Cost cut: that began with an olive
It all began with an olive. Nearly 20 years ago, American Airlines, in the face of competition, made the first cost-cutting move - eliminating one olive from each salad it served its passengers. But what began as a gradual decline in amenities at the big airlines has turned into the biggest attack ever on costs, particularly in coach class.

The cutbacks mean that anyone flying during hectic travel seasons will find that a relatively cheap ticket on a big airline merely buys the flight from Point A to Point B, and little else. But while passengers in the rear of the plane are getting bare-bones service, those in front on domestic flights - in first and business class - will receive greater attention. There, the airlines are competing for big spenders with better food, in some cases lie-flat seats once found only on overseas flights, and a choice of entertainment.

Paradoxically, this cost-cutting is making low-fare airlines like JetBlue, Southwest and Song look luxurious compared with coach on the big carriers. Even at their lower prices, they still give their passengers pillows and other extras like entertainment systems that the major airlines do not offer free on domestic flights, and several make a point of their leather seats. They can afford to do these kinds of things because, in general, their lower operating costs have kept them in the black.

The traditional airlines, facing unrelentingly high fuel costs and warning of more bankruptcy filings, have lost more than $30 billion since the beginning of the decade. They have looked everywhere in making cost cuts, from employees' wages and benefits to retiring aircraft to eliminating unprofitable routes. Reducing amenities presents another way to save money

Before World War II, there was only one type of service. Flying was for the elite, and passengers who had the money expected treatment equivalent to other forms of expensive travel. In the years after the war, comfort began to fade away. Two classes, and later, three classes of air travel were offered. When deregulation in 1978 spurred the growth of low-fare airlines, the big players began doing away with perks, starting with the olives that American removed from its salads in 1986 as a cost-cutting move, and spreading to playing cards, postcards and souvenir captain's rings for children. In the front of the plane, by contrast, airlines are competing to offer more seat room to passengers willing to pay for it.

Global aviation future
The Paris Air Show has showcased the aviation sector's future flight. In the commercial aircraft sector, competing visions of "spoke-and-hub" and "point-to-point" flight services found a certain balance in super jumbo and midsize aircraft initiatives launched by Airbus and Boeing. Airbus's new A380, the world's biggest commercial airplane, exemplifies the European aircraft maker's belief in strong demand for an aircraft that can deliver masses of passengers to major "hub" airports, such as Heathrow and Singapore. The long-haul super jumbo, capable of carrying up to 840 people, is to be delivered to carrier Singapore Airlines in late 2006.

Airbus's U.S. arch-rival Boeing, meanwhile, said it would decide next month whether to launch a bigger and better version of its 747, whose dominance of the jumbo market since the 1970s is threatened by the newcomer. On the midsize market the two aeronautic rivals were locked in a dogfight at the show. Boeing's new 787 was conceived with the idea that passengers prefer to fly point-to-point rather than having to change planes at a busy "hub" airport. The Chicago-based company built the plane using a high proportion of composite materials to save on fuel and maintenance costs, giving some relief to airlines plagued with soaring fuel bills.

Launched in April 2004 and due to enter service in 2008 with Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways, the 787 has won 266 orders and commitments from 21 airlines. The 787's immediate success propelled Airbus to respond last December with its A350.

Another hot area of interest was in Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV), or drones. Their usefulness in military reconnaissance and operations has crossed over to the civilian side, where their roles can include police and border patrol, maritime safety and environmental monitoring.


The boom in luxury private flying catering mainly to high-powered executives and the wealthy was on display in a wide range of aircraft for those who want to avoid the commercial grid and fly whenever and however they want.

Interest in supersonic flight lifted with a French-Japanese announcement to co-develop a "Super-Concorde". The Franco-British Concorde was withdrawn from service in October 2003 after 27 years as a technological marvel but a commercial disaster.

Cosmetic therapy on ZIA
Some foreign airlines earlier lodged more than a dozen complaints about the risk factors concerning landing and take-off at the Zia International Airport (ZIA) the gateway to Bangladesh by air. The operators need operational safety. The condition of the 11,000-foot runway at the ZIA is no better, according to the complaints. It has many cracks. The landing light system also needs improvement.

The foreign carriers expressed concern about safety of operation due to cracks on the runway, inefficiency of the air-navigational equipment including the radar systems etc. The condition of the four-kilometre taxiway at ZIA is worse than that of any road in Dhaka city. Every 10 yards one can spot potholes that have been recently repaired on makeshift basis. It needs a complete reconstruction, but there is no fund for that. The makeshift repairs do not last long.

From the point of view of travelling public, ZIA has made tremendous improvement in recent years. It has increased passenger handling capability to a great extent and inducted modern facilities. Along with expansion of terminal and induction of modern facilities, all the public areas of the airport have received welcome face lift. But it is strange and really surprising that the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has so long ignored or preferred to down grade the importance of the most important aspect the operational safety of the airport.


The airport is equipped with a Navigation Aid that relays different signals to incoming and outgoing aircraft. One of its components--Very High Frequency Omni Range Finder (VOR)--helps navigate an aircraft from one airport to another. Its second component is the Instrument Landing System (ILS) that helps pilots to land in a non-visual condition using instruments. The third component is the Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) which shows the distance between the aircraft and the airfield.

