UNB, Dhaka :
After passing a bumpy year on all aspects, national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is now talking about returning to profitability leaving behind all the bad days.
“We hope to be back to profitability next year, Inshahallah,” AM Mosaddique Ahmed, a director of Biman, now serving as the acting managing director and CEO of the national flag carrier, told UNB.
Mosaddique said Biman will include two Dash 8-Q400s aircraft next year. This was Biman’s seventh attempt to collect turboprop aircraft for resuming flights on its domestic routes along with some other regional ones, including Yangoon and Kolkata. Currently, it has no small aircraft to carry passengers on domestic routes.
He said Biman is planning to introduce its routes to Guanzhu, Sanghai, Colombo and Male next year. It would also increase its frequencies in Kuala Lumpur and destinations in Saudi Arabia if everything goes well.
Mosaddique also mentioned that Biman would develop the software and fuel management system in the new year.
Talking about its achievements, the Biman’s acting CEO said the airline added two 777-300 ERs, decided to resume the domestics routes and procure two small aircraft in this regard, increased the frequencies on Dhaka-London route, started crew schedule automation, introduced revenue management system, travel agency portal and SMS based services.
He also mentioned that this year Biman introduced and cancelled the Dhaka-Frankfurt route as the route was a loss making one.
Mosaddique said Biman suspended Dhaka-Delhi and Dhaka-Hong Kong routes for the same purpose.
According to a primary calculation, the loss of the national flag carrier was Tk 254 crore in 2013-14 fiscal.
The national carrier has been posting losses every year except fiscal 2007-08 and 2008-09 since it became a public limited company in 2007, according to Bangladesh Economic Review 2014.
According to Biman sources, Biman incurred a loss of Tk 46 crore in 2009-10, Tk 224 crore in 2010-11, Tk 594 crore in 2011-12, Tk 191 crore in 2012-13.
“Biman passed a mixed year in 2014 when something went well while some others bad for the national airliner,” said Mosaddique Ahmed.
The year started with the resignation of the first foreign managing director and CEO Kevin Steele, who was appointed in March 2013 for a two-year term. The post has been lying vacant since April 17 last.
But the national flag carrier got another foreign national as its new MD and CEO and he will join his office on January 5 next. South Africa-born British citizen Kyle Haywood is going to be the new Biman boss.
The second foreign MD and CEO of Biman, Kyle Haywood, the managing director of Fastjet, a low-cost South African carrier, served in traditional carriers such as British Airways and Etihad Airways, and low-cost carrier Air Arabia. He also served as the CEO of Air Uganda.
The big blow to Biman came at the end of the year when a Biman DGM and four other staff were arrested for their involvement in gold smuggling. Those arrested Biman employees included DGM Emdad Hossain, Flight Captain Shahidullah and schedule in-charge Tozzamel Haque.
Besides, frequent incidents of gold seizure from Biman and airports of the country also revealed the anomalies and corruption in the management of Biman Bangladesh.
This Biman officials’ involvement in gold smuggling sparked off huge criticisms across the country and fingers were pointed at the Chairman of Biman Board for not taking punitive actions against the responsible Biman officials. Some MPs in Parliament also spoke against the Biman Chairman.
After passing a bumpy year on all aspects, national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is now talking about returning to profitability leaving behind all the bad days.
“We hope to be back to profitability next year, Inshahallah,” AM Mosaddique Ahmed, a director of Biman, now serving as the acting managing director and CEO of the national flag carrier, told UNB.
Mosaddique said Biman will include two Dash 8-Q400s aircraft next year. This was Biman’s seventh attempt to collect turboprop aircraft for resuming flights on its domestic routes along with some other regional ones, including Yangoon and Kolkata. Currently, it has no small aircraft to carry passengers on domestic routes.
He said Biman is planning to introduce its routes to Guanzhu, Sanghai, Colombo and Male next year. It would also increase its frequencies in Kuala Lumpur and destinations in Saudi Arabia if everything goes well.
Mosaddique also mentioned that Biman would develop the software and fuel management system in the new year.
Talking about its achievements, the Biman’s acting CEO said the airline added two 777-300 ERs, decided to resume the domestics routes and procure two small aircraft in this regard, increased the frequencies on Dhaka-London route, started crew schedule automation, introduced revenue management system, travel agency portal and SMS based services.
He also mentioned that this year Biman introduced and cancelled the Dhaka-Frankfurt route as the route was a loss making one.
Mosaddique said Biman suspended Dhaka-Delhi and Dhaka-Hong Kong routes for the same purpose.
According to a primary calculation, the loss of the national flag carrier was Tk 254 crore in 2013-14 fiscal.
The national carrier has been posting losses every year except fiscal 2007-08 and 2008-09 since it became a public limited company in 2007, according to Bangladesh Economic Review 2014.
According to Biman sources, Biman incurred a loss of Tk 46 crore in 2009-10, Tk 224 crore in 2010-11, Tk 594 crore in 2011-12, Tk 191 crore in 2012-13.
“Biman passed a mixed year in 2014 when something went well while some others bad for the national airliner,” said Mosaddique Ahmed.
The year started with the resignation of the first foreign managing director and CEO Kevin Steele, who was appointed in March 2013 for a two-year term. The post has been lying vacant since April 17 last.
But the national flag carrier got another foreign national as its new MD and CEO and he will join his office on January 5 next. South Africa-born British citizen Kyle Haywood is going to be the new Biman boss.
The second foreign MD and CEO of Biman, Kyle Haywood, the managing director of Fastjet, a low-cost South African carrier, served in traditional carriers such as British Airways and Etihad Airways, and low-cost carrier Air Arabia. He also served as the CEO of Air Uganda.
The big blow to Biman came at the end of the year when a Biman DGM and four other staff were arrested for their involvement in gold smuggling. Those arrested Biman employees included DGM Emdad Hossain, Flight Captain Shahidullah and schedule in-charge Tozzamel Haque.
Besides, frequent incidents of gold seizure from Biman and airports of the country also revealed the anomalies and corruption in the management of Biman Bangladesh.
This Biman officials’ involvement in gold smuggling sparked off huge criticisms across the country and fingers were pointed at the Chairman of Biman Board for not taking punitive actions against the responsible Biman officials. Some MPs in Parliament also spoke against the Biman Chairman.
