The authority of Biman Bangladesh Airlines could not draw up any effective operational plan for its Dreamliner 787 aircraft in last 10 years.
The first of the four Dreamliner aircraft is expected to arrive in Bangladesh on August 20 and another in November. The remaining two will arrive next year..
The Biman authority has already announced its plan to operate commercial flights with the first Dreamliner on the Dhaka-Singapore and Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur routes from September 01.
Although a Dreamliner can fly 16 hours at a stretch and is fit for a long route, it will take hardly four hours to reach the destinations like Singapore and KL which is not commercially viable, experts say.
The Biman authority has a plan to operate flights on the Sylhet-London route with the Dreamliner later.
The national flag carrier also has a plan to re-open Manchester, New York and Hong Kong routes in future along with connecting new destinations like Sydney and Rome by 2019-20 with the four Dreamliners -- Akashbina, Hangsobalaka, Gangchil and Rajhangsha.
Aviation experts attribute the failure to draw up a plan to the authority's lack of planning and accountability while the Biman authority holds a different view. The first Dreamliner 787 has been named 'Akashbina' by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
It is now taking part in the world's second largest air show at Farnborough in the UK. Biman has taken various promotional measures for the Dreamliner.
Talking to the FE, former president of Bangladesh Airlines Pilots Association (BAPA) Captain SM Nasimul Haque said it is merely lack of accountability of the Biman authority that they have failed to draw up a plan for the Dreamliners in over 10 years.
The authority penalises one particular person when any occurrence takes place, but there is no coordinated effort to make the national flag carrier commercially viable, he added.
"Aviation business is not an easy thing. Biman should have a research cell to know where to feed these Dreamliners for optimum output," said Mr Nasimul.
"I see lack of planning, infrastructure, anticipation and accountability for this kind of stupidity to operate commercial flights with Dreamliners to Singapore and Malaysia," he said.
Biman signed an agreement with the Boeing company to purchase 10 aircraft including four Dreamliner 787 planes at a cost of Tk 200 billion.
Biman used to operate flights to various European destinations including Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Athens, Rome, Milan, Manchester, Frankfurt and London. But now Biman operates flights only on the Dhaka-London route.
Aviation experts observe that a slow infrastructure development process and capacity building of various airports by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) serve as major drawbacks to flourishing of the country's aviation industry. Besides, the category-2 status and the government's weak foreign policy are also working as barriers.
Biman had enjoyed the port entry facility in the European countries earlier. But now the poor image of the country leads to issuance of a less number of visas to European countries.
When asked for his comment on the failure to have a proper business plan for Dreamliners, general manager (public relations) Shakil Meraj said it is neither any inefficiency problem nor lack of negligence of the Biman authority.
The fact is that the Dhaka airport has to be made a hub for transit passengers, if Biman wants to operate flights on long routes, he said.
The present capacity of the Dhaka airport is not suitable for handling too many passengers as the airport already exhausted its capacity 10 years back, he added.
Dreamliners have a 271-seat capacity with 24 business class seats each.
"We have planned with Dreamliners for New York route. But category-2 status works as a barrier for NY and Toronto," he said.
The airport does not have enough capacity to handle too many passengers. It has insufficient immigration desks, transit facilities and boarding bridge. The baggage belt is not adequate enough and it lacks a tourist-friendly policy.
Mr Shakil said the authority must build its capacity in view of the growth of the passengers in future. Infrastructure here is not growing keeping pace with the passenger growth which is a must for serving properly the passengers, he added.
"We will not get 100 per cent passengers on long routes. That's why we will have to carry transit passengers for making the operation viable," he opined.
Biman cannot operate flights on long routes viably, unless the 3rd terminal is constructed along with other facilities," he added.
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Biman looks ill-prepared as Dreamliner to join its fleet
Kamrun Nahar | Published: July 21, 2018 21:32:56 | Updated: July 23, 2018 10:22:36
Biman looks ill-prepared as Dreamliner to join its fleet
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