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<document>
<title>Biman Bangladesh Airlines</title>
<authors>Wikipedia</authors>
<publisher>wikipedia.org</publisher>
<publishedplace>network</publishedplace>
<publishedyear>2010</publishedyear>
<edition></edition>
<category>Airlines of Bangladesh</category>
<section id="19190" fatherid="0" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="1">
Biman Bangladesh Airlines  () is the flag carrier of Bangladesh, with its main hub at Zia International Airport in Dhaka, the capital of the country. It also operates flights from Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and earns revenue from the connecting service to Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. It provides passenger and cargo service in different international routes in Asia and Europe along with major domestic routes. It has Air Service Agreements with 42 countries, but maintains flights to only 16. Until July 2007 the airline was wholly owned and managed by the Government of Bangladesh; on 23 July 2007, it was transformed into Bangladesh's largest Public Limited Company by the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh.
Created in February 1972 Biman enjoyed an internal monopoly in the Bangladesh aviation industry until 1996. In the decades following its founding, the airline expanded both its fleet and its destinations (at its peak Biman operated flights to 29 international destinations as far away as New York – John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York City) in the west and Tokyo – Narita in the east), but suffered heavily owing to corruption and  mishaps. The major reason behind the airline's huge financial loss and reputation for poor service and regular flight cancellations/delays is its ageing fleet, with some of its long-haul aircraft banned for safety reasons by the aviation authority of the US and EU countries. Annual Hajj flights, transporting non-resident Bangladeshi workers/migrants as well as Biman's subsidiaries, form an important part of the carrier's business. The rising oil price has created additional pressure on the airline, which is widely reported to have failed to meet its payment obligations to the state-owned petroleum corporation, BPC. Biman has a two-star ranking out of five by Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based consultancy. The carrier is facing competition from a number of local private airlines as well as some international carriers, which offer greater reliability and service standards, targeting the country's air transport sector which is experiencing 8% growth per annum owing to a large number of non-resident Bangladeshis.
After becoming a public limited company, Biman has trimmed the number of staff and turned its attention to modernising the fleet. Biman made a deal with US aircraft manufacturer Boeing for procurement of 10 new generation aircraft along with options/purchase s for another 10. The carrier is in the process of leasing some aircraft for the interim period to re-start flights to some of the destinations in Asia, Europe and North America.

