Bangladesh is a republic in southern Asia, in the north-

eastern portion of the Indian subcontinent, bordered on the

west, north, and east by India, on the southeast by Myanmar
(formerly Burma), and on the south by the Bay of Bengal. The
area of the country is 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq mi). The
capital and largest city of Bangladesh is Dhaka.

BIMAN BANGLADESH................................................

BIMAN AT A GLANCE

Name & Logo:

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited.
White strok flying across the red sun.

Chairman, Board of Directors:

The Honorable
Cabinet Secretary,
Govt. of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO):

The Managing Director

Corporate Head Quarter:

"Balaka Bhaban", Biman Head Office, Kurmitola
Dhaka-1229, Bangladesh

Fleet:
5 (Five) DC-10-30s, 4(Four) A310-300s, 4(Four) F-28s

Destinations:
18 International Destinations Hong Kong in the East to London in the
West

Founding Day:
January 04, 1972
Slogan:
Your Home in the Sky

Biman is the national carrier of the People's Republic of

Bangladesh. The corporate body is 'Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd'
while the trading name is Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Biman is a
member of IATA. Incorporated in Bangladesh, it came into being on
January 04, 1972 initially with a Second World War vintage Dakota,
DC-3, a gift from the Air force.

Biman's domestic services with the DC-3 were command within a

month of its inception. Its real journey as an airline started with the
acquisition of one Boeing 707 and four F-27 aircraft. Entry into the 'Big
League' began with induction of three DC10-30s in 1983, which was
acquire based on route network and available traffic rights. The fleet is
now consisted of 4 wide-body DC10-30s, three mid-haul Airbus A-310-
300s and four F-28s regional jets. Biman is in the process of procuring
more aircraft for its fleet. Presently Biman offers services to 18
international destinations.

Biman is now paying attention to making, the airline more attractive to

the traveling people by fixing the priority on two objectives. One is to
provide more comfort to the passengers and the other is to maintain
schedule regularity. The airline has already brought some qualitative
changes in its ground and in-flight services. Biman has built its own
ancillary and maintenance facilities. Presently Biman does entire
maintenance work on its F-28 aircraft. Biman is also doing its own C-
check, D-check on DC-10-30s and Airbus A310-300 in its wide body
hangar at Dhaka. Checks, repair and maintenance of one DC-10-30,
one wide bodied Boeing and two F-28 aircraft can be done at a time in
Biman's own wide body hangar.

Biman Flight Catering Center (BFCC) - modern flight kitchen of the

airlines, has the capacity of producing 8500 meals a day and is
providing excellent cuisine not only to Biman but also to some other
international airlines operating to and from Dhaka. To meet the
growing needs of Biman's manpower, Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Training Center (BATC) has been training its ground, flight service and
technical personnel since its inception.

The airline's Reservation and Departure Control System and other

communication systems have been fully computerized. Biman is
continuously making effort for office automation in order to improve
the traffic productivity. It is also making effort to introduce
Computerized Revenue Accounting in order to raise real revenue. In
addition to Biman's own aircraft, the experienced ground-handling
units also providing support for number of foreign airlines at Zia
International Airport (ZIA).

Biman Poultry Complex, a potential subsidiary of Biman was formed in

1976 and was put into operation in November 1980 to create a profit
earning concern to augment the cash flow of Biman. The complex is
situated at Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka, 40 km North-West of Dhaka City.

Keeping pace with trends and technology of the time coupled with a
perspective plan for the future that embraces all the aspects of an
international airline and overall improvement in situation, the carrier is
now confidently looking forward to the future.

Biman Flight Catering Center (BFCC) - a modern flight kitchen of the

airlines, has the capacity of producing 8500 meals a day and is
providing excellent cuisine not only to Biman but also to other
international airlines such as Aeroflot, Gulf Air, Iran Air, Qatar
Airlines, Druk Airways, Dragon Airlines, which are operating
through Dhaka.
To meet the growing needs of Biman's manpower, Biman Bangladesh
Airlines Training Center (BATC) has been training its ground, flight
service and technical personnel. The center has also been turned into a
seat of training and technical seminars for other agencies including
some foreign airlines.
The airlines reservations and departure control other communications
system as well have been fully computerized. Biman is continuously
making efforts for office automation in order to improve the traffic
productivity. It is also making efforts to introduce Computerized
Revenue Accounting System in order to raise real revenue.
In addition to Biman's own Aircraft the experienced ground handling
units also providing support for number of Foreign Airlines at Zia Int'l
Airport. Namely, British Airways, Dragon air, Druk Air, Emirates, Gulf
Air, Indian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airline System, Oman Air,
PIA, Qatar Airways, Saudia, Singapore Airlines,Thai Airways etc.

