By I.H.Sharif :
In Bangladesh, there have been several incidents of cheating by the General Sales Agent (GSA) of airlines. Being cheated by their own GSA, some of the airlines have continued to operate air services to and from Bangladesh opening their own offices and some have discontinued their flight operations. In this respect, Bangladesh’s national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airline, has been in a good position at the moment.
The story of cheating Saudi Arabian Airline (SAUDIA) by its GSA in Dhaka has become well known, because after the incident of cheating SAUDIA has opened its own office in Dhaka and continued to operate air services to and from Bangladesh after suing the GSA for recovering dues from them (the GSA). It is aired that the owner of the Saudi Arabian Airlines’ GSA in Dhaka defalcated Taka 320 million and made several high rise hotel and commercial-cum-residential buildings in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan and brought out a weekly travel trade tabloid which comes out as a monthly.
Recently the owner of the GSA has shut down his hotel business for achieving no good occupancy that can at least reach break-even point and started letting the hotel rooms out as office spaces. It is also aired that before launching a travel agency in Dhaka, the owner of the GSA was a manpower export agent (Adam bepari) and to make his travel agency the GSA of SAUDIA, he indulged in corrupt practices in respect of giving bank guarantee and some other things relating to travel agency business.
When in the afternoon on September 13 (Sunday) last, I asked the defalcating GSA owner what happened regarding the settlement of the court case he cried out angrily “What is your interest in this case?”
When I said, “As a journalist I need to know the things for perfect reporting,” he said, “I will not make any comment about it, you better ask SAUDIA people to know the matter.”
When I went to his office, an elderly man from his home district, Noakhali, was seeking his audience too. When his peon called us to see him, we entered his room together. When the defaulting GSA owner asked him what he wanted of him, the elderly man said that he wanted a job for his masters degree-holding son in his newly launched bank.
After coming out of his office I went straight to the Managing Editor of his weekly (coming out as a monthly). As the Managing Editor did not go to office that day, I telephoned him. When I asked him, “Which new bank has your boss launched?” He said, “My boss is one of the sponsor directors of the three newly launched NRB banks of the country.”
The Managing Editor asked me, “Why did you go to interview him regarding the GSA case that happened about fifteen years ago?” Without answering his question, when I asked him how much of money he has invested in the bank as a sponsor director, he said, “Like some other sponsor directors he has invested about Taka 500 million (50 crore).” Actually he was wrong because as per rule of the Bangladesh Bank a sponsor director can invest Taka 40 crore (the maximum limit for an individual director-or ten per cent of Taka four billion (400 crore) which as capital is needed for launching a new bank.
The story of GULF AIR of United Arab Emirates (UAE) is very interesting. Originally GULF AIR belonged to Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. But as Oman and Qatar have launched their own airlines called Oman Air and Qatar Airways, GULF AIR now belongs to Bahrain only. Its air services around the world are shrinking day by day. In the past it used to operate air services to as many as fifty destinations including Bangladesh.
Its network of destinations has shrunk to as few as twenty now. In Bangladesh, GULF AIR operated air services for long 29 years between July 1984 and February 2013 last. Unlike Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) that has sued its GSA for recovering defalcated dues, GULF AIR and its GSA, have accused each other for depriving each other for recovering dues from each other through settlement by the court.
“At the moment our position is very good in respect of defaulting GSA case,” said a senior official of Biman Bangladesh Airlines while talking to me in the morning on September 14 (Monday) last. Biman’s annual sales amounts to around Taka 40 billion (4,000 crore) and our GSAs’ (mostly in Middle Eastern countries) defaulting case amounts to as little as .0029 per cent, he added.
Asked about recovering Biman’s Tokyo GSA’s defalcating eleven crore Taka worth of sale proceeds, he said, “Biman’s Tokyo GSA belonged to Soyeb who could speak Japanese language fluently and the money he defalcated in 1990 has not yet been recovered.” It is aired that he has fled to South Korea, he added.
Sometimes the GSA of an airline is replaced even if it is not a defaulter. For example, Silkways had been the GSA of Malaysian Airline in Dhaka for long thirteen years with good reputation and its contract with the airline was renewed repeatedly. But the new management of Malaysian Airline has made Union Group its new GSA in Dhaka.
The story of PA AM (Pan American World Airways)’s off-line (having no direct flight to and from Dhaka) Travel Consultants owned by the legendary travel-trade personality S.A. Reza Hussain is also interesting.
The unprecedented feature of this GSA was that due to the reputation and personal integrity of SA Reza Hussain the PAN AM management in Bahrain did not insist on bank guarantee from Hussain while appointing his Travel Consultants as the off-line GSA in Dhaka in October 1983.
When after 67 years of air service operation PAN AM, a semi official airline of the USA, ceased worldwide flight operations in December 1991 (after a little over eight years of taking service from Travel Consultants –the off line GSA) it was seen that Reza Hussain had deposited around Taka 25 lakh as the sales proceeds of PAN AM’s tickets to American Express Bank after closure of PAN AM’s air services worldwide.
