Rebranded Biman has to come up with new look
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Shahiduzzaman Khan
PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered crackdown on corruption and irregularities in Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited as such crimes of big magnitude in the no-go realm reportedly held down the national flag carrier for long. She told the Biman management to curb all sorts of corruption and irregularities with an iron hand. Her directive came while she was inaugurating a new logo and livery of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, at the VVIP Terminal of Dhaka International Airport last week.
The Prime Minister also directed resumption of all suspended Biman routes to destinations wherein a good number of Bangladeshi expatriates live. She lauded the move of Biman authorities for switching over to e-ticketing as this would help stop the cumulative irregularities involving ticket booking. She asked the authorities to increase the on-flight services to attract more passengers. She also asked the Biman officials to restart the Dhaka-New York flight as soon as possible after consulting the US counterpart.
Apparently, a new journey of the Biman started with new logo and livery and inclusion of new-generation Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 737-800NG airplanes in its fleet. The Prime Minister also cut the logo embedded cake and got on board the new-generation aircraft. She received models of 777 and 737 aircraft from Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited Board of Directors chairman and the Managing Director. The renaissance event also showcased seven new uniforms (saris) designed to be worn by the Biman employees engaged on-board service and customer touch point on the ground.
In fact, the Biman Bangladesh Airlines has re-branded itself, bringing changes to its livery and logo. In sync with promises to improve services both in air and on the ground, Biman has come up with a new look. Four leased aircraft, painted with the new logo, have joined the Biman fleet last month. Marking the occasion, Biman's Managing Director and Chief Executive Muhammad Zakiul Islam told a news media: "We want to infuse new life into Biman so it can be a truly commercially viable airline. We want to bring a feeling of change."
What the Prime Minister witnessed was that after 2001, Biman was turned into a haven of looting and irregularities. Serious financial crisis had caused delay in payments of allowances, bills and even monthly salaries of its officials and employees. Plagued by chronic financial loss every year and fleet crisis, the authorities of Biman cut more flights on international routes while foreign airlines took the opportunity to grab increased flight frequency from Dhaka due to substantial traffic growth. The caretaker government, during their two-year rule, tried to pull up the organisation from its ramshackle state. But that was just to make the Biman a little bit better from its about-to-die condition. However, after assuming power, the AL-led grand alliance government took a number of steps to modernise the Biman, including reconstituting its board of directors.
Successive governments in the past failed to take any concrete decision on the Biman restructuring and hence, the national flag carrier continued to sustain colossal losses year after year. In fact, Biman should have been allowed to go out of business long ago to prevent the colossal financial losses it has amassed over the years due to inefficiency, corruption, and ill-conceived opening of many domestic and international routes. It should have been privatised many years ago on considerations of sustainable financial management and public welfare on the part of the state.
In the neighbouring countries of India and Pakistan, deregulation of the airline industry and allowing competition to the national carriers from private airlines have not only secured most of the traffic growth but also forced the national carriers to improve their efficiency and competitiveness. Experts are of the opinion that the same should be practised in Bangladesh. The civil aviation authority should set acceptably high-standards for local airline start-ups and allow any available routes they wish to operate on.
However, it is gratifying to note that Biman started to make profit from this fiscal year. The aviation company earned a profit of Tk 350 million in the first quarter while Tk 830 million in the second quarter of this fiscal year. As Biman is now making profit, it can easily appoint workforce to enhance the services. There is a shortage of airhostesses and cabin crews in the Biman and those vacant posts need to be filled up.
According to reports, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited is acquiring Boeing 777-200ER and 737-800NG aircraft on lease to improve quality of its services for the interim period up to the delivery of aircraft from Boeing, which are scheduled to be delivered from 2011. The Boeing 777-200ER has a configuration of 293 economy and 30 business-class seats. The 737-800 which presently has a configuration of 177 economy seats will be converted to 150 economy and 12 business-class ones soon. A syndicate of nine local banks agreed to give Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd a loan of $114.75 million for procuring two aircraft from Boeing. This is the first time after the country's independence that some local banks are giving such a big loan to a government agency in foreign currency. Biman is taking the $114.75 million loan from the local banks' syndicate led by Eastern Bank Ltd at a low interest rate of 4.57 percent.
As per the agreement, Biman has already paid Boeing $11.96 million for buying the planes. Boeing is supposed to supply the two aircraft in 2011 for $424 million. Aviation ministry sources said the US-based Ex-Im Bank would finance for the rest. The syndicate of the local banks also includes Brac Bank, National Bank, IFIC Bank, The City Bank, AB Bank, Prime Bank, Premier Bank and Citi Bank NA. Bangladesh Bank will provide these banks with the foreign exchange against local currency.
In fact, Biman has correctly moved to revive its image dented by various factors, including flight delays. Biman has also taken an initiative to change passengers' perception about the carrier by infusing dynamism in its services. Aircraft purchase deals with US plane-maker Boeing also persuaded the Biman management to consider massive rebranding, as a gradual induction of the new planes is expected to help the carrier ensure on-time departures.
Presently, around 25 local and foreign carriers depend mainly on thousands of Bangladeshi jobseekers and workers in the Middle East and other parts of the world, rather than tourists and businesspeople. Local Bangladeshi people love to fly on national carrier to get native feeling -- talking in Bangla and tasting local cuisine. But the size of Biman's fleet and number of routes are too limited to face any passenger crunch or encounter losses due to shrink in world economy. The frequency of Biman's flights needs to be expanded.
If there is a well-knit planning and a proper strategy, experts believe Biman's bad reputation will be wiped out as soon as it gets new aircraft. Some jobs need to be done like restructuring the management to infuse dynamism into the activities of the carrier. When the whole restructuring process is done, Biman will be able to run more efficiently. The incumbent government should bring it to further level of advancement.