Keeping pace with trends and technology of the time along with a
perspective plan for the future that embraces all aspects of an
international airline and overall improvement in situation the carrier is
now confidently looking forward to the future.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd the national flag carrier of Bangladesh has started
its journey from scratch virtually with no aircraft, no ancillaries. It came into
operation immediately after the war of independence. Despite many odds on its
journey towards a long and challenging way to progress, Biman has been able to
establish its reputation as an airline of welcome smile and an ocean of hospitality.
Biman now carries the nation's flag to South Asia, South-East Asia and Far-East,
Gulf and Middle-East region and European. A steady progress has been made with
better services ensuring increased passengers. To make Biman passengers feel "once
Biman always Biman" the airline has recently brought in some qualitative changes in
its service concept. Biman has been aiming in achieving the goal of being truly
international commercially viable airline of the region with its warmth and
friendliness, care, safety record, traditional hospitality and comfort of the services it
offered.

Biman is now flying even higher with great pride around the globe with the bi-color,
the nation's flag.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines

Biman Bangladesh Airlines

IATA ICAO Callsign

BG BBC BANGLADESH
Founded 1972
Hubs Zia International Airport
Frequent Flyer
Frequent flyer program
Programme[1]
Biman Flight Catering
Centre
Subsidiaries Biman Poultry Complex
Biman Airlines Training
Center
Fleet size 12 (7 in active service)
Destinations 23
Company slogan Your home in the sky
Headquarters Dhaka, Bangladesh
 Dr. Abdul Momen (CEO &
Key people
MD)
Website: www.bimanair.com

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Bangla:িিমান িাংলােেশ): is the national

airline of Bangladesh, based at Zia International Airport in Dhaka. It
provides domestic as well as international service to Asia and Europe,
but derives most of its revenue from flights to Osmani International
Airport, Sylhet. It has Air Service Agreements with 42 countries; it
maintains flights to 18. Until July 2007 the airline was owned by the
Government of Bangladesh; on 23 July 2007, it was transformed into
Bangladesh's largest Public Limited Company by the then Caretaker
government of Bangladesh.

Created in February 1972, Biman operated an internal monopoly in

Bangladesh until 1996. Dogged by corruption and accidents, the airline
suffers from an ageing fleet, with some of its long-haul aircraft banned
for safety reasons from the US and EU member states. Annual Hajj
flights, labor migrants as well as Biman's subsidiaries, form an
important part of the carrier's business. Biman has a 2 star ranking
out of 5 by Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based consultancy.

History:

Biman Bangladesh Airlines was establish on 4 January 1972 to be

Bangladesh's national airline under the Bangladesh Biman Ordinance
(Presidential Order No. 126). The initiative to launch the national flag
carrier, was taken by 2,500 former employees, including 10 Boeing
707 commanders and 7 other pilots, of Pakistan International Airlines,
who submitted a proposal to the government on 31 December 1971
following the independence of Bangladesh. The airline was initially
called Air Bangladesh International but was soon renamed Biman
Bangladesh Airlines.

Biman is a Bengali word-meaning airplane; it originates from the

Sanskrit word vimana, a name given to a flying machine mentioned in
ancient Vedic literature. The logo, painted on the tail, is a stylised
white stork (Balaka in Bengali) inside a red circle. The initial livery was
a dark blue line extending across the aircraft along the windows and
engulfing 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 in place for over two decades. The Balaka has also given
its name to the Biman headquarters, the Balaka Bhaban (Balaka
Building), and a landmark sculpture in Dhaka depicting storks is in
front of Biman's former headquarters.

