Biman's last hope
If liveries and logos can turn around a commercial airline-- so be it! It is Biman's last hope, to take off from a financial mess, and fly smoothly.
This hope was the essence of the report in all English dailies on February 7th, heralding Biman's non-stop Dhaka-London flight on 6 February. We can only hope and pray, since no effective change of Biman management has taken place to justify the optimistic view.
The leasing of the Boeing777 and Boeing 737 aircrafts has raised this hope. The airline is now limping along with the nightmarish record of the poorest flight schedule discipline and on-time flight performance among all the other contemporary commercial airlines, that we know of. Among the airline professionals internationally, Biman is known as "Bangladesh Bungle". Bangladeshis, however frustratingly call it as "Bangladesh Bayiman"; in consideration of its frequent and sudden schedule changes.
Passengers flying on transit, and connecting to other airlines, invariably miss the connection, as Biman is habitually late. They normally avoid Biman and are forced to travel if they have no other option left!
Biman inherits a tradition of poor operational efficiency, poor maintenance and lousy ground service. However, for the bureaucrats related to civil aviation and the communication ministry; it is their real "Home in the Air"! For them, Biman has to provide super discounts. They and their families only pay travel tax, and nothing else to fly anywhere on Biman's routes! After all it is a public airline; and they are the public administrators no less! Given such management where airline trade professionals are subordinated to civil and military amateur bureaucrats; gaining financial health is possibly a wishful thinking and nothing else! Till these fundamental management issues are sorted out, and real technical professionals are charged with Biman's management, no amount of fresh paint, colour combinations, logo and livery can effectively turn the airline's fortune.
Only luck and professional skills of our pilots,who are as good as any, with FAA qualifications have saved the airline from many potential flying tragedies!
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