Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to sign an agreement with US aerospace giant Boeing on Wednesday for 11 additional aircraft, taking the national flag carrier’s planned Boeing acquisitions to 25 aircraft, Aviation Express has learnt.

The signing ceremony is scheduled to be held at 4:15 pm New York time on Wednesday (2:15 am Bangladesh time on Thursday) on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a Biman high official said, keeping anonymity.

Chairman of Biman Board of Directors, Rumee Akhtar Hossain, will sign the agreement in the presence of Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is likely to witness the signing, according to information obtained by Aviation Express.

Following the signing ceremony, Boeing Global President Dr. Brendan Nelson is scheduled to call on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

The agreement would mark another major step in Biman’s ambitious fleet expansion programme and comes amid continuing competition between US manufacturer Boeing and European aerospace giant Airbus for a major share of the flag carrier’s future fleet.

The additional 11 aircraft will come on top of Biman’s US$3.7 billion agreement signed with Boeing on April 30 for 14 aircraft — eight 787-10 Dreamliners, two 787-9s and four 737-8s.

With Wednesday’s agreement, Biman’s planned Boeing acquisitions would rise to 25 aircraft.

However, details of the models, price, financing arrangements and delivery schedule for the additional 11 aircraft have not yet been publicly disclosed.

The New York signing comes as Biman simultaneously moves ahead with a separate proposed acquisition of 10 Airbus aircraft — four A350-900 widebody jets and six A321neo narrowbody aircraft.

Aviation Express earlier reported that the Boeing and Airbus packages together could create an unprecedented future acquisition pipeline of 35 aircraft — 25 Boeing and 10 Airbus — for a flag carrier currently operating a fleet of 19 aircraft.

The Boeing-Airbus contest has drawn particular attention as Bangladesh moves to expand and modernise Biman’s fleet while maintaining aviation and commercial ties with both the United States and Europe.

The April Boeing order is already the largest aircraft order in Biman’s history. It includes Biman’s first 787-10s and first 737 MAX aircraft, with deliveries scheduled between 2031 and 2035.

Wednesday’s signing will significantly deepen Biman’s future commitment to Boeing even as the Airbus proposal remains under consideration, potentially setting the stage for the national carrier to operate a substantially larger mixed Boeing-Airbus fleet over the next decade.