A report quoting CAAB source said that "This equipment is 15-20 years old and goes out of order frequently, posing a major safety hazard. We have submitted a Taka 400 million project for modernising the Navigation Aid. But it has remained on the shelf for the last three years. We are now operating by frequently repairing the equipment."

Out of the seven airports, only the ZIA has two radar systems--a primary and a surveillance radar system. Both the radar systems, which were purchased second-hand 15-20 years back, are out of order most of the times.

"None of the three radarscopes of these radar systems are functioning properly. Years ago, it did not matter much. But now as Bangladesh's airspace has become congested, it has become very difficult for the air traffic controllers to maintain separation between airplanes. Flight separation is a system to ensure that the airplanes do not fly in a collision course. Now it entirely depends on the pilots. Almost no other country in the world lacks such radar’, it was reported.


’It is not clear why an issue, as serious as maintaining operational safety of country gateway airport, did not receive the kind of attention that it deserves. The government should immediately make sure that things are set right and required improvements are done at ZIA to ensure operation to and from ZIA smooth and hazard free’, an observer noted .

The complaints have been filed by different airliners such as the Saudi Arabian Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Thai Airways International, Singapore Airlines about the unsafe condition of the taxiways and runways at the Zia International Airport (ZIA).

Despite earning revenue of nearly Taka 2,000 million a year from civil aviation source, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism is seen to pay scanty attention to the operational aspect of the airport. Mere cosmetic improvement of ZIA may not be sufficient to adjust to its rapid growth.

Biman: Terminally Ill?
Biman, the state-owned, national airline of Bangladesh, is very much in the news. Sadly, this is almost always of the wrong kind. News items, analyses and even letters in the press seem to suggest that Biman is terminally ill. The situation is bad but not as bad as the media projects, we believe.

In these times of volatile fuel prices, cut-throat competition and discerning customers running an airline is difficult. Running one through a bureaucratic management at the top makes the task more difficult. Caught between government interference and disinterestedness at most levels, Biman has come to be plagued with corruption, inefficiency and loss-making. These are not issues that are unfamiliar to airlines in South Asia. Air India, Indian Airline, Air Lanka and PIA were all in a similar critical situation at one time or another. They are all doing better now. Biman can be turned around too.

In the short-run market research and cost benefit analysis will help. If this requires trimming of routes and employee strength, so be it. The next stage would have be the introduction of professionalism at the highest level and enlargement of its Board to include business leaders from the private sector. There is talk of off-loading of shares and privatization. These are useful propositions but the airline may have to be tirned-around to make that route successful.

Biman has an image problem even within its captive market. Passenger comments range from ‘filthy interiors’, ‘bored cabin crew’ and ‘delayed flights’ and these are the polite ones. According to SKYTRAX, the international airline industry rating and monitoring organization, Biman is a TWO STAR airline, which in plain speak means POOR. It is a short step to THREE STAR. However, that does call for greater will. Will Biman be found wanting?

Biman fleet planning
Unreliable fleet in inadequate number has thus become integral part of the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. The old and unreliable fleet may continue to trouble Biman, unless policy makers think realistically and positively. Growth and replacement are the two main reasons for which airlines acquire aircraft. Additional aircraft may be needed by an airline to achieve growth in capacity to meet increasing demand. On both these counts Biman needs adequately number of dependable aircraft.

The old aircraft are usually less economical to operate and less dependable. They burn more fuel; need more frequent maintenance and over haul, and breakdown more often, causing flight delays and disruptions. The decision on what type of aircraft to buy, and how many, is crucial because aircraft is valuable asset requiring huge investment. Large amounts of money are also needed for engines, spares and maintenance equipment. Research is done on the size of the market, expected growth and the profile of potential travellers. Similar research on cargo must also be undertaken.

Once the target markets are identified, the approximate size of the required aircraft, in terms of seat capacity, can be determined. Aircraft capacity must be matched with market size. Deploying an aircraft that is too large will result in a high proportion of unoccupied seats. On the other hand, while a high load factor is desirable, consistently full flights mean there is unsatisfied demand, and passengers are being turned away.

Can the aircraft carry enough commercial pay loads over the intended route? Airlines must be sure that the aircraft under study can perform the desired mission. Another point to be kept in mind is that, it is not economical to have many aircraft types in the fleet. The maintenance burden will be heavier, crew rostering and aircraft deployment will become more complicated, and there will be fewer economies of scale.

The same principles are observed when selecting the type of engine in the fleet. Similar engine means a lower investment in spares and support facilities. Since buying aircraft is a long-term investment, the economic evaluation is usually done not for just one year on intended operation but over a period of time.
Whether economic or not, all the pros and cons have to be carefully weighed before a decision is reached. Selecting the right aircraft type and the right number plays an important in airlines` success.

This is much more important, in the case of national airline of a developing country like Bangladesh. No doubt, there is scarcity of resources, but that does not mean that a decision concerning fleet type and number of aircraft taken after expert analysis and evaluation can just be changed by higher authority.

The responsibility of the government is to stand guarantee for securing finance from external sources. The government can deny to provide guarantee, but it is not wise to reduce the size of fleet and thus harm the greater interest of Biman.