Biman Bangladesh Airlines is preparing to increase its flight frequency on the Dhaka-London route to five weekly flights.
The national flag-carrier's management has applied to Heathrow Airport authorities for approval to operate this fifth flight, with the expectation that, once sanctioned, it will be added to the schedule promptly.
According to Biman sources, this frequency increase is part of a broader strategy to streamline operations, with the national flag carrier focusing on boosting flight numbers on profitable routes while reducing flights on loss-making ones.
Recently, Biman raised its Dhaka-Toronto services to three weekly flights, responding to heightened demand on this profitable route.
In contrast, flights on unprofitable routes, such as Dhaka-Narita and Dhaka-Manchester, have each been reduced by one.
Services on the Dhaka-Kolkata and Dhaka-Delhi routes have also been scaled back.
Financial analysis reveals significant losses on certain routes: the Dhaka-Manchester route incurs a monthly deficit of Tk1.10 crore, while the Dhaka-Rome route loses Tk88 lakh, and the Narita route sees losses amounting to Tk20 crore per month.
The now-discontinued Dhaka-New York route, which closed in August 2006, sustained losses of Tk50 lakh per flight.
At that time, Biman ceased operations on various unprofitable routes, including Paris, the Netherlands, Manchester, Frankfurt, Narita, and Rome. While Rome, Narita, and Frankfurt were subsequently reintroduced, they continued to prove challenging.
Amid ongoing losses, Biman has had to reopen and subsequently close the Rome route twice; it was recently relaunched once again.
Similarly, Frankfurt was reopened in 2014 but was subsequently shut down after a brief period.
Biman’s management has strategically adjusted flight frequencies on existing routes to enhance operational efficiency. Routes with lower passenger demand have seen reductions, while high-demand routes have had frequencies increased, which the airline’s marketing division believes will help improve revenue on profitable routes in the future.
Learning from past challenges, Biman’s management emphasises that enhanced efficiency across the current route network is essential.
They have committed to rigorous market research before launching or expanding any routes, stating that no new services will be introduced without thorough research.
Moreover, Biman is exploring promising destinations such as the Maldives, aiming to enhance connectivity on the Dhaka-Rome route by establishing codeshare partnerships with European carriers for onward connections within Italy and beyond.
A Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) has already been finalised with Italy’s flag carrier, ITA Airways, and preparations are underway for an SPA with Japan Airlines.
Additionally, to better manage crew operations, Biman is considering changing the Dhaka-Toronto stopover from Istanbul to Rome.
This follows a notification from Istanbul Airport authorities that Biman may need to use a nearby airport instead of the primary facility in the city.
