Biman curtails flights on five int’l routes

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has reduced flights on five international routes due to financial losses and a decline in passengers.
The national flag carrier has cut flights to Manchester and Narita, citing financial losses on these routes. Meanwhile, flight frequency to Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai has been reduced due to a shortage of passengers since India tightened its visa issuance in August.
According to a Biman official, wishing to remain unnamed, weekly flights to Manchester have been reduced from three to two, effective late October. Similarly, the frequency of flights to Narita has also been decreased from three to two per week.
The airline’s decision to curtail operations on these routes is aimed at minimising financial losses and remaining competitive in the market, said the official.
After 17 years, Biman resumed flights to Narita in September 2023 with high hopes of commercial viability.
The then state minister for civil aviation, M Mahbub Ali, had expressed high hopes that Biman’s direct connectivity to Japan would open new doors of trade, tourism, and cultural exchanges between Bangladesh and Japan in addition to generating profit by operating on this route.
The state minister was also optimistic about making the new route profitable to attract passengers from Nepal, Bhutan, and the north-eastern states of India apart from Bangladeshi nationals.
However, despite initial optimism, the route has proven to be a loss-making venture due to the airline’s inefficiency and mismanagement, said an aviation expert.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Kazi Wahidul Alam, an aviation expert, criticised Biman for its lack of effective planning, promotion, and marketing strategies to attract passengers and make the route profitable.
During the inauguration of the Narita route, the then Biman chief Shafiul Azim said the national flag carrier was planning to carry its passengers to Australia, the west coast of the United States, and Canada with the help of other carriers via Japan through code sharing.
“We are exploring with other airlines interlinking or code sharing so that we can offer our passengers different routes beyond Japan like a 360-degree airline,” the Biman boss had said.
Although one year has passed, Biman could do little in this regard.
In December 2021, Biman also resumed flights to Manchester, but has now been forced to reduce the number of flights on this route due to financial losses.
the national flag carrier is only earning profits in 11 out of 21 international routes.
Currently, Biman is only generating profits on 11 out of 21 international destinations, namely, London, Toronto, Dubai, Jeddah, Madina, Riyadh, Dammam, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
The airline is incurring operational losses on six international destinations, including Manchester, Kuwait, Delhi, Kolkata, Guangzhou, and Narita.
The remaining four international routes—Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Doha, and Sharjah—are gradually becoming profitable by reducing the load penalty through coordinated excess baggage weight with airfare.
Due to a significant decline in passenger demand, Biman has reduced its weekly flights to Kolkata from 14 to seven. Flights to Delhi and Chennai have also been cut from seven to three weekly flights each. The downturn in passenger traffic is attributed to India’s restricted visa issuance, which has led to a decrease in travellers between the two countries.