BimanBangladesh Airlines, or also commonly referred to as Biman, is the flagcarrier of Bangladesh. The airline's main hub is at Hazrat ShahjalalInternational Airport in Dhaka while the second hubs include Shah AmanatInternational Airport in Chittagong and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.The airline is known to cater to passenger flights as well as is a freightcarrier. It has been able to connect to a handful of international destinationsalong with some prominent domestic routes. Biman Bangladesh Airlines offersservices to multitudes of destinations and even has air service agreements withabout 42 countries. The airline's main headquarters is located in Balaka Bhabanwhich is in Kurmitola, to the north of Dhaka. Along with regular daily flights,Biman Bangladesh Airlines also accommodates annual Hajj flights that transportpilgrims to the holy city. Along with this, some of the pivotal featuresinclude transporting tourists, migrants and non-resident workers of Bangladeshas well as catering to the activities of the subsidiaries form an importantbusiness structure of the airline.
In the airtransport industry of Bangladesh, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has experiencedtremendous growth over the years with an average annual growth rate of 8 percent, credits for which goes to a massive number of outbound tourists, domestictourists connecting within the country and non-resident Bangladeshi travellers.The airline also faces competition with a bunch of private Bangladeshi airlinesthat extensively work in the regional sector. The airline came into existencein 1972 and enjoyed a private and uninterrupted monopoly in the aviation sectorof Bangladesh for nearly 24 years. However, in 1996, over airline's fleetexpansions coupled with corruption and mismanagement led to severe setbacks.During its peak years, the airline operated flights to about 29 internationalroutes which also included long-haul flights to New York City and Tokyo.Initially, Biman Bangladesh Airlines was wholly owned and operated under thegovernment of Bangladesh until 2007. The government transformed it into thecountry's largest public limited enterprise. The same was done by the CaretakerGovernment of Bangladesh.
With atransformation in its management and ownership and the fact that it became apublic limited company, Biman Bangladesh Airlines started cutting back onexpenses to accommodate expansion plans. They reduced the crew and airportstaff to enable modernisation of its fleet. The airline signed a deal for tenBoeing aircraft along with a provision for a possible ten more orders in 2008.The airline received its new aircraft which were well-equipped with in-flightservices ranging from high-end amenities such as WiFi and mobile telephony tolive TV stream facilities. With this, the airline managed to expand itsinternational routes and added more destinations to its list of connectivity.The airline is certified to fly in the European air space as it has receivedcertification from the European Aviation Safety Agency for following theirprotocols. Additionally, the airline has also passed the IATA OperationalSafety Audit, enabling the services to restart in some of its previous Asianand European destinations. Much recently, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has alsoearned a reputation for its improvement in punctuality and on-time flight performance.
As of 2020, thefleet size of Biman Bangladesh Airlines is 18 and accommodates aircraft such asBoeing 737-800s, Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 787-8s, Boeing 787-9s and BombardierDash 8 Q400s. Right after the independence of Bangladesh, Biman BangladeshAirlines commenced and chartered its first flight with a DC-3 aircraft in 1972.In the same year, the airline acquired two F-27s and catered to its domesticroute by flying to Chittagong and Sylhet from Dhaka. Soon, the airline alsoenabled the addition of a Boeing 707 aircraft in its fleet. With this, itkickstarted international operations of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
By the end of1970s, the airline managed to have a fleet consisting of 8 F27s and 5 Boeing707s that served the international routes as well as domestic routes. However,following a new decade, the airline also enhanced its fleet by adding a Fokker28-4000, 3 wide-body DC1-30s and eventually a DC10-30. With this, they managedto phase out the use of F27, which was already ageing. Instead, they purchasednew ATPs for domestic and regional flight operations. By 1996, Biman BangladeshAirlines acquired its first Airbus as it purchased two Airbus 310-300 fromAirbus Company. ATPs also phased out. As a means to further modernise theirfleet, the airline brought in Boeing aircraft. Over the years, the airline hasmanaged to transform its fleet into an all-Boeing aircraft.
Biman BangladeshAirlines' baggage allowance is slightly different from the globally setstandards. The airline allows a baggage weight of 30 kg for business classpassengers, 20 kg for economy class passengers and about 10 kg for infants. Theweight is lower compared to the usual standards where the business classreceives baggage allowance of 32 kg weight while the economy class gets 23 kgmaximum free to carry as checked baggage. The business class passengers arerequired to accommodate 30 kg within two pieces of baggage. The dimensions ofthe baggage should collectively stand at 158 cm for each bag and not exceedmore than the set measurements. Per piece of baggage cannot exceed more than 30kg.
The economyclass provides a fairly different baggage allowance policy by Biman BangladeshAirlines. Passengers flying from the economy class cannot exceed the weight oftheir baggage beyond 20 kgs. The good thing here is that the airline allows twopieces of baggage to the passenger. The bag dimension is the same as that ofthe business class for checked luggage. The carry-on luggage, as allowed by theairline for business class, is up to 10 kg weight and only one piece along withan accessory bag is allowed. As for the economy class passenger, thelimitations are 7 kg with a piece of accessory baggage permitted onboard.
Biman BangladeshAirlines has been working relentlessly to ensure that the in-flight servicesprovided by them meet the global standards. Over the years since its inception,the airline has managed to rise above the ranks to cater to the in-flightrequirements of its passengers. The airline's fleet offers business class andeconomy class cabins that accommodate comfortable seating arrangement as wellas seats. The plush leather seats with its recline degree are perfect forpassengers travelling to domestic as well as international destinations. Thecabins also provide decent legroom along with armrest and personalisedentertainment systems. Passengers can enjoy the best of entertainment contentthat is latest and available in-flight. Other in-flight services of BimanBangladesh Airlines include the seats are equipped with personal lamps. In casepassengers need blankets, pillows, noise-cancelling earplugs and headphones, toname a few, they can request for the same to the flight attendant.
The flightattendant on Biman Bangladesh Airlines is well-trained and very helpful. Withhelp to accommodate overhead bin baggage to order for in-flight meals, thepassengers can approach the flight attendants for any of these concerns, andthey will be given the necessary items. Further, the airline has also addedideal equipment and engines that do not affect the smooth flight experience ofthe passengers.
As of 2020,Biman Bangladesh Airlines caters to 25 destinations out of which 17 operate oninternational routes. Although the number of top cities that the airlineconnects with is less, they have announced that further expansions andinternational routes, as well as domestic routes connectivity, will be enhancedas 43 countries have agreed to allow the airline's operations. In terms ofdomestic route connectivity, some of the top cities in Biman BangladeshAirlines include Barisal, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Dhaka, Jessore, Rajshahi,Saidpur and Sylhet. Some of the international routes include Delhi, Kolkata,Kuwait City, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Dammam, Riyadh, Medina, Jeddah, Bangkok,London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, to name a few. The airline did haveinternational routes connecting to New York City, Karachi, Tokyo-Narita, Rome,Mumbai, Frankfurt and more. However, they have terminated connectivity to thesedestinations as of now.