A very powerful businessman who made a fortune out of Biman once said to me: "as long as we are there, Biman will never be made a PLC." Such was the power of that syndicate that they naturally felt that way. I do not blame them; they were the products of the system at the time. Now the times have changed.

We hear so much about national security these days, especially about the National Security Council, and civil aviation and air transportation are part of national security. At times when the RMG industries require urgent shipment to meet the deadline, air transport is the obvious choice.

Second, we must get rid of the idea that a national flag carrier is only symbolic. Let us establish a viable airline business first. Success will come automatically if we take nationalistic pride in the airline.

The regional traffic growth is above nine percent. So there are no fears in taking up this venture without any further delay.

Let the government remove all the barriers by taking the liabilities, so that shares can be offered to viable business partners. A word of caution here; it is that big investors will look at our record first, they will look at our country profile, and they will hunt for any data available from reliable int'l sources, and then they will make their decision based on those. So, please do not look for short cuts, because there are none!

Bangladesh does not have the required management skills to run a commercial airline. There are no easy rides; we have to face the dilemma. We should make a study group, prepare a rescue mission and, with all the necessary documents to please a viable investor, a high power delegation should go to a country like UAE where a big investor like the Mobadala group, with a huge interest in aviation, just might be ready to give us an appointment. We should not be discouraged; behind every frustration lie great hopes. Let us give it our best shot.

So, we need to generate a huge amount of cash, which is impossible from our internal resources. Having said that, let us hope that funds are available. Next, how we are going to govern and administer the day-to-day technical business in general?

In another words, who is going to run the show? Only professionally sound, accountable, managers with sound and internationally proven track records can do so. This is the only precondition for success this time.

Then comes resource management and strategic direction. A highly motivated group of people with sound track record can be entrusted with the task. No one previously employed in Biman can be a suitable choice ... please!

I would like to make the following suggestions:

Our present fleet

• The three F-28 aircraft are big liabilities, and are very difficult to sell; no one would offer a price. So what do we do with them? Give one to an airline training centre where they will be able to use it for training purposes, keep one for a future aviation school, and the best one can be turned into a corporate jet for hire by businessmen/VIPs.
• The four Airbus 310s can be sold in the market at a commercially competitive price.
• The DC-10s are good assets, and we need some investment here. Take them to Singapore ST Aviation; modify them into cargo aircraft. Keep 2/3 for future cargo operations; sell the others to make some money.

Future fleet

• Our first criterion must be fuel efficiency; so the choice of an Airbus fleet suits our need. Maintenance-wise Airbus aircraft are easy to maintain due to their advance technology. Spare parts are available everywhere as the aircraft are widely operated within our network; it will give us more flexibility in handling our line-station capabilities.
• Airbus has price competitiveness advantage over other commercial aircraft manufacturers.
• If we choose A320 for our domestic/regional routes, A330 for short/medium hauls, and A340 for the medium/long range, it is going to be a win-win situation. But we must be careful in choosing engines for these aircraft.

CFM-56 for the A320 & A340 and CF6-80 for the A330 are perfect choices, because General Electric engines are the best. Using these three types of aircraft will mean better logistic support because we have to spend less for spare parts, as many items are common in these aircraft. Having General Electric engines for all the aircraft will make it easy to set-up our workshop.

• And finally, the most expensive affair in the airline industry is training of pilots and engineers. Within days, a pilot of an A320 can undergo conversion and be ready to fly the A330 & A340. It is the same with the engineers. It is conceptually a brilliant idea, which brings huge cost effectiveness.

Setting-up an aviation school
We have no alternative but to set up our own work-force development strategy, because there is a tremendous shortage of required human resources internationally. This is a pre-condition to our success as we need long term security in this regard.

Pilot/Engineer/Technical staff
All professionals will be put under contractual job requirements. All high salary jobs will be contractual, and renewable on the basis of performance alone. In this way, unions will not be effective. Our own trained people will be available to balance that bargaining empowerment. Again, this will give long-term security.

Engineering developments
Due to very fast and robust expansion in the industry, third party maintenance is a very lucrative business. Setting up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) station will be a long term, but surely successful, venture. A huge number of operators in the region are buying new aircraft, and within the next five to ten years maintenance facilities are going to be in high demand.

Close co-operation between airline/ Caab/airport authorities
Biman requires a free hand to run its affairs, and all decisions should be made for commercial reasons only. Removing the Ministry of Aviation from Segun Bagicha and relocating it in the same building where Caab can also be housed will cut down costs dramatically. This will bring close co-operation between all the associated and concerned organizations in developing our aviation industry.

Sheikh Monirul Islam is an Aircraft Engineer.