Market Dynamics, Operational Challenges, and Growth Prospects of Bangladesh’s Airline Industry: Evidence from an Empirical Assessment

Abstract

The expansion of Bangladesh’s aviation sector underscores the need to examine key factors driving its competitiveness and long-term development. However, existing research remains fragmented, offering limited insight into how diverse challenges and opportunities collectively shape industry growth. This study bridges this gap by evaluating Bangladesh’s airline sector through the perspectives of key aviation stakeholders and air passengers. A qualitative research design was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 25 participants across diverse stakeholder groups, airline professionals , aviation experts , travel industry professionals, passengers. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis using NVivo 15 to identify critical patterns regarding industry constraints and development opportunities. The findings demonstrate that Bangladesh’s airline competitiveness is constrained by interconnected operational, institutional, technological, and human-capital challenges, including cost pressures, fleet limitations, regulatory inefficiencies, infrastructure constraints, workforce gaps, service quality issues, and limited technological advancement. However, significant opportunities exist through international route expansion, fleet modernization, digital transformation, sustainable aviation practices, public-private partnerships, and human capital development. This study advances aviation management literature by providing an integrated understanding of airline competitiveness in an emerging market context, demonstrating that sector development depends on the interaction of multiple capabilities rather than isolated improvements. Practically, the findings offer strategic insights for policymakers, aviation authorities, and airline managers to design and implement coordinated initiatives for enhancing operational efficiency, passenger experience, and sustainable industry growth.