Talk:Biman Bangladesh Airlines

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[edit] TODO

[edit] History

There seems to be a lot of concern about the history section, which indeed is a bit frugal. I have made use of the data provided on the talk page, and made a kind of summry of historical information in the "New York and Manchester routes" section, as well as "Fleet" and "Management" sections. This expanded part will need refcites, and may be a bit of summary added from the accident and incident part as well, may be a bit of info on the strikes and lay outs in Biman's history will also help. One further question - was there a golden age or something for Biman? I can recall some of the late '70s-early '80s Bangladeshi films proudly mentioning the airline, and (I don't exactly remember, though) Biman probably carried Presidents Mujib and Zia to destinations it had no regular flights to. Cheers. Aditya Kabir 04:06, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

I have also integrated almost all the stuff from the talk page (poultry, C-check etc.) into the article. Only the e-ticketing stuff remains. But, I couldn't find the exact pages to cite for the financial tables, though some information was incorporated. Anybdy has any idea (no pun intended) if the whole tables need to be moved into the article? And, oh, the New York route stuff probably needs a date slapped onto the first para of that section, like there is one for Manchester. One more question - do we need to Wikilink the dates to build the web? Aditya Kabir 04:35, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copyediting

Aditya, I got your message and I'm going to read over the article tonight and probably make some changes on it tommorow. Any feedback you have toward my changes, feel free to leave here as I will be continuing to monitor this talk page. Trusilver 21:51, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Kyoko has pointed out an existence of too-wordy language in the article. I guess, that'd be the most difficult problem when ironing out the glitches. Aditya(talk • contribs) 03:43, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

I've finished my first run through the article and I've made about 130 edits, most of which were to shorten sentences or rearrange them for clarity, plus minor punctuation corrections and a few style changes. I want to go through again in about a week when I can look at it with fresh eyes. Right now the biggest change I'd like to see is to either put the list of airports served near the end of the article, or make that section more compact. Right now it visually suggests that there's nothing more to come, and it isn't the most compelling part of the article. I think too many readers will reach that point and stop.

However, I'm not ready to rearrange it just yet. I need to look at alternative ways of formatting the section, because organizationally it ought to be just where it is; it's the look that's the problem.

Anyway, thanks for inviting me to help. This is my first project as a member of the League of Copyeditors. And I'm impressed by all the work everyone has done on this page. Please reject anything I did that screwed it up. I'm sure Trusilver will hone it much better.

I am wondering if parts of the article on Modernization and history of the fleet would be best merged with the main History section. -- Preston McConkie 23:32, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Many thanks to Preston McConkie for your wonderful copyediting. Could I make a request to all involved to keep the British spelling etc. I would like to keep it that way for two reasons (1) mainly because that's the way it was written and (2) Bangladesh's education system is based on the British ones. Many thanks. Also, please add your comments to the peer review on what other improvements would be required for FAC. → AA (talk) — 10:54, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lead

This needs to be extended by another para per guidelines. Could someone please take on this task (as my summarising skills aren't quite up to scratch :) → AA (talk) — 09:33, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Another suggestion on destinations

Sorry if I Americanized the spelling. I'll not do that in the future when I come across Anglicized articles.

The article looks a lot better without all the white space that was in the Destinations section. I think I'd like to see the information put back in, though. A way to do that compactly would be to put the names of the countries served in the paragraph, and make piped links taking you to articles on the airports. Say, "The following international airports: Bangladesh, Shah and Osmani; UK, Heathrow and Gatwick;" etc.

