Biman Bangladesh Airlines has decided to operate Boeing 787 Dreamliners on its four weekly flights between Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (DAC) and London Heathrow (LHR).
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner service will start on the 27th of October 2019, replacing a Boeing 777-300ER. The schedule at this time is as follows:
BG001 DAC0955 – 1555LHR 788 x124
BG202 LHR1820 – 0925+1ZYL1025+1 – 1105+1DAC 788 x124
About Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Biman Bangladesh Airlines were founded in 1972, shortly after Bangladesh became a sovereign nation after achieving independence from Pakistan.
First called Air Bangladesh the name was soon changed to Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines currently operates flights from its main hub at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and secondary bases at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.
Regarded as being the Bangladesh national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines currently flies to 16 international and seven domestic destinations. Biman also provides special charter flights to Jeddah for thousands of Bangladeshi Muslim pilgrims so they may partake in the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca for the Hajj.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the only airline permitted to fly pilgrims from Bangladesh to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah according to Wikipedia. Biman Bangladesh Airlines is certified as being safe to fly in Europe by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines fleet
When first starting in 2007 Biman Bangladesh Airlines had one aging DC-3 aircraft before procuring two Dutch Fokker 27 turboprop aircraft for domestic routes.
Shortly after the two turboprops, Biman Bangladesh Airlines got a hold of a Boeing 707 and started flying international routes. By the end of the 1970s, Biman had a fleet of eight F27s and five Boeing 707s to serve its growing domestic and international list of destinations.
Today Biman Bangladesh Airlines fleet consists of six Boeing 737-800s, four Boeing 777-300ERs, and three Boeing 787-8s, one of which is to be delivered in September 2019. Added to this it has two Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprops expecting to be delivered between March and June of 2020.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines corruption
Ever since its conception, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been plagued by corruption. This has stopped the airline from posting a profit until a recent crackdown uncovered what was going on.
Citing the Dhaka Tribune newspaper, CH-Aviation reported that the Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) uncovered 19 cases of widespread corruption in the aviation sector. This included eight at the national flag carrier.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines were criticized for corruption relating to the recruitment of staff, catering services, import and export of cargo as well as aircraft procurement and leasing. Probably the most eye-opening of all involved the sale of tickets.
No area of the airline's operations was free of corruption, including airport real estate and even the renting of billboard advertising space. The report has been forwarded to the State Minister for Civil Aviation Mahbub Ali, who immediately went on record saying that all instances of corruption would be harshly penalized.
In a press statement, the Bangladesh Daily Star quoted Mohibul Haque as saying:
“The ministry in the last several months took various measures against widespread corruption in Biman especially in ticket sales and the leasing of aircraft.”
Somehow, a syndicate managed to block people from being able to purchase Biman Bangladesh Airlines tickets online. This then forced passengers wanting to fly Biman to purchase the tickets from travel agents who were involved in the scam.
The travel agents then sold the tickets at a premium rate, raking in as much as $30,000 per day.
Regardless of the past of Biman, the news that Dreamliners will be making their way to London shows just how far the airline has come. Will you be flying a 787 with Biman Bangladesh? Let us know in the comments.