Firnas Airways (Oxford Kidlington) is a UK-based start-up looking to tap into the Bangladeshi diaspora market living in Europe, Asia, and North America. Using a mono-class B767-300(ER), the carrier is looking to serve the city of Sylhet in Bangladesh initially ahead of plans to open up services to Islamabad International in Pakistan, Jeddah International in Saudi Arabia, Tehran in Iran, and New York in the United States.
Founder and CEO Kazi Shafiqur Rahman says the start-up is still finalizing its business plan and is in talks with lessors and airports ahead of a hard launch later this year. With plans to pursue its own Air Operators Certificate (AOC), Firnas Airways may commence scheduled operations either in late 2016 or early 2017.
