|
||||
| Founded | January 4, 1972 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | February 4, 1972 | |||
| Hubs | ||||
| Secondary hubs | ||||
| Subsidiaries | ||||
| Fleet size | 16 (+ 10 orders) | |||
| Destinations | 24 | |||
| Company slogan | Wings of your freedom | |||
| Headquarters | Dhaka, Bangladesh | |||
| Key people | ||||
| Website | www.biman-airlines.com | |||
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Bengali: বিমান বাংলাদেশ এয়ারলাইনস),[Note 1] partly transcribed from English into Bengali and the other way around) is the flag carrier airline of Bangladesh. Its main hub is at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, and also operates flights from Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, earning revenue from the connecting service to Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. Biman's operations are assigned the IATA airline code BG and the ICAO airline code BBC, while its callsign is BANGLADESH.[3] The carrier provides international passenger and cargo service to Asia and Europe, as well as major domestic routes. It has air service agreements with 42 countries, but flies to only 16. The airline was wholly owned and managed by the government of Bangladesh until 23 July 2007, when it was transformed into the country's largest public limited company by the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh.[4] The airline's headquarters, Balaka Bhaban, is located in Kurmitola, Dhaka.
Created in February 1972, Biman enjoyed an internal monopoly in the Bangladesh aviation industry until 1996.[5] In the decades following its founding, the airline expanded its fleet and destinations, but it was adversely affected by corruption and mishaps. At its peak, Biman operated flights to 29 international destinations as far away as New York City to the west and Tokyo to the east. The airline has suffered heavy financial losses, and has a reputation for poor service because of regular flight cancellations and delays caused by its ageing fleet. For safety reasons, some of Biman's long-haul aircraft have been banned in the United States and the European Union. Annual Hajj flights, transporting non-resident Bangladeshi workers and migrants, and the activities of its subsidiaries, form an important part of the carrier's business.[6] Rising oil prices have created additional pressure on the airline's finances, which is widely reported to have failed to meet its payment obligations to the state-owned petroleum corporation, BPC. Under Skytrax's five-star rating systems, Biman merits two stars.[7] The carrier is currently 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 an 8% annual growth rate, owing to a large number of non-resident Bangladeshis.
Since becoming a public limited company, the airline has reduced staff and begun to modernise its fleet. Biman has made a deal with Boeing for 10 new aircraft, along with options for 10 more. The carrier is in the process of leasing some aircraft in the interim to restart flights to some of its previous destinations in Asia, Europe, and North America.
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Biman Bangladesh Airlines was established on 4 January 1972 as Bangladesh's national airline under the Bangladesh Biman Ordinance (Presidential Order No. 126).[8][9] The initiative to launch the flag carrier was taken by 2,500 former employees, including ten Boeing 707 commanders and seven other pilots of Pakistan International Airlines, who submitted a proposal to the government on 31 December 1971 following the independence of Bangladesh.[10] The airline was initially called Air Bangladesh International but was soon changed to its current name.[11]
In modern Bengali, the word বিমান biman refers to "aeroplane", originating from the Sanskrit word vimāna, a name given to a flying machine mentioned in ancient Vedic literature. The logo, painted on the tail, is a stylised white stork (বলাকা bôlaka) inside a red circle. The initial livery was a dark blue line extending across the aircraft along the windows and covering the tail section. This was replaced in the 1980s by dark green and red lines, matching the colours of the Bangladesh flag, and has remained so for over two decades. In 2010, Biman went through a rebranding exercise and unveiled a new logo and livery which was applied to its first leased Boeing 777 aircraft. However, following elections later that year, Biman was forced to revert back to the original branding as the new brand image was not endorsed by the incoming government. The bôlaka has also given its name to the Biman headquarters, the Balaka Bhaban (বলাকা ভবন bôlaka bhôban, Stork Building),[12][13][14] and a landmark sculpture in Dhaka depicting storks is in front of Biman's former headquarters,[15] the Biman Bhavan in the Motijheel Commercial Area in Dhaka.[16]
