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United launches flights to London
Civil Aviation and Tourism minister GM Quader said the performance of Biman Bangladesh Airlines is improving following its corporatisation.
Biman has set an example by successfully carrying this year's Hajj passengers, breaking all previous records, he said pointing to its recent improvement in service delivery.
The minister said this while inaugurating a Sylhet-Dhaka-London flight of the United Airlines (BD) Ltd, a private sector airline owned by non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs), at Zia International Airport (ZIA) on November 21.
The United Airlines, one of the private airlines of the country, launched Sylhet-Dhaka-London passenger flight with a 155-seater MD-83, a USA-built plane equipped with world-standard equipment.
Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan spoke as the special guest. The inaugural function was addressed, among others, by senior adviser of the United Airlines (BD) Ltd Syed Abdul Muktadir, Founder Chairman and Managing Director Captain Tasbirul Islam Choudhury and chairman of Board of Directors of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Air Marshal (Retd) Jamal Uddin.
Quader said the Biman could not perform up to the satisfactory level as the previous government did not liberalise it by giving special emphasis on quality of service.
He said he was happy with the investment by the NRBs and pledged his government's all-out support for more such investment in Bangladesh.
Faruk Khan said the launching of the private airlines has proved that an environment conducive to business has now been prevailing in the country due to the government's multifarious supports for the aviation sector.
"I do understand Bangladesh has achieved competence of doing aviation business in the international market," said Faruk.
Earlier, inaugurating the flight at MAG Osmani International Airport in Sylhet, Jatiya Party chairman and former president Hussain Mohammad Ershad said the aviation sector had to give away four billion US dollar to the foreign airlines every year due to Biman's poor performance.
He listed a number of steps for development of the aviation sector including maintaining timely flight schedules and support from the government to the private sector.
Syed Abdul Muktadir said the airline has also a plan to invest Taka 2000 crore within the next couple of years side by side with adding more 10 aircraft to its fleet.
Captain Tasbirul Islam Choudhury said since the inception in July 2007, the airline has operated 1,200 flights successfully, which is higher than other airlines due to its commitment to improved service. He said they have also a plan to start Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka-Kathmandu and Dhaka-Bangkok routes by December next.
The United Airlines will initially operate two passenger flights in a week on Dhaka-London route on Tuesday and Saturday and depart from Dhaka at 1200hrs. The one way special fare has bee fixed at Taka 33,683 (inclusive all taxes) and return fare is $695 (inclusive all taxes).
-Agencies
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Asia's airlines begin to pull out
of severe slump
Asia's airline industry is beginning to pull out of a severe slump sparked by the global recession with signs that passenger numbers have started to recover, a regional body said.
"Hopefully, we are at least through the worst of the downturn," Andrew Herdman, Director-General of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), said at an industry forum in Singapore.
"There are some encouraging signs that air traffic is starting to recover."
Figures released on November 20 by the 17-member AAPA showed its airlines carried 11.1 million passengers in October, a slight improvement over the previous month but still below levels seen a year ago.
Despite signs of a recovery, the regional airline industry is still expected to turn in a collective loss for 2009, Herdman said.
He did not give a figure for the losses expected this year but said the industry lost 4.8 billion US dollars in 2008.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has estimated that the global airline industry will lose 11 billion US dollars this year.
"In recent months, most airlines have seen load factors recover but low yields mean continuing losses for the industry and rising oil prices are certainly not helping," said Herdman.
"Asia Pacific airlines are expected to report heavy losses this year."
Given the severity of the global recession, the worst since the 1930s, it will likely take some time for the industry's health to return to pre-crisis levels, said Herdman.
"We still do not know whether the nascent recovery will be self-sustaining given the need for further adjustments and some more rebalancing of the global economy," he said.
"So airlines continue to face an extremely challenging operating environment... It will take time to nurse battered balance sheets back to full health."
Singapore Airlines (SIA), an AAPA member, also sees a recovery under way.
"The evidence, thankfully, is that we have passed the bottom of the downturn and that we are into a gradual recovery, month-on-month if not yet year-on-year," said SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng.
But he said risks remained, including the sustainability of the global economic recovery and worries the A(H1N1) flu virus will disrupt travel plans during the northern hemisphere winter season.
SIA lost 158.8 million Singapore dollars (114.5 million US) in the quarter to September, much narrower than its losses of 307 million Singapore dollars in the previous three months.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's leading air carrier Cathay Pacific Airways is seeing some recovery in its business and first-class travel, CEO Tony Tyler said on Friday, while cautioning a sustained revival had not yet taken hold. "At the moment we are seeing some recovery in premium travel, that is largely seasonal. The structural recovery will probably come when the world economy is on a firmer basis," Tyler told reporters on the sidelines of a business conference in Singapore.
Tyler's remarks came two weeks after Singapore Airlines, the world's largest airline by market value, said it had seen some recovery in its premium-class bookings, partly because some banks had relaxed business travel restrictions.
Airlines around the world are facing one of the toughest times in history as the recession hits travel demand and cargo volumes.
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Award for Agrabad Hotel CEO
Holiday Report
H M Hakim Ali, Chief Executive Officer of Hotel Agrabad, Chittagong, has been selected for International Award for Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry, Madrid, Spain.
On the occasion of the 3th anniversary of the organisation, Agrabad CEO Hakim Ali will receive the Gold medal Award for Business Excellence at a function to be held in Madrid on January 20, 2010. A graduate in Hotel Management and Tourism from the Cornel University USA, Hakim Ali is the president of Bangladesh International Hotel Association, Advisor of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh and Editor of Tourism International magazine.
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