Charting a course for Biman's viable future
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Abdullah Mohibuddin
WHEN I joined Biman towards the end of 1972 leaving Lufthansa and Airbus job offer, at that time Biman had only 2000 employees and two F27 aircraft and the highest salary was Taka 2000 per month.
Today after cutting down the jobs, the total strength will be a little over 2000 manpower. Biman have now 11 aircraft, but hardly two or three are serviceable. It brings woes to the passengers who remain stranded for days to reach their points of destination.
Many people are asking me about the difference between a corporation and a limited company. I refer them to commerce students who will be able to explain it better than me. Again, Biman is the talk of the town. Every day media covers and brings out news about Biman. Talk shows on the electronic media and think-tanks do not spare Biman. I do not know how many requests for interviews from the print and electronic media are turned down every day by the present Managing Director(MD) of Biman, now called its Chief Executives Officer(CEO).
Anyway, my hats off to the caretaker government. It has accomplished the unpleasant task by cutting jobs and converting Biman into a public limited company. A board has been constituted with the Cabinet Secretary as the Chairman and present Managing Director Dr. Momen has been made the MD as well as CEO. Government owns 100% of its share. Whether it is good or bad start, we will see it later on.
Under the present circumstances, I am in favour of 100% of Biman's share being owned by the government. If the intention is good, then one can work within the framework of the government policy. Although one month is over, we did not find a fruitful Board meeting. The first important task of the Board should, as I consider, be as follows:
1) The present CEO should be appointed at least for three years. Dr. M.A. Momen is a capable man and he should be given the task to turn Biman from a loss-making body into a profit-making one. Definitely, the CEO will require to place a plan before the Board and get its approval.
2) The Board must specify the remuneration of the CEO and approve it. One might notice that a CEO of a private bank is drawing between Tk. 0.2 million (2.0 lakh) and Taka 0.3 million (3.0 lakh) per month as salary, besides other facilities. In that case, the salary of the CEO of the Biman under the present circumstances should not be limited to Taka 25,000 per month only.
3) The CEO will decide the salary structure of the directors and other employees.
Once the board gives the CEO a free hand -- it does not mean that he can do whatever he likes -- then the ball will start rolling.
What will be top priority works for the CEO?
Biman has ageing aircraft. It can make an immediate plan and another long term one regarding acquiring the aircraft.
In the past a high-powered Evaluation Committee was formed and it made 'beautiful' plan about the modernisation of the fleet (Airbus and Boeing aircraft plans).
Again, we will trust and leave this task to the CEO for running Biman efficiently. The acquiring of aircraft for the airlines is supposed to be the top secret. One (the competitor) should not know until the aircraft comes at the tarmac and starts flying. So, tender business for acquiring aircraft has to be abolished.
Biman handles 25 foreign airlines at Zia International Airport alone, and also a few airlines at Chittagong airport. The basic ground handling is not a big deal, but to run it efficiently, one needs serviceable equipment and trained and efficient manpower. The top-most important issue here is proper supervision and training of the staff to serve the passengers promptly. Here, it is called Performance (work divided by time). If Biman does not have sufficient equipment due to fund constraints, then it can seek the help of a prominent operator. One can join hand with Biman as partner sharing profit and loss.
Biman handles cargo terminal. Many business people had been eyeing on to this to take this business out from Biman. It (Biman) can now put forward plans to ensure quality cargo handling services.
When Biman handles 25 foreign airlines, it can also handle and provide transit engineering maintenance services to those airlines' aircraft and can earn a good amount of money. At present, foreign airlines bring their own Ground Engineer. When Biman will be in a position to provide this service, they will also save money (aircraft's seat can be offered to passengers then).
Biman has a big hanger, but it has remained unutilised. Here, it can earn foreign exchange by providing big maintenance and overhaul schedules to other airlines at cheaper rates. But we need investment and trained manpower.
On the top, Biman has yearly two million reserved passengers. They will travel by its aircraft always. Biman has recently introduced E-ticketing on certain routes. But if the schedule is not maintained, then E-ticketing becomes I-ticketing (Irritating). For a long term plan, Biman needs to think and get good and proper advice from a reputed airline's consultant. No money should be wasted. Biman did it by appointing American CitiBank as consultants and that too at the advice of the World Bank. If the World Bank is sincere about helping Biman, then latter should seek consultancy services from those who have airlines' background. Here I can cite an example of Lufthansa Consulting which helps airlines like Biman to get off the ground. Lufthansa has a 50-year-old success story.
The main task of Lufthansa Consulting could be the studying of the present situation of Biman and what the latter has and has not, its weak and strong areas, market share etc. On the basis of those studies, Lufthansa Consulting will apply a methodical technique-Go or Not Go.
Under this method, market planning, route planning, fleet planning, investment planning and profit/loss will be worked out. It will help to make the Board of Biman of Biman understand where the airline is now placed. If it is needed to acquire aircraft for Biman, it can do it. It could be all in a package deal.
So the new CEO of Biman has a big job ahead. The government has worked at jet speed to convert Biman from a corporation into a public limited company. Now, the new Board of Biman has to move that way and make the CEO to work at jet speed. Otherwise, it will be again too late to call it a day.
