Bangladesh, July 30 -- Arandara told lawmakers that dividing the airline's staff count by its 23-strong fleet showed an excessively high maintenance-staff ratio per aircraft, arguing that adding more planes, rather than cutting jobs, was the appropriate fix.

He also highlighted the airline's success in securing steep lease discounts on wide-body jets, citing monthly rentals that dropped sharply from earlier levels once new agreements took effect since last December.

Arandara acknowledged that the leased aircraft are typically seven to eight years old rather than new, which pushes the fleet's average age to around 12 years.

Aviation analysts and critics, however, pushed back, noting the plan overlooks how maintenance costs climb as air...