On 4 February 1972, Biman started its domestic service on the Dhaka–Chittagong, Dhaka–Jessore and Dhaka–Sylhet routes with a World War II vintage Douglas Dakota and Douglas DC-3, both gifts from the Bangladesh Air Force.[10][17] On 10 February 1972, Biman experienced its first accident when the Douglas DC-3 crashed near Dhaka during a test flight, killing all five crewmembers.[18] A Douglas DC-6 was immediately leased to keep the domestic service running.[10] On 4 March 1972, Biman started its international operations with a weekly flight to London using a Boeing 707 chartered from British Caledonian.[10][19] The short haul fleet was supplemented by a Fokker F27 from India on 3 March 1972; the aircraft was employed on a daily scheduled flight between Kolkata (Calcutta) and Dhaka on 28 April 1972.[20] Three additional Fokker F27s were acquired during March and September of that year.[10] In the first year of operation, Biman operated 1,079 flights carrying just over 380,000 passengers.[21]
Four Fokker F27s joined the fleet in 1973, enabling Biman to double the frequency of the Kolkata flight to a twice daily service.[20] A Boeing 707 was added to the fleet in September and the flight to London became twice-weekly, while a Chittagong–Kolkata flight also began operating.[20] In 1974, operations were extended to Kathmandu (February), Bangkok (November) and Dubai (December).[20] In 1976, Biman sold two of its Fokker F27s and bought another Boeing 707 to extend international services to Abu Dhabi, Karachi and Mumbai.[20] Singapore was added to Biman's list of international destinations, when a third Boeing 707 was purchased in February 1977, followed by Jeddah, Doha and Amsterdam the following year, which also saw the purchase of its fourth Boeing 707.[20] In 1977, Biman was converted into a public sector corporation to be governed by a board of directors appointed by the government.[20] The airline broke even for the first time in 1977–78, and made a profit the following year.[21] International destinations expanded to include Kuala Lumpur, Athens, Muscat and Tripoli in 1979, followed by Yangon, Tokyo and Dhahran in 1980.[20]
In 1983, three Douglas DC-10s joined the fleet and the airline started to phase out the Boeing 707s.[17][20] The flight network expanded further to include Baghdad (1983), Paris (1984) and Bahrain (1986).[20] On 4 August 1984, Biman faced its worst accident when a Fokker F27 flying in from Chittagong crashed near Dhaka, killing all 49 on board, including Captain Kaniz Fatema Roksana, the airline's first female pilot.[22] The long haul fleet was then supplemented by the purchase of two new Airbus A310s in 1996, followed by the addition of two more in 2000, from Singapore Airlines and Air Jamaica, and another in 2003.[20]
In the 2005–06 fiscal year, Biman carried 1.15 million passengers, a growth of 70% over the previous decade. With the rise of private domestic carriers in Bangladesh, however, Biman's market share for domestic passengers dropped by 35% over the previous ten years' average, with only 162,000 passengers travelling with Biman in the domestic sector in the 2005–06 fiscal year. During the same period, Biman reported its biggest annual loss of over US$120 million (BDT 8.3 billion as of 2010), with a US$100 million (BDT 6.9 billion as of 2010) loss reported the following year.[23] Biman also fell behind on millions of dollars in payments to its fuel supplier, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.[24]
The airline was wholly owned by the Bangladeshi government through the Bangladesh Biman Corporation since its inception. In 1977, Biman was converted into a public sector corporation which afforded Biman limited autonomy, led by a government-appointed board of directors.[20] The authorised share capital was increased to BDT 2 billion in 1987,[25] and Biman was transformed into a public limited company, the largest in Bangladesh, in 2007.