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. On 10 February 1972, Biman experienced its
first accident when the Douglas DC-3 crashed near Dhaka during a
flight test, killing all five crewmembers. A Douglas DC-6 was
immediately leased from Troll Air, a Norwegian airline, to keep the
domestic service running. On 4 March 1972, Biman started its
international operations with a once-a-week flight to London using a
Boeing 707 chartered from British Caledonian. The short haul fleet was
supplemented by a Fokker F27 from India on 3 March 1972 which saw
the start of a daily flight between Kolkata (Calcutta) and Dhaka on 28
April 1972. Three additional Fokker F27s were acquired during March
and September of the same year bringing the number of Fokker F27
aircraft to four. In the first year of operation, Biman operated 1,079
flights carrying just over 380,000 passengers.

Four additional Fokker F27s, purchased from Australia and the

Netherlands, joined the fleet in 1973 enabling Biman to double the
frequency of the Kolkata flight to a twice daily service. 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 at
the same time. In 1974 operations were extended to Katmandu
(February), Bangkok (November) and Dubai (December). In 1976,
Biman sold two of its Fokker F27s and bought another Boeing 707 to
extend international services to Abu Dhabi, Karachi and Mumbai.
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, from the United States. In 1977,
Biman was converted into a public sector corporation to be governed
by a board of directors appointed by the government. The airline
broke-even for the first time in 1977–78, and made a profit the
following year. International destinations expanded to include Kuala
Lampur, Athens, Muscat and Tripoli in 1979, followed by Yangon, Tokyo
and Dhahran in 1980.

Airbus A310-300 landing

In 1983, three Douglas DC-10s joined the fleet and the airline started
to phase out the Boeing 707s. The network expanded further to
include Baghdad (1983), Paris (1984) and Bahrain (1986). 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.[18] The long haul fleet was 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.

In the 2005–06 fiscal year, Biman carried 1.15 million passengers, a

growth of 70% from the previous decade's average. However, with the
rise of private domestic carriers in Bangladesh, 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
(Tk8.3 billion), with a US$100 million (Tk6.9 billion) loss reported the
following year. Biman also fell behind millions of dollars in payments to
its fuel supplier, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.

Management:
The airline was wholly owned by the Bangladesh government through
the Bangladesh Biman Corporation since its inception. In 1977, Biman
was converted into a public sector corporation which afforded Biman
limited autonomy, governed by a board of directors appointed by the
government. The authorised share capital was increased to Tk2 billion
in 1987, 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; with padding of purchases, falsified repair bills and
unprofitable routes kept in operation for political reasons. Research
conducted in 1996 found that Biman had 5,253 non-flying personnel,
30% more than Singapore Airlines, which had almost a ten-time larger
fleet. The report described Biman as "poorly managed, overstaffed,
undercapitalized, and subject to excessive political interference in its
day-to-day management."

In the 1992–93 fiscal year, accounts under the Ministry of Civil Aviation
and Tourism revealed that Tk22 million in tax was not paid to the
Government. The audit carried out in 1999, also showed that Biman
was owed Tk2.2 million by travel agents from the proceeds of ticket
sales, most likely with the collusion of Biman officials. Additionally,
Tk2.4 million was overpaid as incentive commission 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. This was
shortly followed by the forced retirement of 35 other employees and
officials, some of whom were close aides of Iskander.

Privatization:

Due to the growing losses, which began in the late 1990s, the
government offered 40% 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 with the
Bangladesh government, and the offer was ignored by outside airlines.
A similar initiative in 1998 cost Biman US$1.6 million in consultancy
fees with no positive results.

In May 2007, the caretaker government approved plans to turn Biman

into a Public Limited Company with shareholdings split between seven
public sector organisations. 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, with other Asian
airlines operating with MERs of around 150:1. The VRS provided
compensation based on length of service, at a cost to the government
of over US$40 million. While Biman management had expected to
reduce its workforce by 1,600 personnel, 2,162 applications for VRS
were received, many from employees who expected to be dismissed
with little or no severance if the quota was not achieved. Biman
accepted 1,877 applications and affirmed that key personnel would not
be allowed to leave the organisation via VRS.

On 23 July 2007, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd became the largest

Public Limited Company in Bangladesh. Earlier suggestions that the
airline should be renamed Bangladesh Airlines Ltd were rejected. The
government is the sole shareholder of the 1.5 billion shares but
intends to offer 49% to the private sector while retaining majority
ownership. The previous Managing Director, Dr. Abdul Momen, was
appointed the CEO as well as MD in the new organisation. The six
board of directors have been 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. The
six secretaries and a joint secretary to the civil aviation ministry have
been made the seven shareholders of the new PLC.

