British Airways pullout to sully country's image
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
A Z M Anas
The decision of British Airways (BA) to drop its Dhaka operations will have "a catastrophic impact" on Bangladesh's booming air travel industry, and also tarnish the country's image abroad, industry leaders and analysts said Monday.
The UK 's national carrier, the oldest foreign carrier to operate in Bangladesh since 1980s, announced this month that it would suspend its Dhaka-London-Dhaka passenger flights from March next year, citing commercial reasons.
"The route withdrawal (Dhaka-London-Dhaka) is going to be a great loss and disaster for the local air travel industry," said Association of Travel Agencies in Bangladesh (ATAB) president MA Muhaimin Saleh.
"No western airline will operate from and to Dhaka after the pullout of British Airways. Passengers will suffer immensely. Except Biman, there will be no direct air services between the two capitals," he added.
The airline's announcement to cut its Heathrow services to Dhaka comes at a time when the growth of the local aviation industry is close to 8.0 per cent a year, making Bangladesh one of the fastest-growing markets in the region.
The British Airways still operates three passenger flights a week between Dhaka and London. But the plan to withdraw the route will leave the state-owned carrier Biman to fly passengers between Dhaka and London through its five weekly flights.
The United Kingdom is home to over 0.5 million British-Bangladeshis. Other foreign airlines operate on the route via connecting flights to and from Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest.
Currently, 20 foreign airlines are operating in Bangladesh, which altogether control as much as 80 per cent market share.
An estimated 3.45 million air-travelers moved in and out of Bangladesh last year, and of them, the BA carried 63,402 passengers.
Kazi Wahidul Alam, an aviation analyst, said the news of British Airways pullout on non-profitability grounds would spread out across the world, and thereby tarnish the country's image abroad.
"The presence of a big airline reflects the inner strength of an economy. But the pullout will project a negative image of the country," he said.
A source who closely watches the aviation sector said the trouble with the BA's Dhaka-London route erupted two years ago when ATAB, the sector lobbyist, tangled with the airline for the reduced sales commission.
The fierce spat over the commission cut led to the boycott of the carrier by ATAB, a move the source said has put a damper on the carrier's profitability on the route since then. Even though ATAB lifted the boycott in August last, the airline had already racked up huge losses for the prolonged boycott, he added.
"The Dhaka-London route of the carrier continued to suffer after the boycott. The row had led to a substantial loss on the part of the carrier," the source told the FE. However, BA's local office has not disclosed the figures of losses over the last two years since the boycott by ATAB.
The ATAB chief also acknowledged that the boycott by the association put a damper on the British carrier's profitability.
"The decision to suspend flights between Dhaka and London has been a difficult one to make ...however, the route is not making a profitable contribution to our business and we are unable to sustain it," said Amanda Amos, British Airways area commercial manager for South Asia, in a statement.
"It's unfortunate that the airline is suspending its operations. It's one of the oldest airlines to operate from and to Bangladesh," Alam, who edits Bangladesh Monitor, a broadsheet travel fortnightly, said.
"British Airways itself will gain out of the route cut, as it wouldn't bleed further. But passengers will be the biggest losers," he said when asked which airline would be the winner due to the BA's pullout.
Travel agents said passengers destined to the United States, North and South Americas are sure to face the biggest hazard, because of the BA's withdrawal of Heathrow services to the capital.
Although BA's Dhaka-London route relies heavily on diplomats, corporate customers, and professionals of donor agencies, its withdrawal would land the North-America-bound passengers in trouble, suffering from longer travel time and higher fares.
"Now, passengers will have fewer seats. It may take 14-20 hours instead of present 6-7 hours to travel on the route. Other airlines will also charge more, although there will be no direct flights," the ATAB chief told the FE.
"Half-a-million Bangladeshi diaspora living in the UK would also suffer due to the route withdrawal," he said, calling upon the government to negotiate with the airline authorities to reconsider its decision.
The decision of British Airways (BA) to drop its Dhaka operations will have "a catastrophic impact" on Bangladesh's booming air travel industry, and also tarnish the country's image abroad, industry leaders and analysts said Monday.
The UK 's national carrier, the oldest foreign carrier to operate in Bangladesh since 1980s, announced this month that it would suspend its Dhaka-London-Dhaka passenger flights from March next year, citing commercial reasons.
"The route withdrawal (Dhaka-London-Dhaka) is going to be a great loss and disaster for the local air travel industry," said Association of Travel Agencies in Bangladesh (ATAB) president MA Muhaimin Saleh.
"No western airline will operate from and to Dhaka after the pullout of British Airways. Passengers will suffer immensely. Except Biman, there will be no direct air services between the two capitals," he added.
The airline's announcement to cut its Heathrow services to Dhaka comes at a time when the growth of the local aviation industry is close to 8.0 per cent a year, making Bangladesh one of the fastest-growing markets in the region.
The British Airways still operates three passenger flights a week between Dhaka and London. But the plan to withdraw the route will leave the state-owned carrier Biman to fly passengers between Dhaka and London through its five weekly flights.
The United Kingdom is home to over 0.5 million British-Bangladeshis. Other foreign airlines operate on the route via connecting flights to and from Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest.
Currently, 20 foreign airlines are operating in Bangladesh, which altogether control as much as 80 per cent market share.
An estimated 3.45 million air-travelers moved in and out of Bangladesh last year, and of them, the BA carried 63,402 passengers.
Kazi Wahidul Alam, an aviation analyst, said the news of British Airways pullout on non-profitability grounds would spread out across the world, and thereby tarnish the country's image abroad.
"The presence of a big airline reflects the inner strength of an economy. But the pullout will project a negative image of the country," he said.
A source who closely watches the aviation sector said the trouble with the BA's Dhaka-London route erupted two years ago when ATAB, the sector lobbyist, tangled with the airline for the reduced sales commission.
The fierce spat over the commission cut led to the boycott of the carrier by ATAB, a move the source said has put a damper on the carrier's profitability on the route since then. Even though ATAB lifted the boycott in August last, the airline had already racked up huge losses for the prolonged boycott, he added.
"The Dhaka-London route of the carrier continued to suffer after the boycott. The row had led to a substantial loss on the part of the carrier," the source told the FE. However, BA's local office has not disclosed the figures of losses over the last two years since the boycott by ATAB.
The ATAB chief also acknowledged that the boycott by the association put a damper on the British carrier's profitability.
"The decision to suspend flights between Dhaka and London has been a difficult one to make ...however, the route is not making a profitable contribution to our business and we are unable to sustain it," said Amanda Amos, British Airways area commercial manager for South Asia, in a statement.
"It's unfortunate that the airline is suspending its operations. It's one of the oldest airlines to operate from and to Bangladesh," Alam, who edits Bangladesh Monitor, a broadsheet travel fortnightly, said.
"British Airways itself will gain out of the route cut, as it wouldn't bleed further. But passengers will be the biggest losers," he said when asked which airline would be the winner due to the BA's pullout.
Travel agents said passengers destined to the United States, North and South Americas are sure to face the biggest hazard, because of the BA's withdrawal of Heathrow services to the capital.
Although BA's Dhaka-London route relies heavily on diplomats, corporate customers, and professionals of donor agencies, its withdrawal would land the North-America-bound passengers in trouble, suffering from longer travel time and higher fares.
"Now, passengers will have fewer seats. It may take 14-20 hours instead of present 6-7 hours to travel on the route. Other airlines will also charge more, although there will be no direct flights," the ATAB chief told the FE.
"Half-a-million Bangladeshi diaspora living in the UK would also suffer due to the route withdrawal," he said, calling upon the government to negotiate with the airline authorities to reconsider its decision.