Biman sees huge potential in Dhaka-Narita direct flights

The state-owned Biman Bangladesh Airlines is all set to inaugurate its Dhaka-Narita direct flight on 1 September with an aim not only to cater to the travel needs of Bangladeshis flying to Japan and Japanese visitors heading to Dhaka but also to lure Japan-bound travellers from neighbouring Nepal and India.

The introduction of this direct flight route holds the promise of significant time and cost savings for passengers, said Biman officials.

A Biman ticket for the Dhaka-Narita-Dhaka round trip will cost Tk96,530 and Narita-Dhaka-Narita Tk69,926. However, the cost of tickets with other airlines remains significantly higher than that of Biman. 

Take, for instance, Emirates Airlines, where the fare for a Dhaka-Narita-Dhaka round-trip, beginning on 8 September and ending on 16 September, could amount to nearly Tk2 lakh. 

Also, passengers would face a transit time of over four hours in Dubai. But a direct flight would take 8 to 9 hours.

Until now, passengers have had to rely on connecting flights through hubs such as Dubai, Singapore, Istanbul, or other intermediary countries in order to reach their destinations in Japan or Bangladesh.

Shafiul Azim, the managing director and CEO of Biman, emphasised the potential of this direct route in delivering a reliable, competitive, and sustainable service to air passengers.

Azim expressed his optimism regarding the long-term prospects of the route during a meeting with representatives of the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) at the Biman head office in the capital on Monday.

According to Japan's Ministry of Justice, till 2022, there were 20,954 Bangladeshis living in Japan. The island nation is also considered a desirable study destination for Bangladeshi students.

"Besides Bangladeshis, there are about 41,000 Indians, and 1,40,000 Nepalese nationals living in Japan. So, passengers from India and Nepal can fly to and from Japan via Dhaka," the Biman MD said in the meeting.

Though Nepal Airlines operates direct flights on the Kathmandu-Narita route, the Biman authorities think that it is not sufficient against the huge demand.

"The number of flights from Nepal to Japan is less compared to the demand. Besides, there is no direct flight between Kolkata-Tokyo and Delhi-Tokyo. So these passengers can use Dhaka as a transit to Japan," Mohammed Salahuddin, general manager of marketing at Biman, told The Business Standard.

Biman MD Shafiul Azim mentioned that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) is facilitating many mega projects in Bangladesh. So many Japanese people are frequently flying between the two countries. Also, there are around 340 Japanese companies operating here in Bangladesh.

"Sumitomo Corporation, Japan has commenced developing an industrial park in a special economic zone with the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority, which also results in a gradual increase of frequent flyers between Japan and Bangladesh," said Shafiul Azim.

In addition, on average about 150 tonnes of air cargo per month is being transported from Japanese cities like Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka to Dhaka, according to Biman sources. 

Apparel materials and accessories are the major cargo types to and from Japan. Biman can also target the Middle East air cargo markets for the return flights to and from Narita, Tokyo.

"Tokyo is the only hub for air cargo in Japan. Biman can capture more cargo share markets by making agreements with various trucking companies such as Road Feeder Service for creating connectivity to deliver cargo from Tokyo to other points in Japan," said the Biman MD.

Regarding a query from a Japanese representative, Mohammed Salahuddin, general manager of marketing at Biman, said they are eager to ink MoUs with Japanese companies and businesses to offer special packages to lure passengers.

Responding to a query from another Japanese representative, Biman MD Shafiul Azim said, "We never compromise with the safety and security standards as the airline complies with all International Air Transport Association (IATA) and IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) provisions."

"Biman successfully completed international accreditation for the 9th IOSA-IATA operational safety audit," he said.

Biman will operate three weekly flights with Dreamliner 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft. The flights will depart from Dhaka every Friday, Monday and Wednesday and from Narita every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday.

The first Biman flight on the route, BG376, will take off on 1 September from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 11:45 pm (local time). The flight will touch down in Narita at 09:15 am (local time) on 2 September. 

Biman had suspended its Dhaka-Tokyo route in 2006, as it was not commercially viable due to a lack of sufficient aircraft, said aviation stakeholders.

"At that time, Biman did not have good aircraft and the number of passengers was also less. That is not the case now. So. they [Biman] should operate better flights on this route. Besides, if connecting flights can be arranged with Europe, then it will be more viable," aviation expert ATM Nazrul Islam told TBS.