Following the privatisation, an initiative was launched by ex-Biman

employees, who left the organisation via the VRS, to setup a
competing airline. Names proposed for the airline included Air Bangla
International, Biman Employees Airlines and Balaka. They were joined
by previous managing directors of Biman, along with the former
president of the Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association.

Services:
Biman is notable for poor customer service and regular disruptions to
its flight schedule including lengthy delays and cancellations which is
reflected in its Star ranking from Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based
consultancy whose research is used by the UK government in
formulating air transport policy. The 2 star ranking (out of 5) 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 Heahthrow 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
Stanstead 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.
A two-class service (J & 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 setup 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 setup 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 and available on all flights and selected hotels in
Bangladesh. It covers a wide range of topics with emphasis 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 utilising 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 indicated
the adoption of e ticketing would provide customers with an improved
service apart from reducing its own costs and allowing it to meet
increasing demand. 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.
Biman Cargo

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 Civil Aviation Authority
of Bangladesh (CAAB) employees. A number of arrests have been
made but the perpetrators evade punishment through lack of evidence
and pressure from the CAAB union.

Destinations:
Biman has air services agreements with 42 countries but operates its
routes to 18, 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 which
traditionally only Biman and British Airways have operated direct
flights on. 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.

New York and Manchester

From 1993 to 2006, Biman operated flights to John F. Kennedy

International Airport, New York from Dhaka via Brussels. New York was
Biman's farthest and most prestigious destination and was kept
running despite heavy financial losses on each flight in order to
maintain a landing slot in the US which, if cancelled, could be difficult
to regain.

To curb the losses, Biman reduced the service to one flight per week
and re-routed it through Manchester Airport in England, capitalizing 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. However,
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had placed the Civil Aviation
Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) into Category 2 (does not meet
International Civil Aviation Organization standards) according to its
International Aviation Safety Assessment Program, 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. For Biman,
this meant that it could continue flying to the US, but could not expand
or make changes 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.

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 landing

Previously, the FAA had warned Biman to replace its ageing DC-10s by
December 2005. According to experts, these aircraft did not have the
necessary equipment for safely crossing the Atlantic. On 13 May 2006,
the FAA refused permission for Biman flight BG011 (DAC-DXB-BRU-
JFK) to enter its airspace, citing safety concerns over the ailing DC-10
aircraft being used on the route. The flight was diverted to Montreal
Airport in Canada where the passengers were provided with alternative
airline options to complete their journey. 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.

The incident put an end to the route, which had been losing
US$80,000 per flight due to its use of obsolete DC-10s. Biman decided
to axe the route along with a number of other regional and domestic
routes to curb the huge losses being incurred each month. However, in
October 2007, Biman was directed by the caretaker government to
resume flights to New York. Biman confirmed that it will reintroduce
flights by the deadline of 24 March 2008 following which it would
permanently lose the right to operate flights on the route.

Hajj flights:

The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah 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 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 due
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 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 left by Phuket
Air.

Fleet:
Biman started operations with a gift from the Bangladesh Air Force of a
vintage Douglas Dakota and Douglas DC-3 which had seen service in
World War II. 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. For over two decades, the DC-10-30s were Biman's sole
widebody airliner and served it well with no notable mechanical
problems, a marked contrast to its domestic operations, operated with
Fokker F28 and BAe ATPs, which were routinely out of service due to
various problems. In one incident, a government minister deboarded a
flight and travelled by road when he learned that the aircraft was a
BAe ATP. In January 2003, Biman leased two Boeing 737-300s which
were used on domestic and regional routes for one and a half years.
These acted as a replacement for the BAe ATPs.

During the mid 90s, 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 has
nevertheless maintained its ailing DC-10 fleet which has been banned
by several countries (notably the US and the EU member states) for
safety concerns. The airline maintains its own ancillary and
maintenance facilities at Zia International Airport, where it carries out
all maintenance work on F28s, and C-Checks on DC-10–30s and A310–
300s.
 [edit] Modernisation

Douglas DC-10s and Airbus A310s make up most of Biman's

international fleet. Fokker F28s make up the remainder of the fleet for
the domestic and regional sectors. Biman's fleet contains the final
Douglas DC-10 to come off the production line for passenger service,
and only three other Airbus A310s were produced following Biman's
purchase of two new Airbus A310s in 1996. Biman's most recent
additions to its fleet are two Fokker F28-4000s acquired from PBair in
2004 at a cost of US$2.91 million. Both of these aircraft were built in
1977, making Biman's latest acquisitions the oldest aircraft in its fleet.

