The new managing director and chief executive officer of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Kevin John Steele, on Wednesday said that he aimed to make the loss-making national flag
carrier a profitable organisation in two years.
Kevin, the first foreign CEO of Biman, also pledged to eliminate intervention of government high ups to ensure smooth commercial run of the Biman fleet.
He was speaking at a press conference at Balaka, the head office of Biman at Kurmitola, on the day to share his future plans with the media.
Kevin said reducing cost and earning revenue would be his major priorities in his bid to make the Biman profitable and one of the best airlines in the world.
‘But I need support from the staff as well as the government,’ said Kevin, who joined Biman in March.
It is alleged that on many occasions Biman flights were delayed to ensure smooth travel of government high officials, which led to unpleasant situations, annoying ordinary passengers.
Kevin said, ‘I have already discussed this with the minister concerned about such intervention and he assured me of providing supports to make the airline profitable.
‘I also intend to talk to the prime minister regarding the issue and I hope she will agree with me to remove personal intervention (of government officials) in Biman to run its business commercially,’ he said.
‘I am confident that services of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines will be improved by at least 90 per cent by the end
of 2013 if I get the needed support,’ Kevin said.
‘I mentioned that from the start of April, we have put one aircraft completely on standby, so that we could replace any other aircraft that had any problems, and thus improve punctuality,’ he added.
Last week 41 per cent of the BIman flights left on time, whereas it was only 27 per cent in the same week in 2012, he said adding that they would publish the full details of the month on the web site.
Biman has already announced to restart the flights to Hong Kong and Delhi in May this year, said Kevin.
Biman also launched a call centre at its office last week to answer customers’ queries and help them make bookings. But it is a temporary move until they move to a call centre that will serve the customers round the clock in the next couple of months.
Biman has also asked its customers to send their feedback about its services to customerrelations@bdbiman.com
‘We are currently receiving around 30 emails per day, and I read all of them, and reply personally to around 25 per cent of the email as it is vital to listen to our customers,’ Kevin said.
Biman is looking to take two Boeing 777-200/200ER aircrafts on lease for the long-term. These aircrafts will supplement the Hajj operation, and then be used to launch flights to new destinations from November 2013.
‘This is an indication that Biman will be expanding a lot more in the future,’ he also said.
The Biman and the Collective Bargaining Association will today sign an agreement on use of fingerprints to register attendance of the staff and improve work environments and benefits.
There are still further negotiations to be done, but this now heralds a new era of teamwork and cooperation between both parties, he said.
Biman is currently working with an American company to develop a new web site that will have all the modern features, including the option to book a specific seat or submit a request for special meals, added Kevin.
The web site, to be developed by July 2013 will also have a travel agents’ portal, improved credit card arrangements and the option to prepay for excess baggage, he said.
Senior officials of Biman were also present at the press conference.
-With New Age input
