New Bangladeshi airline NOVO Air started domestic operations on January 9 this year after receiving two E145s last November 30 and December 6.

The aircraft are configured with 49 seats in single class and are owned by the airline. The E145s link five domestic cities – Dhaka, Jessore, Chittagong, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar.

Located in one of the fastest growing air transport markets in the world, the airline sees an opportunity to add a third ERJ145 within one year in order to expand operations to international destinations such as Calcutta, Bangalore, Kathmandu, Yangon, Kunming and Chiang Mai.

Airlines in Bangladesh are required to demonstrate their operating competency in the domestic market for one year before they can apply to fly internationally.

Domestic traffic has been growing steadily. In 2012, Bangladesh recorded 589,108 enplanements, nearly 12% more than the previous year. The country forecasts traffic to grow 8% annually through 2020.

After the first 30 days of scheduled service, 99.5% of NOVO Air’s E145 flights departed on time according to Lutfor Rahman, Head of Operations.