The ageing fleet has made it difficult for Biman to maintain flight
schedules as the aircraft suffer from mechanical problems, leading to
flight delays, cancellations, inconvenience to passengers, and higher
operating costs. A number of aircraft have remained grounded due to
lack of available parts as they are no longer manufactured and used
parts are difficult to source.

In 2000, Biman put out an RFP 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. 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 US$1 billion. 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, it lost interest and the plans
were cancelled. A similar attempt to purchase medium aircraft for
domestic service was also postponed.

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. The sole
response to the tender came from Star Aviation of the United Arab
Emirates.

Current fleet:

As of May 2007, Biman Bangladesh Airlines fleet consists of 12 aircraft

of which seven are in active service:

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fleet

Aircraft Total Passengers Routes Notes
 Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fleet
(First/Economy)
Airbus
3 25/196 International
A310-300
McDonnell
Douglas 5 30/244 International
DC-10-30
Fokker
F28 4 0/80 Regional/Domestic
Mk4000
Operational Update
Status Airline ICAO - IATA Genealogy Tree
Dates Reason
Aero
X Bengal 1995 - 2000
Airlines
Air
> 1972 Biman Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Air
! 2003* - 2006*
Bangladesh
Country
! Air Bengal - (from
India)
X Air Parabat 1998 - 2001
Ayesha
? 2001?
Airways
! Best Air 2004* - 2006*
Biman
# 1972 - >> BG - BBC Biman Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bismillah
! 1999 - 2006*
Airlines
GMG
# 1998 - >> Z5 - CMG
Airlines
South Asia
X 2001 - 2002*
Airways
South
# Asian 2003 - >> BDS
Airlines
South East
! Asian 2004* - 2006*
Airlines
United
# 2007 - >> 4H
Airways
Z Airways
! 2004* - 2006* ZAW
(Z-Airlines)
Status Description
X Airline ceased operating
 Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fleet
> Airline merged into another carrier
? Unsure if started operations (investigation in progress)
~ Unsure if an actual airline (investigation in progress)
Insufficient information to determine status (investigation
!
in progress)
# Currently operational
+ In the planning stage
The asterisk denotes that the start and/or
2006*
end date are earliest/latest proven dates
^ shows the formation date as the actual
2004^ - operational start date is not known at
present
The asterisk behind the airline shows this is
JOY Aero* not 100% sure of the airline's country of
origin
(Ceylon) Countries with brackets are now defunct
[Scandinavia] Regions, not specific countries