The layout of the destinations section is per the WikiProject Airlines MoS and the sub-article structure is standard practice among airline articles. → AA (talk) — 09:30, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

By stating "international airports" once you don't have to repeat it in each citation, and the list can be compact and informative, with links to tell anyone which city each is in if they're not familiar with it. Whattya think? Preston McConkie (talk • contributions) 04:04, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

The "International Airport" bit is part of the name and again per project guidelines, they are shown in that manner. → AA (talk) — 09:30, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Original fleet

  • The Daily Star writes - "Biman came into being on January 4, 1972 initially with a Second World War vintage Dakota and a DC-3, gifts from the air force. Its domestic service with the DC-3 began within a month of its inception. Its journey as an airline actually started with the acquisition of a Boeing 707 and four F-27 aircraft. It entered the big league with the induction of three DC10-30s in 1983." (see link)
  • Banglapedia writes - "Initially it started with a Second World War vintage Dakota, DC-3, a gift from the airforce. Biman's domestic services with the DC-3 commenced within a month after its inception. Soon after commencement, the aircraft crashed on a test flight. Biman then procured two used F-27 aircraft, which were soon flying to Chittagong and Sylhet. The international flights began on 4 March 1972, with an aircraft chartered from British Caledonian. Biman today flies to 26 major international destinations and at home, it has a seven-destination network." (see link)

This should clear up the original fleet confusion in the article. Aditya(talk • contribs) 19:34, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

  • Law of the land Is it possible to incorporate the acts/ordinances passed for Biman in 1971, 1977, 1987 and 2007? Aditya(talk • contribs) 19:47, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
I don't think there's a need to mention presidential orders. Setup of government organisations are expected to be sanctioned by the government and do not add any useful info to the article. The actual changes would be noteworthy so maybe worth adding in the changes introduced in 1977 & 1987. → AA (talk) — 21:56, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
That is exactly what is needed, i.e. some information on how the acts/ordinances for Biman evolved. It can well go into the history section. For a government organization the laws governing them are indeed worth mentioning, especially if those are stand alone acts/ordinances, not just a clause of a broader one. Aditya(talk • contribs) 22:33, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Now to request some citations - (1) "Foreign airlines are enroaching on Biman's routes"; (2) "the space freed up by Biman when it reduced London–Dhaka flights" (3) "New startup airlines are also hoping to cash in on Biman's shortfall". Aditya(talk • contribs) 21:27, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
It seemed obvious at the time (although there was an inkling that a source may be requested). (1) I've seen specific mention of % passengers by foreign airlines. (2) Not sure where to source this from. It is a fact that Biman had 6 flights a week and now they have 3. Old timetables would document this but not sure if an online cite for the historical destinations will be available. (3) I'll add sources from the linked articles into here. → AA (talk) — 21:56, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
When the article goes for FAC, these little things may well prove to be thorny. Aditya(talk • contribs) 22:33, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
I've made some changes as discussed above. Let me know if I've left any loopholes still. → AA (talk) — 22:37, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Attempted hijack?

According to this website - On January 11, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued a top secret circular (NO: ER/BCAS/PIC/CIRCULAR/99), quoting "an intelligence input" about the possible hijack attempt on a Bangladesh Biman aircraft originating out of India. Copies of the circular signed by regional deputy commissioner of security (Calcutta Airport), L. Singsit, were issued to relevant Indian agencies and Bangladesh Biman's station manager in Calcutta, Md. Shahjahan. It said that eight "Pushtu-speaking Mujahideen" had infiltrated into India for the purpose. (source: Bhaumik, Subir, The Week, Aborted Mission Investigation: Did Mossad Attempt to Infiltrate Islamic Radical Outfits in South Asia?, February 6, 2000) Aditya(talk • contribs) 15:41, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