During the late 1980s, Hossain Mohammad Ershad, President of Bangladesh at the time, served as president of Biman. After an early period of expansion and growth, Biman entered an era of nose-diving profits and slow growth, exacerbated by incompetent and corrupt management, who padded purchases, falsified repair bills, and kept unprofitable routes in operation for political reasons.[26][27] Research conducted in 1996 found that Biman had 5,253 non-flying personnel, 30 percent more than Singapore Airlines, a carrier who operated a fleet almost ten times the size of Biman's. The report described Biman as "poorly managed, overstaffed, undercapitalized, and subject to excessive political interference in its day-to-day management."[28]
In the 1992–93 fiscal year, accounts under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism revealed that BDT 22 million in tax was not paid to the government. The audit carried out in 1999, also showed that Biman was owed BDT 2.2 million by travel agents from the proceeds of ticket sales, most likely with the collusion of Biman officials.[29] Additionally, BDT 2.4 million was overpaid as incentive commissions to the sales agents in violation of Biman policies. In 2007, the caretaker government launched an anti-corruption drive which saw the arrest of Shamim Iskander, the brother of ex-prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia and a former Biman flight engineer, on multiple corruption charges.[30] This was shortly followed by the forced retirement of 35 other employees and officials, some of whom were close aides of Iskander.[31]
Faced with growing losses from the late 1990s onwards,[32][33] the government offered 40 percent of Biman to foreign airlines in 2004, hoping a buyer would take over the management of the carrier. However, the proposal demanded that many decision-making rights remain within the Bangladesh government, and the offer was ignored by outside airlines. A similar initiative in 1998 cost Biman $1.6 million in consultancy fees with no positive results.[34]
In May 2007, the caretaker government approved plans to turn Biman into a public limited company with shareholdings split between seven public sector organisations.[35] As a part of the restructuring, the government put in place a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to reduce the man-equipment ratio (MER) of 367:1 (ratio of manpower to aircraft). The industry average at the time was 200:1, and other Asian airlines operated with MERs of about 150:1.[36] The VRS provided compensation based on length of service, at a cost to the government of over $40 million borrowed from the World Bank. Biman management expected to reduce its workforce by 1,600, but 2,162 applications were received, many from employees who expected to be dismissed with little or no severance pay if the quota was not met. Biman accepted 1,877 applications and affirmed that key personnel would not be allowed to leave the organisation via VRS.[36][37]
On 23 July 2007, Biman Bangladesh Airlines became the largest public limited company in Bangladesh.[4] Earlier suggestions that the airline should be renamed Bangladesh Airlines were rejected.[38] The government is the sole shareholder of the 1.5 billion shares, but intends to offer 49 percent to the private sector while retaining majority ownership.[39][40] The previous managing director, Dr. Abdul Momen, was appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of the new organisation. The six directors were appointed from the ministries of energy, commerce, finance, civil aviation, foreign affairs, and the cabinet division, with the cabinet secretary taking on the role as chairman of the board of directors. The six secretaries and a joint secretary to the civil aviation ministry have been made the seven shareholders of the new PLC.[39] In September 2008, the government appointed Air Commodore Zahed Kuddus (retd) to replace Dr. Momen as CEO. From 2002 to 2005 Kuddus had been chair of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), before which he had held various posts in the Bangladesh Air Force.[41]
Following the privatisation, an initiative was launched by ex-Biman employees, who left the organisation via the VRS, to set up a competing airline.[42] Names proposed for the airline included Air Bangla International, Biman Employees Airlines and Balaka.[43] They were joined by previous managing directors of Biman, along with the former president of the Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association.[42] However, nothing further was heard of regarding the proposed venture.
Biman is notable for disruptions to its flight schedule and poor customer service.[44] In 2007, Biman faced strong criticism from major international airports including London Heathrow Airport 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 International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations, during the summer of 2007. Biman should, therefore, not expect slot allocations at Heathrow for the summer of 2008 and should look to Stansted or Gatwick airports if it wished to continue serving London.[45] Following discussions with BAA, however, Biman obtained landing slots for the summer of 2008 on condition that it achieved 80% usage.[46] Delays continued unabated and in September 2008, Biman's Dhaka–London direct flight utilising a DC-10 aircraft was diverted and landed at Gatwick when it did not have sufficient fuel to remain in a holding pattern over Heathrow following arrival over three hours after the scheduled time.[47] In a 10 September 2008 article published in The Times, Biman was labelled the worst performer for punctuality at Heathrow, with flights delayed on average by three hours.[48]