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<section id="19191" fatherid="0" title="History" lv="" priority="-2" level="1">
</section>
<section id="19192" fatherid="0" title="New Corporate Identity" lv="" priority="-3" level="1">
In November 2009, Biman announced a new livery.Biman New Livery In Janaury 2010, the livery had been applied to their first two Boeing 737-800's and a Boeing 777-200ER.Biman new livery on a 737-800
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<section id="19193" fatherid="0" title="Services" lv="" priority="-4" level="1">
<section id="19194" fatherid="19193" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
Biman is notable for poor customer service and disruptions to its flight schedule which is reflected in its Star ranking from Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based consultancy whose research has been used by the UK government in formulating air transport policy. The two star ranking (out of five) is indicative of the poor standard of service provided by the airline which falls below the industry average. In 2007, Biman faced strong criticism from major international airports including Heathrow and Dubai International Airport for its failure to maintain flight schedules. Heathrow Airport operator BAA wrote to Biman providing evidence which showed Biman had not achieved the minimum 80% usage of its allocated landing slots at Heathrow, as required by EU and IATA regulations, during summer 2007. Biman should therefore not expect slot allocations at Heathrow for summer 2008 and should look to Stansted or Gatwick airports if it wished to continue serving London. However, following discussions with BAA, Biman obtained landing slots for the summer 2008 period on condition that it achieved 80% usage. However, delays have continued unabated and in September 2008, Biman's Dhaka–London direct flight utilising a DC-10 aircraft was diverted and landed at London Gatwick Airport when it did not have sufficient fuel to remain in a holding pattern over Heathrow following arrival over three hours after the scheduled time. In an article published on 10 September 2008 in The Times, Biman was labelled the worst performer for punctuality at Heathrow Airport, with flights delayed on average by three hours.
A two-class service (J and Y) is operated on its wide-body airliners and a single class service on the smaller aircraft. The Maslin Executive Class cabin on its Airbus A310s is set up in a 2-3-2 configuration while the setup on the Douglas DC-10-30s is a more roomy 2-2-2 configuration. The economy class cabins are set up in a typical 2-5-2 configuration.
English and Bengali language newspapers are available on board the aircraft along with Biman's in-flight magazine, Digonto (Horizon) which is published quarterly. It has an emphasis on information on tourist destinations in Bangladesh and other places reachable by Biman. While the majority of the content is in English, for an international audience, some features are available in other languages including Bengali.
In-flight entertainment aboard Biman aircraft is rated "very poor" by Skytrax. The Douglas DC-10-30s are equipped with a projector in each cabin while the Airbus A310s have monitors that drop down from the ceiling below the luggage racks in the center of the aircraft. While other airlines using modern aircraft are able to provide more personal in-flight experiences via seatback LCD screens, Biman's ageing fleet has maintained the standard equipment available when the planes were manufactured.
Biman operates a frequent flyer programme which awards customers with a free round trip flight on production of ticket stubs for ten round trip journeys on Biman. The free ticket is for the route which has been flown the most out of the ten. Journeys on local routes are excluded from the offer.
An agreement was signed with Amadeus in 2007 to upgrade Biman's ticketing system with an e-ticketing solution in order to comply with International Air Transport Association rules, which set out a deadline of 31 December 2007 for all member airlines to switch over their ticketing systems. E-ticketing has enabled major airlines, such as British Airways, to provide online check-in facilities reducing the need to queue up at check-in counters. However, Biman has not made any attempts to improve customer service through the adoption of e-ticketing although it has been able to reduce its own costs. In 2005, Biman had briefly stopped using the Amadeus ticketing system when the government suspended the operation of a local Amadeus subsidiary following a court order, after allegations of money laundering. However, the suspension, lasting only a month, was lifted after the writ was appealed in the High Court.

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<section id="19195" fatherid="19193" title="Biman Cargo" lv="" priority="2" level="2">
Biman also operates a cargo service using the cargo holds of its passenger aircraft to ship freight to international destinations. It has established a Cargo Village at Zia International Airport where the cargo is packaged and labelled before being loaded onto its aircraft.
While the air cargo industry in Bangladesh grew by 16.5% in the fiscal year 2003–04, Biman's cargo operations remained stagnant when private operators such as Bismillah Airlines, Best Aviation and Air Bangladesh produced a 108% growth from the previous year. The private operators increased their share of the cargo market by 10.6% and were responsible for handling 24% of the total 99,000 tons of cargo at the expense of both Biman and foreign airlines which saw a reduction in their shares by 4.6% and 6% respectively. Foreign airlines handled 47% of the total cargo with Biman taking on the remaining 29%.
As with its passenger service and management, corruption has also been rife at Biman Cargo. An investigation in 2004 uncovered irregularities in a number of Biman's Middle East operations which deprived the government of millions of dollars in revenue. Biman officials in Dubai were found to have been "extending special privileges" to the main freight handler in exchange for bribes. Smuggling of foreign currency and gold bars is reported to have taken place at the Biman Cargo Village by Biman and CAAB employees. A number of arrests were made but the perpetrators evaded punishment through lack of evidence and pressure from the CAAB union.

