No chance to ticket blockage: Biman MD

There is no chance of air ticket blockage through manipulation, said Biman Managing Director Shafiul Azim said today.

The statement came in the wake of recent allegations that some travel agencies had blocked seats by increasing the price of air tickets. The allegations further stated that the seats later became vacant with the connivance of unscrupulous Biman officials.

"Biman's ticket booking and purchase options are open to all distribution systems, including the Biman website, mobile apps, sales counters, and authorised travel agencies," Shafiul Azim while addressing a press conference organised for the inauguration of Biman's smart call centre.

Highlighting the airline's commitment to fair practices, the MD said wrongdoings on flights will be punished, while commendable behaviour will be rewarded.

On the issue, Biman's director (sales and marketing) Mohammad Salahuddin said, "We do not sell tickets for certain routes to any agent without the passenger's name. It is out of our policy. So there is no chance of ticket blocking."

He explained that while group tickets are sold for group tourists or passengers, strict requirements, including passport numbers and contact information, were in place.

Criticising the complaint of empty seats on a plane, he said, "We operate flights from Dhaka to London via Sylhet. Seats may be empty on the Dhaka-Sylhet route, but Sylhet-London is almost always full. 

"But if someone takes a picture of Dhaka-Sylhet and uploads it on social media saying the plane is going to London with empty seats, what can we do?"

Inauguration of Smart Call Center

Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Smart Call Centre officially started operations at Balaka of Biman Bangladesh Airlines head office today. Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Shafiul Azim inaugurated the call centre by calling the short code number 13636.

The managing director told the media that the call centre is now in the first phase. "We will soon outsource the call centre and recruit university students on a part-time basis. We are also planning to shift the call centre to a separate premises and also add various modern features to ensure world class service to passengers through the smart call centre."