.............................................................
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com
PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered crackdown on corruption and irregularities in Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited as such crimes of big magnitude in the no-go realm reportedly held down the national flag carrier for long. She told the Biman management to curb all sorts of corruption and irregularities with an iron hand. Her directive came while she was inaugurating a new logo and livery of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, at the VVIP Terminal of Dhaka International Airport last week.
The Prime Minister also directed resumption of all suspended Biman routes to destinations wherein a good number of Bangladeshi expatriates live. She lauded the move of Biman authorities for switching over to e-ticketing as this would help stop the cumulative irregularities involving ticket booking. She asked the authorities to increase the on-flight services to attract more passengers. She also asked the Biman officials to restart the Dhaka-New York flight as soon as possible after consulting the US counterpart.
Apparently, a new journey of the Biman started with new logo and livery and inclusion of new-generation Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 737-800NG airplanes in its fleet. The Prime Minister also cut the logo embedded cake and got on board the new-generation aircraft. She received models of 777 and 737 aircraft from Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited Board of Directors chairman and the Managing Director. The renaissance event also showcased seven new uniforms (saris) designed to be worn by the Biman employees engaged on-board service and customer touch point on the ground.
In fact, the Biman Bangladesh Airlines has re-branded itself, bringing changes to its livery and logo. In sync with promises to improve services both in air and on the ground, Biman has come up with a new look. Four leased aircraft, painted with the new logo, have joined the Biman fleet last month. Marking the occasion, Biman's Managing Director and Chief Executive Muhammad Zakiul Islam told a news media: "We want to infuse new life into Biman so it can be a truly commercially viable airline. We want to bring a feeling of change."
What the Prime Minister witnessed was that after 2001, Biman was turned into a haven of looting and irregularities. Serious financial crisis had caused delay in payments of allowances, bills and even monthly salaries of its officials and employees. Plagued by chronic financial loss every year and fleet crisis, the authorities of Biman cut more flights on international routes while foreign airlines took the opportunity to grab increased flight frequency from Dhaka due to substantial traffic growth. The caretaker government, during their two-year rule, tried to pull up the organisation from its ramshackle state. But that was just to make the Biman a little bit better from its about-to-die condition. However, after assuming power, the AL-led grand alliance government took a number of steps to modernise the Biman, including reconstituting its board of directors.
Successive governments in the past failed to take any concrete decision on the Biman restructuring and hence, the national flag carrier continued to sustain colossal losses year after year. In fact, Biman should have been allowed to go out of business long ago to prevent the colossal financial losses it has amassed over the years due to inefficiency, corruption, and ill-conceived opening of many domestic and international routes. It should have been privatised many years ago on considerations of sustainable financial management and public welfare on the part of the state.
In the neighbouring countries of India and Pakistan, deregulation of the airline industry and allowing competition to the national carriers from private airlines have not only secured most of the traffic growth but also forced the national carriers to improve their efficiency and competitiveness. Experts are of the opinion that the same should be practised in Bangladesh. The civil aviation authority should set acceptably high-standards for local airline start-ups and allow any available routes they wish to operate on.
However, it is gratifying to note that Biman started to make profit from this fiscal year. The aviation company earned a profit of Tk 350 million in the first quarter while Tk 830 million in the second quarter of this fiscal year. As Biman is now making profit, it can easily appoint workforce to enhance the services. There is a shortage of airhostesses and cabin crews in the Biman and those vacant posts need to be filled up.
According to reports, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited is acquiring Boeing 777-200ER and 737-800NG aircraft on lease to improve quality of its services for the interim period up to the delivery of aircraft from Boeing, which are scheduled to be delivered from 2011. The Boeing 777-200ER has a configuration of 293 economy and 30 business-class seats. The 737-800 which presently has a configuration of 177 economy seats will be converted to 150 economy and 12 business-class ones soon. A syndicate of nine local banks agreed to give Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd a loan of $114.75 million for procuring two aircraft from Boeing. This is the first time after the country's independence that some local banks are giving such a big loan to a government agency in foreign currency. Biman is taking the $114.75 million loan from the local banks' syndicate led by Eastern Bank Ltd at a low interest rate of 4.57 percent.
As per the agreement, Biman has already paid Boeing $11.96 million for buying the planes. Boeing is supposed to supply the two aircraft in 2011 for $424 million. Aviation ministry sources said the US-based Ex-Im Bank would finance for the rest. The syndicate of the local banks also includes Brac Bank, National Bank, IFIC Bank, The City Bank, AB Bank, Prime Bank, Premier Bank and Citi Bank NA. Bangladesh Bank will provide these banks with the foreign exchange against local currency.
In fact, Biman has correctly moved to revive its image dented by various factors, including flight delays. Biman has also taken an initiative to change passengers' perception about the carrier by infusing dynamism in its services. Aircraft purchase deals with US plane-maker Boeing also persuaded the Biman management to consider massive rebranding, as a gradual induction of the new planes is expected to help the carrier ensure on-time departures.
Presently, around 25 local and foreign carriers depend mainly on thousands of Bangladeshi jobseekers and workers in the Middle East and other parts of the world, rather than tourists and businesspeople. Local Bangladeshi people love to fly on national carrier to get native feeling -- talking in Bangla and tasting local cuisine. But the size of Biman's fleet and number of routes are too limited to face any passenger crunch or encounter losses due to shrink in world economy. The frequency of Biman's flights needs to be expanded.
If there is a well-knit planning and a proper strategy, experts believe Biman's bad reputation will be wiped out as soon as it gets new aircraft. Some jobs need to be done like restructuring the management to infuse dynamism into the activities of the carrier. When the whole restructuring process is done, Biman will be able to run more efficiently. The incumbent government should bring it to further level of advancement.
.............................................................
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com