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The hike in the dollar exchange rate has swallowed Tk 13.65 billion in profits of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines in the last fiscal year (FY 2022-23).
The national flag carrier has lost the profit for paying dues to international airlines in dollars amid fluctuation of the currency rate from July 2022 to June 2023.
However, Biman earned Tk 286 million in net profit during the period by carrying 3.1 million passengers in FY'23, a hike from 2.2 million passengers in FY 2021-22.
Claiming maintenance of its profit earnings like previous years, a senior official said the Biman authorities have been trying to cope with the situation in the current fiscal year as the dollar rate fluctuation continued.
"It's now a universal problem which continues in the current fiscal year. So, we're trying to cope with the situation by talking with the Bangladesh Bank," he told the FE, preferring not to be named.
Officials said Biman's net profit continued to rise despite the current dollar situation due to an increase in the number of passengers though many airlines faced challenges amid the situation during the Covid- and post-Covid periods.
It earned profit for a couple of years before Covid, but suffered a loss of Tk 811.3 million in 2019-20. Its profit earning resumed in FY 2020-21 with a profit of Tk 1.33 billion. In the FY 2018-19, its profit was Tk 2.19 billion.
As Biman has to pay in dollars to different agencies through the International Air Transport Association to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, officials said the dollar rate fluctuation which started from Tk 84.83 per dollar in June 2021 to Tk 93 in June 2022 has to bear the pain.
This rising trend of dollar rate continued in the FY 2022-23 and traded at a range between Tk 103 and Tk 108 per dollar. Biman shared the data in its annual report at the 16th annual general meeting held at its headquarters on December 28 last.
Public Relations Manager Md Al Masud Khan told the FE that the high cast of jet fuel ate up 33 per cent to 35 per cent of the income in FY'23.
As the national flag carrier carries the ground handling services in all international airports in the country, it handled 30,305 international flights and achieved ISAGO certificates.
In the last fiscal year, it resumed different international flights and introduced online services, including web ticketing, web checking as well as a refund system.
Biman launched Dhaka-Narita-Dhaka and Dhaka-Chennai-Dhaka flights and resumed flights on Dhaka-Guangzhou-Dhaka route, successfully completing hajj flight operations in the previous year.
It has set a target to achieve a global status as one of Asia's top 10 airlines by 2030.