In 2008, the United Nations advised its staff not to fly with Biman, citing both safety and security concerns and Biman's unreliable flight schedules. It was made clear that UN staff who flew with Biman did so at their own risk, and would be ineligible to make claims on insurance. Biman's then newly appointed managing director said he was unaware of the UN directive, but admitted that Biman did face problems in managing its flight schedules. He expected the situation to improve with the procurement of aircraft in the coming months.[49]
A two-class service (J and Y) is operated on Biman's wide-body airliners and a single class service is available 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 spacious 2–2–2 configuration. The economy class cabins are set up in a typical 2–5–2 configuration.[50]
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 contains mainly English content[51] and has an emphasis on tourist destinations in Bangladesh and elsewhere reachable by Biman.[52]
In-flight entertainment aboard Biman aircraft is rated "very poor" by Skytrax.[53] Biman's service as a whole is reflected in its two-star ranking (out of five), which is indicative of the poor standard of service provided by the airline that falls below the industry average.[7][54] 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.[55][56]
Biman operates a frequent flyer programme which awards customers a free round trip flight on production of ticket stubs for ten round trip journeys on Biman. The free ticket is for the passenger's most often travelled route. Journeys on local routes are excluded from the offer.[57]
An agreement was signed with Amadeus in 2007 to upgrade Biman's ticketing system with an e-ticketing solution to comply with IATA 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 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.[58] 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.[59] The suspension, however, lasted only a month, and was lifted after the writ was appealed in the High Court.[60]
Biman also operates a cargo service using the cargo holds of its passenger aircraft to ship freight to international destinations.[61] It has established Cargo Village at Shahjalal International Airport where the cargo is packaged and labelled before being loaded onto its aircraft.[62]
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 tonnes of cargo at the expense of both Biman and foreign airlines which saw a reduction in their shares by 4.6% and 6.0% respectively. Foreign airlines handled 47% of the total cargo with Biman taking on the remaining 29%.[63]
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.[64] The 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.[65]
Biman has air service agreements with 43 countries, but only operates its routes to 16, leaving room for expansion for which it lacks aircraft.[66] The airline operates flights to several destinations in the Middle East, some destinations in South and South East Asia and four destinations in Europe (London, Manchester, Milan and Rome). Foreign airlines are encroaching on Biman's routes, particularly the lucrative London–Dhaka route, on which traditionally only Biman and British Airways (before it cancelled this route in 2009)[67] have operated direct flights.[44] 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.[44][68] New airlines are also hoping to cash in on Biman's shortfall: United Airways and Royal Bengal Airlines are two such airlines launched by expatriate British–Bangladeshis with an aim to provide direct flights between London and Dhaka.[69][70]
From 1993 to 2006, Biman operated flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, from Dhaka via Brussels.[71] New York was Biman's farthest and most prestigious destination, and was kept operational despite heavy financial losses on each flight to maintain a landing slot in the US which, if cancelled, could be difficult to regain.[72]
To curb the losses, Biman reduced the service to one flight per week and re-routed it through Manchester Airport, UK, capitalising on travel demands from the expatriate Bangladeshi community in the north of England. On 8 April 2006, Biman's inaugural flight to Manchester landed at Manchester Airport en route to JFK.[73] However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had placed the CAAB into Category 2 (does not meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards) according to its International Aviation Safety Assessment Program,[74] which placed additional restrictions on the country's airlines when flying to the US. A former CAAB assistant director made scathing remarks about the CAAB in an opinion article in the Aviatour, a monthly travel and tourism supplement of Bangladeshi news magazine Weekly Holiday.[75] For Biman, this meant that it could continue flying to the US, but could not expand or make alterations to its routes, such as changing the transit from Brussels to Manchester. The FAA fined Biman for breaching its rules, and flights to New York were again re-routed through Brussels.[76]
