Staff Correspondent:

Biman Bangladesh Airlines wants to eradicate all kinds of mismanagement by agents, its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Jahid Islam Bhuiyan said on Sunday (30 June).

“Biman Bangladesh Airlines wants to be 100% free from the situation of no tickets being available online despite having empty seats on a flight,” said the Biman MD in an exchange meeting with journalists after a month of assuming the new responsibility.

“We want to solve the ticket problem completely so that no more questions arise in the future. That’s why we have already given a warning to the online travel agencies,” he added.

Earlier in a letter sent to all Passenger Service Agents (PSAs) recently, Biman expressed concern over agents who are undercutting or overpricing tickets through their own web portals.

“It has been observed by Biman Bangladesh Airlines that some of the reputed Biman-approved travel agents are selling and promoting Biman tickets at prices either lower or higher than the approved fares on different routes,” reads the letter.

On the issue of its 10-year fleet plan, the MD said,”Biman will be an airline of 47 fleets by 2034. In the meantime, six aircraft of the existing 21 fleet will be phased out. So, we have to add 32 new aircraft by the next decade to achieve the expansion plan.”

Regarding the purchase of aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, he said, “Discussions with Airbus have taken shape. On the other hand, there is also a proposal from Boeing. Since our needs are high, it might not be met by one company. We have to work with everyone.

Stating that Biman will make profit in the next year as well, he said, “We expect to earn Tk1,200 crore in the current financial year from cargo alone. All in all, Biman will see profit in the future as it has for the past few years.”