Biman\\\'s new foreign helmsman joins

Kyle Haywood, a British national and a commercial aviation professional, took the top job of Biman Monday, facing the challenge of turning around the struggling state carrier.
In September last year, Biman's board picked Mr. Kyle as the managing director and CEO of Biman after the surprise departure of Kevin Steele, the national flag carrier's first foreign boss.
"I am delighted to be taking up this challenging role; particularly at a time when the airline pushes forward with its modernisation programme," Mr Hayhood said in a statement.  
The national airline's loss topped Tk 10 billion in the last three years to 2013 financial year.
"Biman is well placed to evolve in to a stronger aviation player. The ongoing fleet renewal allows us to build and improve a strong network whilst providing better punctuality and overall customer experience. The airline has made great progress in recent years and must continue to accelerate this positive rate of relevant change to ensure it secures and maintains its rightful place as a strong regional aviation company," he said. "With the ongoing focus and commitment of all the people at Biman along with continued support and confidence of the business's key stakeholders, we can, together, deliver on our goals."  
Prior to his joining Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Mr Kyle held senior roles in the airline industry across Africa, Europe and the Americas.
He has 28 years of track record in the field of aviation. Beginning his career with over 19 years at British Airways, Mr Haywood also worked for the Arab world's top carriers such as Etihad, Gulf Air and two low cost carriers of Air Arabia, Nasair and held the post of CEO of Air Uganda in Africa.
 "Kyle comes with an amazing background in the commercial aviation arena and I am hopeful that he would, like a charismatic leader, instill in his followers a passionate commitment to the cause that we all have been working for the last six years", Biman chairman Jamal Uddin Ahmed said in his remark.
Known as a 'fixer', Mr. Kyle has valuable experience in creating organisation change environment and driving change concepts through the business. A forward thinker with a strong ability for consensus building and effective team-working combined with an inspirational and optimistic outlook on life, Mr Haywood is optimistic about delivering further extensive change in the ongoing growth of the national carrier.
Mr Haywood has varied crisis management experience with the ability to react, adapt and steer the business through volatile commercial environments. Examples of this are managing British Airways' Saudi operation during Gulf hostilities, managing its business on the ground in Argentina during the Argentine economic recession and more recently driving Gulf Air's strategic commercial turn-around business changes up to the recent unrest in Bahrain.
Biman said the age-old DC-10s of the carrier had a "crippling effect" on Biman and the image of the national carrier suffered immensely before the advent of new Boeing aircraft.
But it said Biman has four new- generation Boeing 777 300 ER in its fleet and another two Boeing 737-800s are on course to join the airline this year.