The FAA had already warned Biman to replace its ageing DC-10s by December 2005. According to experts, these aircraft were inadequately equipped to safely cross the Atlantic.[77][78] On 13 May 2006, the FAA refused permission for Biman flight BG001 (Dhaka–Brussels–JFK) to enter its airspace, citing safety concerns over the ailing DC–10 aircraft used on the route.[79][80] The flight was diverted to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Canada, where the passengers were provided with alternative airline options to complete their journey.[81] Canadian authorities inspected the aircraft and gave it a clean bill of health after which the aircraft returned to Dhaka without any passengers. The FAA eventually admitted it was mistaken and apologised for the error.[82][83]
The incident put an end to the route, which had been losing $80,000 per flight, owing to its use of obsolete DC-10s.[79][84] Biman decided to axe the route along with a number of other regional and domestic routes to curb the huge losses being incurred by the airline each month.[85] However, in October 2007, Biman was directed by the then caretaker government to resume flights to New York. Biman was given until 25 October 2008 (extended from an earlier deadline of 23 March 2008) to resume flights to the airport by the JFK airport authority, after which it would have lost the landing slot permanently.[86] Biman was planning to resume Dhaka–Manchester–New York flights in the first quarter of 2010 using a leased Boeing 777–200ER. The relevant clearances had been obtained from the UK government following a review of the ASA between Bangladesh and the UK.[87]
The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca 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 to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah. Every year, the commencement of these flights is inaugurated by high ranking government officials, including, at times, the Prime Minister.[88][89]
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.[89]
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.[90] In 2006, Biman took the unprecedented step of removing the business–class seats from its dedicated Hajj flights to accommodate more economy-class passengers.[91] 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.[92][93]
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.[94] 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-to 10%.[95] Ausban Aeronautical Services of Australia was selected next, following a re-tender, to fill the gap left by Phuket Air.[96]
A vintage Douglas Dakota and Douglas DC-3 were the first aircraft in Biman's fleet.[17] Domestic operations commenced with the acquisition of four Fokker F27 aircraft flying passengers to Chittagong and Sylhet from its base in Dhaka. Shortly afterwards, a Boeing 707, chartered from British Caledonian, joined the airline's fleet, allowing Biman to begin international flights. In 1983, Biman purchased three Douglas DC-10 aircraft from Singapore Airlines to provide services on its long haul routes.[8][17]
For over two decades, the DC–10–30s were Biman's sole widebody aircraft and served the airline consistently well, with no noteworthy mechanical problems – in marked contrast to the record of its domestic operations. These were operated with Fokker F28 and BAe ATPs which were routinely out of service because of technical trouble. In one incident, a government minister deboarded a flight and travelled by road when he learned that the aircraft he was on was a BAe ATP.[97] In January 2003, Biman leased two Boeing 737–300s which were used on domestic and regional routes for eighteen months.[30] These acted as a replacement for the BAe ATPs.
During the mid 1990s, Biman switched its airliner of choice for long haul routes to the Airbus series of aircraft. Two new Airbus A310s joined Biman's fleet in 1996 followed by one more in 2000. It nevertheless retained its elderly DC–10 fleet, even though the aircraft had been banned by several countries (notably the USA) because of safety concerns. The airline operates its own ancillary and maintenance facilities at Shahjalal International Airport, where it carries out all maintenance work on its F28s, and C-Checks on DC–10–30s and A310–300s.[98]
As of November 2011[update], the Biman Bangladesh Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft:[98][99]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Options | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | |||||
| Airbus A310-300 | 3 | — | — | 25 | 196 | 221 | |
| 25 | 198 | 223 | |||||
| 26 | 197 | 223 | |||||
| Boeing 737-800 | 2 | 4[100] | 2[100] | 12 | 150 | 162 | New aircraft to be delivered in 2015 |
| Boeing 747-400 | 1 | — | — | — | 505 | 505 | Leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic |
| Boeing 777-300ER | 2[2] | 2[100] | 4[100] | 35 | 394 | 419 | |
| Boeing 787-8 | — | 4[100] | 4[100] | TBA | Entry into service: 2016-2020 | ||
| Fokker F-28 | 4[101] | — | — | — | 80 | 80 | Two aircraft stored[101] |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30[102] | 1 | — | — | 25 | 228 | 243 | Replacement aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER |
| 3 | — | 314 | 314 | ||||
| Total | 16 | 10 | 10 | ||||
As of October 2011[update], the average fleet age is 22 years, without including ageing F-28 equipment in the figures.[103]
McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and Airbus A310-300s make up most of Biman's international fleet. Fokker F28s make up the remainder of the fleet for the domestic and regional sectors.[104] Biman's fleet contains the second-to-last Douglas DC–10 to come off the production line (l/n 445), and only three other Airbus A310–300s were produced following Biman's purchase of two new Airbus A310s in 1996.[105] Biman's most recent additions to its fleet are two Fokker F28–4000s acquired from PBair in 2004 at a cost of $2.91 million.[106] Both of these aircraft were built in 1977, making Biman's latest acquisitions the oldest aircraft in its fleet.[107]