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<section id="19196" fatherid="0" title="Destinations" lv="" priority="5" level="1">
<section id="19197" fatherid="19196" title="" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
Biman has air services agreements with 43 countries but only operates its routes to 16, leaving room for expansion for which it lacks aircraft. The airline operates flights to several destinations in the Middle East, some destinations in South and South East Asia and only two destinations in Europe – Rome and London. Foreign airlines are encroaching on Biman's routes, particularly the lucrative London–Dhaka route, on which traditionally only Biman and British Airways have operated direct flights. In 2005, Air India commenced a route which permitted flights between London and Dhaka without requiring a transit flight which has occupied the space freed up by Biman when it reduced London–Dhaka flights. New airlines are also hoping to cash in on Biman's shortfall: Air Sylhet and Royal Bengal Airlines are two such airlines launched by expatriate British-Bangladeshis hoping to provide direct flights between London and Dhaka.
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<section id="19198" fatherid="19196" title="New York and Manchester" lv="" priority="2" level="2">
Biman was planning to resume Dhaka-New York (JFK) flights from 24 November 2009, initially twice weekly via Manchester. This has now been delayed to late January 2010 due to problems leasing aircraft. They will operate the services with a Boeing 777-200ER leased from EuroAtlantic Airways until the first new Boeing 777-300ER arrives from Boeing in 2011. Direct flights to New York are to begin in March 2009 with a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.Biman to resume NYC with 777-200ER
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<section id="19199" fatherid="19196" title="Hajj flights" lv="" priority="3" level="2">
The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah Al Mukarramah for the Hajj is undertaken by thousands of Bangladesh's predominantly Muslim population. Biman has been the sole Bangladeshi airline permitted by the government to provide flights for pilgrims. Every year, the commencement of these flights is inaugurated by high ranking government officials including, at times, the Prime Minister.
In 2002, the government opened the service to private operator Air Bangladesh. The initial private flights were plagued with delays, with both outgoing and return flights postponed for as long as nine days, which caused the Bangladesh government to return the Hajj flights' monopoly to Biman.
Biman's handling of Hajj flights has also been beset with troubles. In 2005, the State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism resigned after complaints that he set fares too high. In 2006, Biman took the unprecedented step of removing the business-class seats from its dedicated Hajj flights to accommodate more economy-class passengers. Procedural irregularities by the Hajj agencies delayed the confirmation of pilgrims' visas, and Biman had to cancel 19 flights owing to lack of sufficient passengers. Once the situation was resolved, Biman was then unable to offer the required number of flights to cope with the backlog of passengers.
In June 2007, the caretaker government approved a three-year Hajj policy aiming to alleviate the problems encountered during the previous two years. Hajj flights would also begin leaving from Bangladesh's two other international airports, Shah Amanat International Airport and Osmani International Airport. Biman put out a tender for the wet lease of two aircraft for additional Hajj flights and reached an agreement with Phuket Air. However, the deal fell through in August 2007 after Phuket Air demanded advance payment of 30% instead of the previously agreed 10%. Ausban Aeronautical Services of Australia was selected next, following a re-tender, to fill the gap  by Phuket Air.

</section>
<section id="19200" fatherid="19196" title="Codeshare agreements" lv="" priority="4" level="2">
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
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</section>
<section id="19201" fatherid="0" title="Fleet" lv="" priority="6" level="1">
<section id="19202" fatherid="19201" title="Current" lv="" priority="-1" level="2">
Biman Bangladesh Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (at 24 January 2010):Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fleet
</section>
<section id="19203" fatherid="19201" title="Fleet developments" lv="" priority="-2" level="2">
Biman have confirmed orders for 10 aircraft from Boeing, including four Boeing 777-300ER, four Boeing 787-8 and two Boeing 737-800 along with 10 purchase s.
</section>
</section>
<section id="19204" fatherid="0" title="Subsidiaries" lv="" priority="-7" level="1">
Biman has non-aviation enterprises, one of which is the Biman Flight Catering Centre (BFCC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Biman Bangladesh Airlines which was set up in 1989. The BFCC provides Biman's in-flight meals and is one of Biman's profitable operations, supplying food to British Airways, Qatar Airways, Dragonair, Uzbekistan Airways and Iran Air, along with casual orders from other airlines operating into Bangladesh.
The BFCC consumes 90% of the eggs and chicken from the Biman Poultry Complex, another profit-making subsidiary of Biman formed in 1976 and put into operation in November 1980 to rear poultry at farms in Dhaka. Bird flu was detected at one of the farms in March 2007, and many of the birds were culled. This was the first incident of bird flu in Bangladesh.

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<section id="19205" fatherid="0" title="Incidents and accidents" lv="" priority="-8" level="1">
</section>
<section id="19206" fatherid="0" title="References" lv="" priority="-9" level="1">
</section>
<section id="19207" fatherid="0" title="External links" lv="" priority="-10" level="1">
Category:Airlines of Bangladesh
Category:Airlines established in 1972
Category:Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Category:IATA members
Category:Government-owned airlines

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