The word 'Let the government goods be thrown in the sea' seems to be an excellent example for the national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh while the government is trying hard to implement Digital Bangladesh. Biman Bangladesh is walking in the opposite direction there. The state-run airliner's online ticketing service has been closed since August 10 and efforts have been made to re-launch it, but the wait is getting longer. While all the private airlines are busy in attracting customers with various facilities for the customers, Biman Bangladesh officials are busy with their own facilities. The government is losing crores of money in revenue, the concerned source said.
In the digital age, passengers feel more comfortable doing all the services including ticket collection through the net while sitting at home. Moreover, online service is also the best service to avoid crowds in the extreme corona. The online ticketing website has been down for almost three months. The service recipients have mentioned that this is an unprecedented incident. They say nowhere in the world has an organization's website been shut down for months. If there is an error it can be temporary for a few hours. And if other companies had to change, these few months could have been an alternative. This is actually nothing but negligence of responsibility.
After the website was shut down on August 11, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) Tahera Khandaker sent a press release to the media. The press release said, "Biman Bangladesh Airlines is going to ensure the provision of advanced online services through a world-renowned service provider soon." But that will be done in how many months or days? She does not know the answer.
When contacted, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director (CEO)Dr. Abu Saleh Mustafa Kamal told Barta24.com, ‘What is written when any work is stopped on the roads or somewhere? Sorry for the inconvenience. We have nothing to do but to say it. A contract has been signed with a new organization as those who used to work have failed. They are working. I can't say anything as the work is going on. It may take until February to fully recover. Then there will be no problem.’
When contacted about how fast the service could be launched, Bangladesh Airlines Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) Tahera Khandaker told Barta24.com that it would be launched soon. But I can't say when. She reminded me of the press release. Then she sent the press release to the reporter.
Is it really a technical problem? Experts have also questioned whether they are making such excuses to give benefits to a particular party because if the online ticketing system is on, the chances of fraud are a little less. The words that were used to say that there are no seats on the plane despite the vacancies are closed if the online ticketing system is on. Experts believe that Biman Bangladesh could make a profit from the loss.
For almost ten years before 2019, the online ticket booking system of Biman was operated by a US company called Zapways. The company was paid around Tk. 23 lakh per month for management and an additional Tk. 3.5 lakh for any new updates. The company was also unable to keep accurate information and financial accounts regarding the sale of air tickets. For this reason, in May 2019, Biman canceled its contract with Zapways and signed a new contract with a travel shop. Travel Shop replaces the whole system with absolutely up-to-date technology. As a result, senior ministry and government policy makers, including senior airline officials, could view daily ticket sales, booking cancellations and other revenue and expenditure accounts online through the dashboard. As a result, irregularities related to booking of air tickets and delayed flight management had almost stopped. Within a year, Biman saw a profit of Tk. 240 crore which was the first profit in the history of the aircraft. At that time, 1 crore 12 lakh 427 tickets of Biman were sold, the value of which is about Tk. 125 crore. At that time the management bill of the domestic company was about Tk. 90 lakh. On the other hand, when the foreign company was in the management, the bill would be more than Tk. 4 crore.
This time, Bangladesh Airlines has canceled its contract with the Travel Shop and entered into an agreement with Saver, a world-renowned service provider. Work is going on as per the agreement. Accordingly Biman will have to wait until next February to be fully recovered.
The press release further noted after the closure of the online ticketing service, the ongoing process of purchasing, changing and refunding tickets for all routes of the airline continues through all domestic and foreign sales offices of the airline, authorized travel agencies and airline call centers. In addition, the sales center at Biman's Balaka head office will remain open 24 hours from tomorrow to provide services to the respected passengers. Biman Call Center: 01990 997 997, Balaka Sales Center: 01777715630-31 Phone: 8901600-9 Extension 2135/2136, Motijheel Sales Center Phone: 223357070/223380151 (Extension international 136, 138; domestic 145).