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DHAKA-NY FLIGHT

Biman prefers 'prestige' debt to paying arrears

REAZ AHMAD
The Dhaka-New York flight appears to be Biman's Achilles' heel as the staterun airline, already struggling to buy fuel because of financial constraints, continues to absorb huge losses to operate the so-called prestige flight.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines counts Tk 70 lakh in losses by operating two flights on the Dhaka-Dubai-Brussels-New York route each week, official sources acknowledged.
Taking such huge losses in one single route is a luxury the national flag carrier can no longer afford, as its cash crisis continues to deepen, making it miss on several occasions
deadlines to pay Tk 508 crore in outstanding fuel dues to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
Besides, Biman's engaging one of its scarce wide-bodied aeroplanes on the Dhaka-NY route has compounded the aircraft crisis, making it uncertain about ferrying huge numbers of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia like every other year.
Due to a shortage of aircraft, Biman would be able to fly only 4,000 pilgrims for performing hajj this year, compared to the 23,000 pilgrims it ferried last year, said officials.
While Biman cancelled its lossmaking domestic flights on the Dhaka-Barisal route on Saturday last, the State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin, hinted at cancelling or re-routing or decreasing frequencies in some of its other domestic flights as well as international flights.
But interestingly enough, Biman has yet to say anything regarding the possibility of cancelling its most loss-making Dhaka-NY flights, apparently because this particular slot is very dear to its heart.
Asked about the rationale behind continuing the operation of such a lossmaking flight, Mir Nasir told The Daily Star yesterday, “Previous Awami League government initiated the Dhaka-New York flight via the Delhi-Brussels route, causing Tk 55 lakh loss in each flight. After taking the charge, I re-routed the Dhaka-Delhi-Brussels-New York flight to Dhaka-Dubai-Brussels-New York, and brought down the loss per flight from Tk 55 lakh to Tk 22 lakh only.”
He continued, “But eventually the unusual hike in the jet fuel price last year pushed up the loss per flight again from Tk 22 lakh to Tk 35 lakh. But still we're operating to this international destination, as it's a prestigious slot for Biman.”
Following last Thursday's unprecedented experience of Biman not getting fuel from BPC due to non-clearance of dues, the civil aviation minister cancelled Biman's Dhaka-Barisal flights, which used to operate just once a week. Prior to cancellation, Biman's 80-seater flight carried only 6 passengers to Barisal and even fewer - only 4 passengers - on return flight.
Biman sources also confirmed that after Eid-ul-Fitr, the airliner would decrease its frequencies from seven a week to four a week both on Dhaka-Jessore and Dhaka-Rajshahi-Syedpur routes.
Mir Nasir told The Daily Star that very soon Biman would decrease frequencies in some of its domestic routes and reroute some of its international operations.
Talking to The Daily Star last night, Managing Director-in-charge of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Abdus Salam acknowledged that the Dhaka-NY flight has been causing the most losses to the national flag carrier.
Asked about the loss amount per flight, he said, “The operational loss per
flight will be something like Tk 28 lakh.”
He said, however, that a committee headed by Biman's Director (Administration) Ahsan Kader has been working to devise a permutation and combination plan for Biman so that it could rationalise each of its domestic and international flights in a cost-effective way.
He said Biman's flight operations to London, Singapore, Frankfort, and Paris would come under considerations in this committee's review exercise.
Asked weather the question of cancelling the Dhaka-NY flight operation would come under the committee's consideration, the Biman MD replied in the positive but added, “If the government still wants to continue the flight, Biman will do so.”
Committee sources said it would be able to submit its report to the Biman authorities by October 31.