The [ B I M A N ] Ethics

Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Your Home In The Sky! My post will illustrate some of the works of that home you fly in. Before we dive into the stories, I’d like to come clean that the information provided in the article has no evidence. My friend who is a son of a Biman pilot, and a Biman official helped me a lot in getting this post ready. Therefore, much of the credit goes to him.

Now, what to start with? How about Biman's purchasing of one US $28 equipment with US $4,500? They bought more than 100 pieces of the same equipment with the same price. What can we draw from it? It becomes very easy to say why Biman has suffered substantial losses over the years. No organization can make profit out of these circumstances. An important question may be raised, where did the money go then? Who were actually involved? Who got the shares of the money? I know you are thinking about the involvement of the political leaders in these cases. But it’s not always like that. Most of the times, in fact, the insiders are more enthusiastic in these issues over the externals. In the ladder of the hierarchy the management seems more passionate in the field while playing.

The Biman Aircraft Scanner was worth a million US dollars. It became invisible right after the purchase was made. How come such a monstrous piece of thing can get lost. The ultimate answer we reach to is- it was either sold or in point of fact Biman did not buy it but showed in papers. Interestingly, nobody in Biman took much interest in finding that machine out. How could an organization survive when its own people kill it cutting through its veins? There are more. The only way Biman earns revenues is from the sales of tickets to the passengers. But Biman officials do awesome practices here as well. Most of the times normal passengers (without confirmation) do not get tickets, since the tickets are provided for free to the Biman officials’ kith and keen or to the cabin crew’s family members.

Now, some information regarding the cabin crews. The way they smile at you (well, they don’t actually do so unless you look posh in your manners and dresses or you are someone important to them), they way they behave with you might make you at home at times. Do you have any idea what’s their first job while boarding the plane? As soon as they board the plane they fill their bags with the food that was intended to serve you with. In addition, they take the spoons, tissue papers, lights . . . and what not? Did you know, the cabin crew's luggage are never checked or scanned? Often the buy goodies form other airports and sale them at different shops at Uttara, Gulshan, Banani and so on. Will you believe if I say Biman's security officer's home's light, hand wash is from Biman (with Biman’s official logo)? These goods are strictly prohibited to use outside.

I’m quite sure that most of you haven’t heard about BFCC, the Biman Flight Catering Centre. They provide the food for the passengers of the planes. They have started a cool business of producing cash. The food that are not taken into the planes or somehow labeled as waste, are regularly sold by the BFCC people at different hotels and fast food shops at Uttara, Gulshan & Banani. In most of the cases, they sell rotten pieces of chickens in those shops. The shops getting them for lower prices do not want to lose a chance!

What else can be written? Ah! The immigration officers! Biman always recruits cows and goats (in some cases lambs!!) as immigration officers so that they can be easily fooled. I bet, none of them are familiar with the rules and regulations of the Airport and immigration. I strongly believe none of them is good with computers, and some of them are too old for PCs. They just know how to click the mouse and press the keys of the keyboard while checking the papers of the passengers. No brain at all, No creativity as well.

The Biman ethics seems too pushy, don't they? I think nothing can be done to the people running the business. We should know they are not the members of the team; they are behind the wheel!