I travelled to Bangladesh on Biman Bangladesh Airlines to attend an event at the U.S. Embassy toward the end of August this year. In particular, a few days earlier, passengers travelling from Toronto to Dhaka had endured considerable hardship when a technical problem occurred before the aircraft’s scheduled stopover in Rome, Italy. My acquaintances warned me that technical malfunctions, various in-flight problems, and poor passenger service were everyday occurrences at Biman Bangladesh.
Although these warnings left me somewhat hesitant, Biman Bangladesh was the most convenient option for travelling to Bangladesh while avoiding Middle Eastern airspace because of the Iran war. Moreover, since Toronto is much closer to my home than New York City, choosing Biman Bangladesh was also the most economical decision.
My first shock came from the airline’s telephone-based customer service at its Toronto office. I called the office several times to find out whether I could bring an additional piece of luggage and, if so, how much it would cost. However, I could not reach anyone. Every time I called, the automated system transferred me among various officials, including the station manager and country manager. Unfortunately, despite being redirected for hours, I could not find anyone willing to answer the phone. What does this mean? There are positions, and there are people, but apparently no one is available to provide passenger service. I called around noon, during regular business hours when the office should have been operating.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of business knows that having an online presence while failing to respond to customer inquiries is among the worst forms of customer service and business practice. Later, at the airline’s counter at Toronto airport, I encountered a major problem over my luggage weight. I was told that even if my baggage exceeded the limit by just one pound, I would have to pay several hundred dollars in additional charges. I encountered the same situation in Bangladesh on my way back to Toronto. Students coming to Canada for their studies were being charged 20,000–25,000 taka simply because their luggage exceeded the weight limit by just one pound. Having lived in the United States for nearly two decades and travelled to various countries around the world, I have experienced the passenger services of many renowned international airlines. Yet I have never encountered such a chaotic approach to customer service or such a tendency among airline officials to extract additional money from passengers.
Interestingly, I did not notice any major difference between Biman Bangladesh and other international airlines in terms of onboard service, technical operations, or arriving at destinations on time. However, I felt that the airline had fewer cabin crew than necessary. In particular, the number of crew members providing in-flight service on the Dhaka–Toronto route should be increased because of the diverse backgrounds and needs of its passengers. For example, many passengers are flying for the first time in their lives. For them, the physical strain of sitting continuously for twenty hours is an entirely new experience.
Many passengers are older men and women with various physical difficulties. Some are not accustomed to using aircraft toilets, which can result in the facilities becoming unclean. If there are not enough staff members to clean them promptly, other passengers also suffer the consequences. In addition, adequate personnel are needed to serve meals and provide other services and assistance according to passengers’ needs. I spoke with the cabin crew members on the Dhaka–Toronto flight. They agreed with my observations and thanked me for understanding the issue.
Generally, the ratio of passengers to cabin crew varies among airlines. Some airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, may have one cabin crew member for every 17 passengers, while some budget airlines may have one crew member for every 50 passengers. Bangladesh has a large unemployed population. Issues involving corruption and the embezzlement of public funds by some government officials have also been discussed on various occasions. Therefore, hiring more cabin crew members for Biman Bangladesh flights according to actual needs would not only create employment opportunities but also earn the goodwill of the government among expatriate Bangladeshis who send remittances to their homeland.
In my observation, the Biman Bangladesh flight between Dhaka and Toronto was full, with no vacant seats. Several cities in New York State with large Bangladeshi communities – including Buffalo, Albany, and Rochester – are only a few hours’ drive from Toronto. As a result, many Bangladeshis living in these cities use Biman’s Dhaka–Toronto service.
The airline’s cabin crew members told me that approximately 80 percent of the revenue on this route comes from cargo transportation. Because the flight stops in Rome, large quantities of fresh products from Bangladesh can be delivered to both Italy and Canada. These products are very popular among Bangladeshis living in those countries. Like Biman Bangladesh’s Dhaka–Toronto route, a Dhaka–New York route could also become popular among Bangladeshis living in the United States. If managed properly, this route could also become profitable.
Most importantly, Biman Bangladesh’s Dhaka–New York route could serve as a modest gesture by the Government of Bangladesh to show respect for the hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi remittance earners living in the United States and to ensure that they receive at least a basic level of service.
I hope that, recognising its responsibility toward these expatriates who send foreign currency back home, the respective authorities in Bangladesh will take positive steps on this matter soon.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author
The writer is an Associate Professor and Director of Journalism, Canisius University, New York, United States. Email: [email protected]