Subsidiaries:
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 in 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.
Incidents and accidents:
• 10 February 1972: The first accident occurred less than a month
after starting operations. All five crew members were killed when
the Douglas DC-3 crashed near Dhaka during a test flight.
• 18 November 1979: A Fokker F27 being used for flight training
landed in a field near Savar Bazar after the engines caught fire
and cut out following a stall test at 8,000 feet (2,400 m). The
aircraft was written off.
• 3 April 1980: A Boeing 707 taking off for a scheduled
international flight from Singapore (QPG-DAC) lost power just
after the landing gear retracted. The aircraft had reached an
altitude of about 100 feet (30 m) and fell back to the runway. All
four engines had apparently flamed out, although it was also
deemed possible that the takeoff was aborted too late. The
aircraft was written off.
• 4 August 1984: A flight from the port city of Chittagong (CGP-
DAC) crashed near Dhaka, killing all 49 people on board. Captain
Kaniz Fatema Roksana, the airline's first female pilot, made two
attempts to land in reduced visibility but could not find the
runway. On the third attempt the Fokker F-27 crashed in swamps
1,640 feet (500 m) short of the runway.
• 22 December 1997: Flight BG609 (DAC-ZYL) made a belly
landing on paddy fields three km short of Osmani International
Airport in heavy fog. Seventeen of the 89 people on board were
injured. The Fokker F28 was written off.
• 11 January 2000: The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) of
India issued a circular to warn Bangladeshi authorities of a
possible hijack attempt on a Bangladeshi aircraft. Eleven
passengers carrying Iranian passports boarding a flight from
Kolkata to Dhaka were detained by police in Kolkata on suspicion
of the hijack attempt, but were released a few hours later with a
hunt ensuing for eight unidentified Afghan nationals.
• 8 October 2004: Flight BG601 (DAC-ZYL) landed far down the
9,000 feet (2,700 m) runway at Osmani International Airport in
heavy rain and overshot the end by 150 feet (46 m), coming to
rest in a ditch 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. The Fokker F28's forward
fuselage was heavily damaged and the plane was written off. All
79 passengers (including a number of VIPs from the Bangladesh
government) escaped with minor injuries except the captain,
Shahana Begum, who broke an arm. The body of the damaged
 plane was sold by Biman Tk11 lakh to Western Grill Air
Corporation, which converted it into a restaurant sited at
Ashulia, Dhaka. The restaurant was opened by the Bangladesh
national cricket team and earned its owner, an expatriate
Bangladeshi from the United Kingdom, a meeting with former
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The restaurant was also visited
by the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh and the Chief of
Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force.
• 1 July 2005: Flight BG048 (DXB-CGP-DAC) skidded off runway
23 onto the grass at Shah Amanat International Airport
while landing during heavy rain. The right-hand undercarriage of
the Douglas DC-10-30 caught fire. Ten passengers were injured
while exiting the aircraft. An enquiry found no faults with the
aircraft and put the blame for the accident on the inefficiency of
the pilot, whose employment was later terminated.
• 26 September 2005: 5,500 staff and 150 pilots at Biman went
on strike, shutting down the largest international airport in
Bangladesh, when the president of the Bangladesh Airlines Pilots
Association was served a retirement notice.[114] The strike, lasting
9 hours, stranded more than 1,000 passengers at Zia
International Airport, which is also maintained by Biman.
• 12 March 2007: Flight BG006 (LHR-DXB-DAC). The nose gear of
the Airbus A310-300, carrying 236 passengers and crew,
collapsed while accelerating down the runway. Fourteen people
suffered minor injuries in the accident at Dubai International
Airport. The aircraft came to rest at the end of the runway and
was evacuated, but crippled the only active runway and forced
the airport to close for eight hours while authorities inspected
the runway. The aircraft was a written off by insurers who paid
Biman US$22 million.

GMG Airlines is an airline based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A wholly-

owned subsidiary of the GMG Group of Companies, it is Bangladesh's
leading private airline operating domestic, regional, and international
services. Its main base is Zia International Airport, Dhaka.[1]

History
The airline was established in 1997 and started operations on 6 April
1998. It is wholly owned by the industrial conglomerate GMG Group. It
began with domestic operations and launched international services on
8 September 2004, with a service from Chittagong to Kolkata.[1] GMG
began regular flights to Bangkok, Delhi, and Kathmandu on October
20, 2006. It started services to Kuala Lumpur on 24 January 2007.
GMG's current international destinations are Kolkata, Delhi,
Kathmandu, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. The airline is scheduled to
start operations to Singapore, Hong Kong, Karachi, Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
Doha, Kuwait, and Muscat within 2007 and is currently in the process
of expanding its fleet. GMG is the first and only private airline in
Bangladesh to fly overseas.[2]

Fleet (to be expanded)

The GMG Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of November
2007).

GMG Fleet
Type Total Routes Notes
Boeing 767-300ER (2 on order) International
Boeing 737-800 (2 on order) International
Boeing MD-82 2 International S2-ADM, S2-ADO
Bombardier Dash 8 Q100 1 Domestic S2-AAA
Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 2 Domestic S2-ACT, S2-ADX

• First Class is Offered Only On Selected Routes.

Livery
The main body of the planes are white. The belly, and a small bit of
the side are blue with yellow stripes. The tail is dark blue with the
emblem of the Golden Deer.
GMG Airlines IATA
Z5 ICAO
GMG Callsign
GMG Founded 1998 Hubs Zia International Airport Focus cities Dhaka Frequent flyer
program Golden Deer Club Fleet size 5 (4 more on order) Destinations 11 (19)
Parent company GMG Group Company slogan First Class All the Way Headquarters
Dhaka Key people Abdus Sattar (Chairman) Shahab Sattar (MD) Website:
www.gmgairlines.com

GMG AIRLINES

Background

GMG Airlines started its operations on 6th April,

1998 and today it has geared up the concept of
domestic air travel in Bangladesh by providing
exceptional service which is valued & cherished by
all travelers.

