Biman Bangladesh Airlines, a state-owned carrier, has opted to switch from its fleet that is largely comprised of Boeing airplanes to 10 Airbus aircraft, the country’s junior minister for civil aviation revealed to Reuters on Monday.

“According to our needs, the decision was made to buy 10 aircraft in stages. According to Mahbub Ali, the technical committee is now evaluating.

Ali made his remarks after reports surfaced that the airline was close to placing its first order for 10 Airbus A350 widebody aircraft.

It was uncertain if the agreement would be signed before the Paris Airshow, which starts on Monday.

Airbus opted not to respond. An inquiry for comment from Biman was not answered.

Every nation’s fleet includes both Boeing and Airbus aircraft. We didn’t have one Airbus in our fleet,” Ali added, noting that the airline is trying to reduce its reliance on the widely used American manufacturer of widebody aircraft.

The 51-year-old airline operates a fleet of more than 20 aircraft, the most of which are Boeing widebodies, along with a few Dash-8 turboprops.

Biman Bangladesh is requesting more widebody planes as travel experiences a significant post-pandemic recovery. The airline offers nonstop service to 20 locations across the world, including Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.