ATAB calls for lowering airfares, ending bulk ticket sales

The Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) on Sunday urged the government to lower airfares and implement strict regulations to curb the widespread practice of bulk ticket sales and hoarding, which has contributed to skyrocketing ticket prices in the country.

“One of the biggest ongoing issues in Bangladesh’s civil aviation sector is the excessive increase in air ticket prices. A key reason behind this price hike is the booking of nameless group tickets,” ATAB President Abdus Salam Aref said at a press conference at a city hotel. 

The association also called for an end to the sale of group tickets without proper documentation.

Aref further explained that some Middle Eastern airlines are blocking seats on routes up to three months in advance by creating Passenger Name Records (PNRs) without legitimate passenger details.

“These airlines are creating PNRs using only email, without passenger names, visas, or other essential travel documents, thereby causing seat hoarding,” he said.

As a result, he noted, a syndicate is formed, leading to seat shortages, with ticket prices increasing by 20 to 50 percent, sometimes even doubling or tripling, causing significant financial loss to migrant workers, students, and expatriates.

He further elaborated that these airlines adopt this method to ensure early seat sales for high profits, often blocking seats on routes like Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Oman, Doha, and Kuala Lumpur, especially for sectors like Umrah and labor migration.

Blocking tickets for these sectors also directly impacts ticket prices on other routes such as London, New York, Europe, and America, he said.

“Middle Eastern airlines are selling nameless group bookings through selected agencies, creating a market monopoly,” he added.

When asked whether ATAB will publish the names of the travel agencies those have been involved in market monopoly, Aref said, they have already urged the civil aviation ministry to make a list of them and take action. 

ATAB president also pointed to the reduced number of flights operated by airlines as a contributing factor to the rising ticket prices.

“Many airlines are not even utilizing their allotted flight slots. They have reduced the number of flights, disrupting the balance between supply and demand,” he said.

Following the July-August uprising, the outbound and inbound passenger traffic in the country was negatively impacted, which led to airlines cutting back on flights.

“Now that the situation is returning to normal, the number of tourists and passengers is increasing. However, with the reduction in the number of flights by airlines, a seat shortage has emerged, leading to an unbearable rise in ticket prices.”

Aref pointed out that airlines like Air Arabia, Fly Dubai, Jazeera Air, Oman Air, and Saudi Airlines, which previously operated 98 flights per week on Middle Eastern routes, are now down to 46.

“They have reduced flights by 52. Additionally, Flynas has suspended five weekly flights.”

He further mentioned that airlines have shifted from large aircrafts with a capacity of 220 passengers to smaller ones with 168 seats, resulting in a loss of nearly 1,600 seats.

The increase in recruiting Bangladeshi workforce in Saudi Arabia has also contributed to the rising ticket prices, Aref said.

According to BMET (Bangladesh Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment) data, 1,011,969 workers were legally employed abroad in 2024, with Saudi Arabia being the largest market.

“From September to December last, 298,430 workers were recruited in Saudi Arabia, with the recruitment rate doubling in the last quarter,” Aref added.

He also attributed the rise in ticket prices to an imbalance between supply and demand, the lack of capacity in domestic airlines, and the failure of foreign airlines to receive timely payments.

ATAB also called for the formation of a task force comprising representatives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, ATAB, BMET, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and Bangladesh Bank.

This task force would address demand, capacity, and related challenges, taking action against dishonest travel agents and airline staff.

During the press conference, ATAB placed a written set of demands, including Increase of the number of scheduled flights, Banning sale of group tickets or individual tickets at secretive rates by airlines and keeping airlines ‘distribution policies open.

The others demands of ATAB are-

1. Increase the number of scheduled flights, arrange extra flights, grant quick approvals, and declare open skies so that airlines from all countries are encouraged to operate.

2. No bookings should be made without passenger names, passport numbers, visas, and manpower clearances. The blocking of seats through hoarding should be stopped.

3. Urging airlines to release the more than 60,000 blocked seats urgently.

4. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism should resolve the issue promptly.

5. Keeping airlines’ distribution policies open, directing them to sell seats through GDS/NDC systems and allowing all agencies to sell tickets.

6. Setting reasonable maximum and minimum fares on various routes.

7. Banning the sale of group tickets or individual tickets at secretive rates by airlines.

8. Setting labor fares.

9. Limiting the number of seats or tickets given to specific agencies to curb the syndicate formation.

10. Providing tickets for workers and Umrah passengers in a transparent format, indicating the fare and agency details, ensuring that passengers are charged the correct price.

11. Stopping fare hikes and counters sales by Global Sales Agents (GSA).

12. Regulating airline operations according to the Civil Aviation Act of 1984.

13. Creating guidelines for budget airlines, which currently sell tickets at legacy carrier prices.

The press conference was attended by ATAB General Secretary Afsia Jannat Saleh, former general secretary Zinnur Ahmed Chowdhury Dipu, and other ATAB senior officials.