(The writer is a retired DC-10 Flight Engineer and a former President of Flt Engrs & Navigators Association)
WHEN I joined Biman towards the end of 1972 leaving Lufthansa and Airbus job offer, at that time Biman had only 2000 employees and two F27 aircraft and the highest salary was Taka 2000 per month.
Today after cutting down the jobs, the total strength will be a little over 2000 manpower. Biman have now 11 aircraft, but hardly two or three are serviceable. It brings woes to the passengers who remain stranded for days to reach their points of destination.
Many people are asking me about the difference between a corporation and a limited company. I refer them to commerce students who will be able to explain it better than me. Again, Biman is the talk of the town. Every day media covers and brings out news about Biman. Talk shows on the electronic media and think-tanks do not spare Biman. I do not know how many requests for interviews from the print and electronic media are turned down every day by the present Managing Director(MD) of Biman, now called its Chief Executives Officer(CEO).
Anyway, my hats off to the caretaker government. It has accomplished the unpleasant task by cutting jobs and converting Biman into a public limited company. A board has been constituted with the Cabinet Secretary as the Chairman and present Managing Director Dr. Momen has been made the MD as well as CEO. Government owns 100% of its share. Whether it is good or bad start, we will see it later on.
Under the present circumstances, I am in favour of 100% of Biman's share being owned by the government. If the intention is good, then one can work within the framework of the government policy. Although one month is over, we did not find a fruitful Board meeting. The first important task of the Board should, as I consider, be as follows:
1) The present CEO should be appointed at least for three years. Dr. M.A. Momen is a capable man and he should be given the task to turn Biman from a loss-making body into a profit-making one. Definitely, the CEO will require to place a plan before the Board and get its approval.
2) The Board must specify the remuneration of the CEO and approve it. One might notice that a CEO of a private bank is drawing between Tk. 0.2 million (2.0 lakh) and Taka 0.3 million (3.0 lakh) per month as salary, besides other facilities. In that case, the salary of the CEO of the Biman under the present circumstances should not be limited to Taka 25,000 per month only.
3) The CEO will decide the salary structure of the directors and other employees.
Once the board gives the CEO a free hand -- it does not mean that he can do whatever he likes -- then the ball will start rolling.
What will be top priority works for the CEO?
Biman has ageing aircraft. It can make an immediate plan and another long term one regarding acquiring the aircraft.
In the past a high-powered Evaluation Committee was formed and it made 'beautiful' plan about the modernisation of the fleet (Airbus and Boeing aircraft plans).
Again, we will trust and leave this task to the CEO for running Biman efficiently. The acquiring of aircraft for the airlines is supposed to be the top secret. One (the competitor) should not know until the aircraft comes at the tarmac and starts flying. So, tender business for acquiring aircraft has to be abolished.
Biman handles 25 foreign airlines at Zia International Airport alone, and also a few airlines at Chittagong airport. The basic ground handling is not a big deal, but to run it efficiently, one needs serviceable equipment and trained and efficient manpower. The top-most important issue here is proper supervision and training of the staff to serve the passengers promptly. Here, it is called Performance (work divided by time). If Biman does not have sufficient equipment due to fund constraints, then it can seek the help of a prominent operator. One can join hand with Biman as partner sharing profit and loss.
Biman handles cargo terminal. Many business people had been eyeing on to this to take this business out from Biman. It (Biman) can now put forward plans to ensure quality cargo handling services.
When Biman handles 25 foreign airlines, it can also handle and provide transit engineering maintenance services to those airlines' aircraft and can earn a good amount of money. At present, foreign airlines bring their own Ground Engineer. When Biman will be in a position to provide this service, they will also save money (aircraft's seat can be offered to passengers then).
Biman has a big hanger, but it has remained unutilised. Here, it can earn foreign exchange by providing big maintenance and overhaul schedules to other airlines at cheaper rates. But we need investment and trained manpower.
On the top, Biman has yearly two million reserved passengers. They will travel by its aircraft always. Biman has recently introduced E-ticketing on certain routes. But if the schedule is not maintained, then E-ticketing becomes I-ticketing (Irritating). For a long term plan, Biman needs to think and get good and proper advice from a reputed airline's consultant. No money should be wasted. Biman did it by appointing American CitiBank as consultants and that too at the advice of the World Bank. If the World Bank is sincere about helping Biman, then latter should seek consultancy services from those who have airlines' background. Here I can cite an example of Lufthansa Consulting which helps airlines like Biman to get off the ground. Lufthansa has a 50-year-old success story.
The main task of Lufthansa Consulting could be the studying of the present situation of Biman and what the latter has and has not, its weak and strong areas, market share etc. On the basis of those studies, Lufthansa Consulting will apply a methodical technique-Go or Not Go.
Under this method, market planning, route planning, fleet planning, investment planning and profit/loss will be worked out. It will help to make the Board of Biman of Biman understand where the airline is now placed. If it is needed to acquire aircraft for Biman, it can do it. It could be all in a package deal.
So the new CEO of Biman has a big job ahead. The government has worked at jet speed to convert Biman from a corporation into a public limited company. Now, the new Board of Biman has to move that way and make the CEO to work at jet speed. Otherwise, it will be again too late to call it a day.
(The writer is a retired DC-10 Flight Engineer and a former President of Flt Engrs & Navigators Association)