Advance seat booking, ticket blocking totally off : Biman chief
Dhaka : Advance seat booking and ticket blocking are totally off at Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said the carrier's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Md Safiqur Rahman.
He made the comments during a courtesy meeting with the Executive Committee of Aviation and Tourism Journalists' Forum of Bangladesh (ATJFB) at Biman's Balaka office on January 29.
The chief of Biman also mentioned that any individual found involved in ticketing fraud will be removed from his/her respective department as soon as such an incident is reported.
Regarding recent reports of ticket blocking and artificial ticket hoarding for Middle Eastern destinations, the MD and CEO of Biman said, there is currently no advance seat booking or ticket blocking at Biman. He claimed that he personally monitors the issue.
There were complaints in the past, and those responsible were removed from ticketing duties and were reassigned to other departments, he further expressed.
Regarding baggage management at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he said that efforts are underway to improve baggage handling. Whenever complaints arise about baggage, immediate action is taken, mentioned the MD and CEO.
However, there are some infrastructural limitations, he added, with hopes that the opening of the Third Terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will improve baggage management further.
He further informed, to ensure transparency in baggage management, airline staff are equipped with body-worn cameras. 150 new cameras have been purchased to enhance surveillance.
The staff wear the cameras when entering their duty for baggage handling and return them when their shift is over.
On preparations for Biman's Hajj flights, he mentioned, the current fleet of aircraft is sufficient to operate scheduled flights without disruption.
However, during the Hajj season, there will be higher demand for aircraft. In such cases, the number of flights on one or two routes will be reduced, and those aircraft will be used for Hajj flights.
The MD and CEO also stated that efforts are underway to reduce flight delays to zero, make crew and staff behavior more customer-friendly, and establish Biman as more passenger-friendly.
During the courtesy meeting, ATJFB President Tanzim Anwar delivered a welcome speech and suggested necessary measures to make Biman more passenger-friendly.
The event was attended by ATJFB Executive Committee members including General Secretary Baten Bipul, Joint Secretary Md Shafiullah Sumon, Finance Secretary Mahfuz Kamal Babu, Organizing Secretary Zulhas Kabir and Adnan Rahman, Public Relations and Publications Secretary Altaf Hossain, Office Secretary Niyamul Aziz Sadeq, Executive Committee members Mukhtadir Rashid Romeo, Masud Rumi, Rashidul Hasan, Khalid Ahsan, Golam Mortuza Antu, Senior Member Azad Solaiman, and Biman's General Manager of Public Relations Bosra Islam.