In Bangladesh, there have been several incidents of cheating by the General Sales Agent (GSA) of airlines. Being cheated by their own GSA, some of the airlines have continued to operate air services to and from Bangladesh opening their own offices and some have discontinued their flight operations. In this respect, Bangladesh’s national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airline, has been in a good position at the moment.
The story of cheating Saudi Arabian Airline (SAUDIA) by its GSA in Dhaka has become well known, because after the incident of cheating SAUDIA has opened its own office in Dhaka and continued to operate air services to and from Bangladesh after suing the GSA for recovering dues from them (the GSA). It is aired that the owner of the Saudi Arabian Airlines’ GSA in Dhaka defalcated Taka 320 million and made several high rise hotel and commercial-cum-residential buildings in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan and brought out a weekly travel trade tabloid which comes out as a monthly.
Recently the owner of the GSA has shut down his hotel business for achieving no good occupancy that can at least reach break-even point and started letting the hotel rooms out as office spaces. It is also aired that before launching a travel agency in Dhaka, the owner of the GSA was a manpower export agent (Adam bepari) and to make his travel agency the GSA of SAUDIA, he indulged in corrupt practices in respect of giving bank guarantee and some other things relating to travel agency business.
When in the afternoon on September 13 (Sunday) last, I asked the defalcating GSA owner what happened regarding the settlement of the court case he cried out angrily “What is your interest in this case?”
When I said, “As a journalist I need to know the things for perfect reporting,” he said, “I will not make any comment about it, you better ask SAUDIA people to know the matter.”
When I went to his office, an elderly man from his home district, Noakhali, was seeking his audience too. When his peon called us to see him, we entered his room together. When the defaulting GSA owner asked him what he wanted of him, the elderly man said that he wanted a job for his masters degree-holding son in his newly launched bank.
After coming out of his office I went straight to the Managing Editor of his weekly (coming out as a monthly). As the Managing Editor did not go to office that day, I telephoned him. When I asked him, “Which new bank has your boss launched?” He said, “My boss is one of the sponsor directors of the three newly launched NRB banks of the country.”
The Managing Editor asked me, “Why did you go to interview him regarding the GSA case that happened about fifteen years ago?” Without answering his question, when I asked him how much of money he has invested in the bank as a sponsor director, he said, “Like some other sponsor directors he has invested about Taka 500 million (50 crore).” Actually he was wrong because as per rule of the Bangladesh Bank a sponsor director can invest Taka 40 crore (the maximum limit for an individual director-or ten per cent of Taka four billion (400 crore) which as capital is needed for launching a new bank.
The story of GULF AIR of United Arab Emirates (UAE) is very interesting. Originally GULF AIR belonged to Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. But as Oman and Qatar have launched their own airlines called Oman Air and Qatar Airways, GULF AIR now belongs to Bahrain only. Its air services around the world are shrinking day by day. In the past it used to operate air services to as many as fifty destinations including Bangladesh.
Its network of destinations has shrunk to as few as twenty now. In Bangladesh, GULF AIR operated air services for long 29 years between July 1984 and February 2013 last. Unlike Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) that has sued its GSA for recovering defalcated dues, GULF AIR and its GSA, have accused each other for depriving each other for recovering dues from each other through settlement by the court.
“At the moment our position is very good in respect of defaulting GSA case,” said a senior official of Biman Bangladesh Airlines while talking to me in the morning on September 14 (Monday) last. Biman’s annual sales amounts to around Taka 40 billion (4,000 crore) and our GSAs’ (mostly in Middle Eastern countries) defaulting case amounts to as little as .0029 per cent, he added.
Asked about recovering Biman’s Tokyo GSA’s defalcating eleven crore Taka worth of sale proceeds, he said, “Biman’s Tokyo GSA belonged to Soyeb who could speak Japanese language fluently and the money he defalcated in 1990 has not yet been recovered.” It is aired that he has fled to South Korea, he added.
Sometimes the GSA of an airline is replaced even if it is not a defaulter. For example, Silkways had been the GSA of Malaysian Airline in Dhaka for long thirteen years with good reputation and its contract with the airline was renewed repeatedly. But the new management of Malaysian Airline has made Union Group its new GSA in Dhaka.
The story of PA AM (Pan American World Airways)’s off-line (having no direct flight to and from Dhaka) Travel Consultants owned by the legendary travel-trade personality S.A. Reza Hussain is also interesting.
The unprecedented feature of this GSA was that due to the reputation and personal integrity of SA Reza Hussain the PAN AM management in Bahrain did not insist on bank guarantee from Hussain while appointing his Travel Consultants as the off-line GSA in Dhaka in October 1983.
When after 67 years of air service operation PAN AM, a semi official airline of the USA, ceased worldwide flight operations in December 1991 (after a little over eight years of taking service from Travel Consultants –the off line GSA) it was seen that Reza Hussain had deposited around Taka 25 lakh as the sales proceeds of PAN AM’s tickets to American Express Bank after closure of PAN AM’s air services worldwide.
