Money rolls in as Biman automates ticketing

The automation of ticket booking system of Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been fruitful, as the move is yielding profits for the national flag carrier. 

In the last six months, the revenues from ticket sales saw a boom. Ticket sale is the main source of revenue for Biman.

“Because ticket sales have soared, the airline is finally able to see some profits,” said a Biman senior executive requesting anonymity. 

Biman’s sale of Hajj tickets doubled in May and June, the usual period when pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, compared to that of the same period in 2018.   

Even though several Biman flights were cancelled last year due to a shortage of passengers, the company sold out the Hajj tickets this year.     

Earlier, Biman was embroiled in high degrees of corruption, leading to its failure to earn the expected revenues from ticket sales. Then, in the wake of numerous allegations, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism initiated a massive overhaul of Biman in December last year in a bid to weed out corruption.  

Data shows the nation flag carrier bagged a net profit of Tk276 crore in FY 2018-19, backed by ticket sale revenues. The state-owned airline incurred a loss of Tk201 crore in FY 2017-18.

The revenue from ticket sales rose by 33.39 percent to reach Tk1,846 crore from January to mid-June in FY 2018-19, compared to Tk1,383 crore during the same period in FY 2017-18.

Earnings from Hajj ticket sales were Tk535 crore in the last fiscal year, up from Tk271 crore in FY 2017-18.