The ageing fleet has made it difficult for Biman to maintain its flight schedule, as the aircraft suffer from mechanical problems, leading to flight delays and cancellations.[44][108] A number of aircraft have remained grounded owing to lack of spare parts as they are no longer manufactured and used parts are difficult to source.[109]
In 2000, Biman put out a request for proposal for the acquisition of four wide-bodied aircraft to replace the DC–10s, but both the fleet renewal plans and the airline's expected privatisation were shelved by the government.[110] A further attempt was made in 2005 to acquire new aircraft and plans were submitted for the purchase of ten new wide-bodied Airbus and Boeing aircraft at a total cost of $1 billion.[111] Boeing arranged to finance the purchase provided a guarantee was given by the Bangladesh government. After bureaucratic delays and a perceived lack of commitment from the government, Boeing lost interest and the plans were cancelled.[109] A similar attempt to purchase medium-haul aircraft for domestic service was also postponed.[112]
In March 2007, Biman put out a tender for the dry lease of two Airbus A310-300 and two Airbus A300-600 aircraft for two years.[113] The sole response to the tender came from Star Aviation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[114]
After Biman became a public limited company, renewed attempts were made to procure new-generation aircraft to replace its ageing fleet. In November 2007, Boeing made an offer to supply Biman with four Boeing 777-200s (with options for two more) to be delivered by 2013 and four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners (with options for two more) to be delivered by 2017 and provide similar aircraft on lease for the interim period beginning in 2009. The average price of these aircraft was quoted as $165 million. Airbus also made an offer to supply four Airbus A320 or Airbus A330 series aircraft at a much lower price than that of Boeing. To manage the fleet in the short run, Biman again floated a tender in January 2008 to purchase/dry lease with options to purchase two used Airbus A310-300 aircraft.[115]
On 10 March 2008, Biman management unveiled its plan to procure eight next-generation wide-bodied aircraft from Boeing Commercial Airplanes for a total cost of $1.26 billion. The eight aircraft include four Boeing 777-300ER (average price of $182.9 million per unit) to be delivered in 2013, and four Boeing 787–8 Dreamliners ($133.31 million per unit) to join Biman's fleet in 2017. The Boeing 777-300ER will have a seating capacity of 463 while the Dreamliners will seat 294.[115] A memorandum of understanding for the acquisition, that also included the lease of two Boeing 737-800s to be delivered in 2015, was signed with Boeing in April 2008,[116][117] with Biman paying out a $1.54 million initial payment. Of the remaining cost, US-based EXIM bank will finance 85%, while a syndication of local banks will finance the balance. Shortly after, Biman also signed a deal with Boeing to purchase four Boeing 737-800 aircraft for its domestic operations.[100]
In 2008, Biman wet-leased a 542-seat Boeing 747-200 from Kabo Air of Nigeria for six months to operate flights to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.[118] Another 512-seat Boeing 747-300 has been leased from Orient Thai Airlines.[119]
In 2009, Biman signed a deal with EuroAtlantic Airways to lease two Boeing 777-200ERs to cover the interim period before delivery of the first Boeing 777-300ERs in 2011. One of these aircraft was planned to be used to resume the Dhaka–Manchester–New York flights, while the other was aimed at operating European services. The first of these aircraft was delivered in February 2010, featuring a new livery that was unveiled in November 2009.[120] Biman has confirmed orders for 10 aircraft from Boeing, including four 777-300ERs, four 787-8s and two 737-800s, along with 10 purchase rights.[121][122] The airline will use an initial US$277 million loan granted from JPMorgan Chase to secure the delivery of two of the new Boeing airplanes it had ordered in 2008.[123][124]
Wearing a new livery, the carrier took delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER in late October 2011; it was the 300th aircraft of the type delivered by Boeing.[125][126][127] The 301st ever delivered Boeing 777-300ER also went to Biman; the airline took possession of it in late November 2011.[2] These new aircraft are being deployed to fill the gap on the void Manchester–Dhaka route, among other routes.[128]
The wholly owned subsidiary Biman Flight Catering Centre (BFCC) was set up in 1989 to provide in-flight meals. It 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.[129] The BFCC consumes 90% of the eggs and chickens 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.[129][130] Bird flu was detected at one of the farms in March 2007, and many of the birds were culled.[131] This was the first incident of bird flu in Bangladesh.[132]
According to Aviation Safety Network, Biman Bangladesh Airlines records 11 accidents/incidents, with only two of them leading to fatalities.[133]
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