According to this website - Two years ago [i.e. 1973], they [Mujib's assassins] tried to hijack a Bangladesh Biman aircraft from Kolkata. When that attempt foiled, they tried to hire a LTTE... The Freedom Party that had first raised the slogan Amra hobo Taliban, Bangla Hobe Afghan (we will be the Taliban, Bangladesh will become Afghanistan) and had also sought to hijack the Bangladesh Biman aircraft [Bhaumik, Conspirator’s Cauldron, Himal South Asian (Kathmandu), August 2000] in order to secure the release of their comrades, Col. Farooq Rahman and Maj. Bazlul Huda. Aditya(talk • contribs) 14:41, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Insufficient details to note in the article since there's no indication of what actions were taken and by whom and whether any Biman aircraft were involved. → AA (talk) — 15:46, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
The first incident is supported by BBC (Subir Bhaumik is their Kolkata correspondent), The Week quoted in this site (written by Bhaumik). The second incident is supported by Himal Magazine. There may be other support waiting to be searched and found. Allow me to see what I can do. May be a sentence that says there has been reports of attempted hijacks. Aditya(talk • contribs) 14:51, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Is the date for the 2nd incident correct? (I'm talking about the year "1973"). LTTE didn't exist at that time. --Ragib 15:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

After a frustrating day of struggles with the internet connection, I am pretty convinced that the second incident has no reliable source to quote. But the first incident is mighty well supported and, I guess, can easily go into the incidents and accidents section. Aditya(talk • contribs) 12:34, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Correction Apparently the two incidents are the same, and quotes the same source - Mr. Bhaumik. The second website's mish-mash of a language got me to write that wrong piece of information - 1973. Darn my internet connections, and sorry for the inconvenience. Right now I am trying to piece together the bits of information that's available on the net to see if this makes a valid addition or not. Though with BBC's support I might end up feeling positive. Aditya(talk • contribs) 13:13, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Copyedit

This article, or a portion of it, was copyedited by the League of Copyeditors in September 2007. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
  • Copyeditor(s): Cricketgirl 16:14, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Proofreader: Gprince007 15:01, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Skytrax

I think it would be very helpful to explain exactly what the signficance of a 2 star Skytrax rating is (2 stars out of how many possible, etc). The current sentence doesn't explain whether that is a good, bad, or moderate rating. --Kyoko 18:08, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Clarified Skytrax and Aviatour. Aditya(talk • contribs) 03:03, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] FS Planet

Good point on the labour migrants as that is a market currently not being met using Biman's current capacity.

However, I do not believe FS Planet (a flight simulation enthusiasts website) can be used as a reliable source for an FA class article (hope I'm not jinxing it by pre-empting it :-). The information may be correct but a more reliable source needs to be used. The information has been submitted to the site by a site visitor and not by the site owners either. → AA (talk) — 15:49, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Well... the information looked good, but, you're right - the source is really not reliable at all. Let me check if I can substantiate the information in a couple of days. If I fail, we should remove it altogether. Cheers. Aditya(talk • contribs) 19:55, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Missing incident

Here. --Ragib 19:51, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

There are a few others with similar reports and it happens quite frequently, I'm told, and not really notable unless there are multiple sources discussing it in depth. However, this one does look like it could be combined into the March 2007 incident - just need to find another source that discusses it in a bit more detail to flesh out the entry. Thanks. → AA (talk) — 22:38, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reference

Hi there,

Just a general question: How often are the reference section updated and is it an automated process.

I am asking because the page shows 59. ^Air Sylhet official site. Air Sylhet. Retrieved on 2007-09-02. But it doesn't go the the same site as the link on page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Sylhet

Regards,

Leo

ps. keep up the good work :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.137.253.143 (talk) 11:39, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you're right. The Official Site cited in this article - airsylhet.com - seems to be an older website for the airline, while the one cited in the Air Sylhet page - airsylhetonline.com - seems to be the newer website (though, I can't be truly sure). May be, AA can solve the problem.
And, no, links cited in Wikipedia are not automatically updated. This enormously judgmental procedure is left to users like you, who have already managed to draw attention to a link. This community system of check and balance is what makes Wikipedia a wonderful project. Aditya(talk • contribs) 14:12, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
Air Sylhet is currently undergoing a bit of a fallout with its founding chairman. It seems he has control of the original site and the company has had to move to another one. I'm following the goings on and will update the article once the issues have been settled. → AA (talk) — 19:04, 9 November 2007 (UTC)