United Airways
United Airways (BD) Ltd. (, ), operated as United Airways (), was a Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Uttara, Dhaka. It operated 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 was the first listed company in the aviation sector of Bangladesh; it became listed in July 2010. The airline was 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 ceased all operations on 6 March 2016, after a previous gap in service from mid-January to 24 February of that year. 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 ceased all operations on 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 served the following destinations (as of August 2015): The airline ceased it's all domestic and international operations in 2016. Fleet. As of September 2016, the United Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft: In-flight amenities. United Airways operated all economy cabin seats in all of its aircraft. In-flight meals were provided on international flights, whereas juices and confectioneries were provided on domestic flights. None of its aircraft were equipped with in-flight entertainment. It had an in-flight magazine called "Welcome Bangladesh". United Airways