SQB (msn 40153) was ferried from Hurghada to Dhaka on 5 April, and began operating for the Bangladeshi carrier on 7 April, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows, reports aviation news portal ch-aviation.

The aircraft is currently deployed on routes to Dubai International and Chennai.

SkyUp said that the second aircraft will be ferried to Bangladesh by the end of April 2024. The contract is currently scheduled to continue through 31 March, 2025.

While US-Bangla Airlines does not publish schedules for the wet-leased aircraft, SkyUp said its B737s will operate flights from Dhaka to the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Seychelles, according to ch-aviation.

The aircraft replaced another B737-800 wet-leased by US-Bangla Airlines from KlasJet. LY-TFS (msn 37741) was ferried back from Dhaka via Muscat to Sofia for maintenance on 7 April.

The Bangladeshi carrier's in-house fleet comprises six B737-800s, ten ATR72-600s, three DHC-8-Q400s, and two A330-300s, which are soon to debut in revenue service.