Biman needs more than just new aircrafts
It is good news indeed that Biman Bangladesh Airlines is adding two new state-of-the-art aircrafts to its fleet. The addition of two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners—namely Aakashbeena and Hangsabalaka—will certainly contribute to the much-needed modernisation of the national flag carrier.
In 2008, Bangladesh signed a USD 2.1 billion agreement with Boeing to purchase 10 new aircrafts. Seven of them, including the Dreamliners, have so far been delivered by Boeing, while two more would be added to Biman's fleet by September next year.
We applaud the government for its initiative to modernise the carrier, however, the introduction of aircrafts isn't enough to turn Biman into a competitive airline. Negative feedbacks about Biman include its disregard for punctuality, inefficient manpower, poor management and service. Biman flights are often delayed for hours.
It is Biman's poor quality of service that has been attributed to its gigantic financial loss over several consecutive years. Even the Civil Aviation Minister blasted Biman officials in May for its poor luggage handling. With such flagrant shortcomings, how can the national flag carrier aspire to compete with global airlines? Addressing these issues does not require the authorities to spend a great sum of money. All they need to do is be a little more serious about dealing with these management issues and permanently address them.
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