While we continue to strive for improvement, we

are pleased with our achievements, and proud of
the elevated stratum of service we provide to our
ever-increasing number of patrons.

GMG Airlines name is written in golden letters in

the aviation history of Bangladesh when it became
the only private airline of Bangladesh to fly on
international routes. This historical event took
place on 8th September 2004 on our first
international flight from Chittagong to Kolkata.

Our Values

Many passengers who fly with us are pleasantly

surprised by the warm, very welcoming & efficient
standard of our ground and in-flight services. This
service notion is portrayed in our ethics "First Class
All the Way". We always strive to make the travel of
our guest an enjoyable, relaxing and a stress-free
experience.

Everything we do is geared towards one main

objective - to bring the pleasure of air travel to you in
a safe, secure and efficient manner. We are in
incessant quest to set standards which other
competing airlines are seeking to match.

We always seek to serve our guests and gain their

trust, goodwill and loyalty and when you travel with
GMG Airlines you are assured of receiving high quality
of service and reliable, comfortable and efficient
operations.
Our Network

GMG Airlines now operates from Dhaka to Barisal,

Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Jessore & Sylhet on the
domestic network and to Kolkata (India) on the
international routes.

Reliability

An unbeatable record of on-time flights and providing

benefits to our guests by having interline arrangements
with majority of leading world airlines has helped us to
earn passenger’s confidence.

Our Team

Our organization is based on team spirit with every

one working together to ensure mutual success.

We are managed by an extensive team of airline

professionals with many years experience gained
from leading carriers around the world and every
team member is accountable for the successful
execution of his/her duties, commitments and
obligations, and to strive to lead by example.

The environment ensures that every employee can

contribute skills, talents and ideas to a never-
ending process of improvement and innovation in
all aspects of our business.
 Future Plans

Over the next few months, we will be introducing a

whole range of fresh ideas and an approach to service
that is altogether different. Much of this comes from
ideas and suggestions from our guests: many of the
"little things" that can make or mar any flight gain a
whole new significance at GMG Airlines.

This year and in the year’s ahead GMG Airlines will

continue to operate with insight & innovation by
providing passengers with increasingly modern &
comfortable aircraft and expanding it’s network to
cover more destinations like Mumbai, Chennai,
Colombo, Male, Kathmandu & Bangkok

OUR PEOPLE:

This high level of success, respect, trust, credibility

& goodwill would not have been possible without
the support of the employees. The management
strategy at GMG Airlines has created an
atmosphere where each & every staff irrespective
of designation proudly associates oneself as GMG
family. The feelings and the sense of
belongingness has actuated tremendous spirit and
dynamism in the course of business. The
interpersonal relationship between the line and
staff authority is cordial & friendly enough to bring
the whole team close to each other.

RECRUITMENT

GMG Airlines has a very stiff & rigid policy when it

comes to recruiting staff. The scale of measurement
during recruitment is high enough to ensure
person's competency to ensure efficient contribution
to the company's objectives. Only the finest
candidates with a very high degree of
communication skills are selected to ensure that
customers get warm, friendly, prompt & professional
attention and comfort in their interaction with us -
relatively unknown in this part of the world.

TRAINING

Regular in-house training programs are conducted to increase the staff skills and
assistance from outside professional training agencies is also regularly seeked and
stress laid to ensure that every staff is fully equipped with not only the latest
developments in the industry and technology but also on his / her personality
development, tips on customer service & development of interpersonal skills. All this
ensures that customers get prompt, efficient, & pleasing service - First Class All
the Way.

Corporate Office:

ABC House (10th Floor)

8, Kemal Ataturk Avenue
Banani C/A, Dhaka-1213
Bangladesh
Tel :+ 880-2-8825845 (hunt.)
Fax :+ 880-2-8826115
E-mail : gmgair@gmggroup.com

Customer Service
E-mail : customerservice@gmgairlines.com