Biman Bangladesh Airlines was established in January 1972 as the Bangladesh national flag carrier.[1] Operations started on 4 February 1972, initially on a domestic basis and using DC-3 aircraft, with services radiating from Dhaka to Chittagong, Jessore and Sylhet.[2] International operations started on 4 March the same year, covering the London–Dhaka route on a charter basis under a sub-contract agreement with British Caledonian.[3] From 1 January 1973 the same route, serving Gatwick Airport, started being operated by Donaldson International Airways on Biman's behalf.[2] With a stopover in Bahrain, services to London in Biman's own right started on 19 June 1973,[4] initially with a leasedBoeing 707.[5] By March 1975 (1975-03), the domestic route network comprised Chittagong, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Ishurdi, Jessore, Sylhet and Thakurgaon and international services to Bangkok, Calcutta, Dubai, Kathmandu, and London were also provided.[6]Frankfurt was first served in 1986.[7] The carrier's international network comprised 26 destinations in March 2005 (2005-03),[8] but in 2006 services to some of them were discontinued, owing to financial problems of an outdated fleet and a shortage of modern planes, starting with New York City in August that year,[9] followed by some other destinations.[10][11] Frankfurt was resumed in late March 2014 (2014-03).[12][13] But the service proved economically unviable and the destination was again removed from the route network in October the same year[14] and flights to Rome were suspended in April 2015 (2015-04).[15]
The airline had signed a deal with Boeing for ten new aircraft along with options for ten more in 2008.[16] After getting delivery of the new planes, Biman expanded its destinations gradually and increased in-flight amenities, especially onboard Internet and WiFi; mobile telephony; and live TV streams.[17][18] Biman Bangladesh Airlines is certified as safe to fly in Europe by the European Aviation Safety Agency.[19][20] In addition, Biman has also passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit and since then, the airline has resumed flights to some of its previous destinations in Asia and Europe.[21][22] As of May 2019[update], the airline serves 16 cities and destinations in 12 different countries across Asia and Europe. Biman Bangladesh Airlines restarted its direct flights to Delhi in 2019 after a gap of six years.[23] Shortly after, the airline also resumed its direct flights to Manchester which was last served until October 2012.[24]
On 27 July 2022, Biman added its newest route to Toronto Pearson International Airport.[25]
List
Following is a list of destinations the carrier flies to according to its scheduled services, as of March 2015[update].[26][27] Terminated destinations are also listed together with both primary and secondary hubs of the airline.[28]
^"Air Transport". Flight International. 16 March 1972. p. 373. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2013. Bangladesh Biman, new national carrier of Bangladesh, began operating London-Dacca charter services by subcontract to British Caledonian on March 4.
^"Airlines updated". Flight International. 19 July 1973. p. 85. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012. Bangladesh Biman opened a weekly service from Dacca to London via Bahrain on June 19, using a 707 leased from a division of Templewood Aviation.
^"Bangladesh to London". Flight International. 5 July 1973. p. 6. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2013. Bangladesh Biman last month inagurated [sic] its first service to London, from Dacca via Bahrain. Until its 707-320C is delivered in December the airline is using a 707-331 [sic] leased from Tempair International.
^"2 more aircraft to board Biman fleet". bdnews24.com. 4 November 2008. The national airline was forced to halt its flights to New York, Paris, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Brussels, Yangon and Mumbai in 2006 due to a shortage of funds and aircraft.
^ ab"New Dhaka-Frankfurt service". Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Biman Bangladesh Airlines celebrated its inaugural flight to Frankfurt on March 31, 2014 at the Frankfurt Airport.
