Services Biman Bangladesh Airlines

1 services

1.1 flight classes
1.2 in-flight amenities
1.3 frequent-flyer program
1.4 ticketing
1.5 biman cargo

services

biman notable disruptions flight schedule , poor customer service. in 2007, biman faced strong criticism major international airports including london heathrow airport , dubai international airport failure maintain flight schedules. heathrow airport operator baa wrote biman providing evidence showed biman had not achieved minimum 80% usage of allocated landing slots @ heathrow, required eu , international air transport association (iata) regulations, during summer of 2007. biman should, therefore, not expect slot allocations @ heathrow summer of 2008 , should stansted or gatwick airports if wished continue serving london. following discussions baa, however, biman obtained landing slots summer of 2008 on condition achieved 80% usage. delays continued unabated , in september 2008, biman s dhaka–london direct flight utilising dc-10 aircraft diverted , landed @ gatwick when did not have sufficient fuel remain in holding pattern on heathrow following arrival on 3 hours after scheduled time. in 10 september 2008 article published in times, biman labelled worst performer punctuality @ heathrow, flights delayed on average 3 hours. in 2008, united nations advised staff not fly biman, citing both safety , security concerns , biman s unreliable flight schedules. made clear un staff flew biman did @ own risk, , ineligible make claims on insurance. biman s newly appointed managing director said unaware of un directive, admitted biman did face problems in managing flight schedules. expected situation improve procurement of aircraft in coming months.

in 2013, biman signed agreements sita , mercator provide infrastructure support , revenue accounting services airline.

in 2014, biman launched advance seat reservation system on website. airline offers online meal selection option, passenger can choose diabetic meals, vegetarian meals, asian vegetarian meal, child meal , muslim meal, served on board.

flight classes

interior of business class cabin of biman bangladesh airlines boeing 777-300er en route dhaka jeddah.

a two-class service (j , y) operated on of biman s airliners. business class cabin on boeing 777 arranged in 2–3–2 configuration, while economy class cabin set in 3–3–3 configuration. narrow-body boeing 737-800s business class set in 2–2 configuration while economy class in 3–3 arrangement.

in-flight amenities

biman relaunched inflight magazine re-branded bihanga in september 2013. bi-monthly magazine, known diganta, , prior jatri, published subcontinental media group. magazine available in both bengali , english, covering topics bangladesh , biman s destinations. english , bengali language newspapers available on board in aircraft.

the newer boeing 777s equipped modern in-flight entertainment. every seat fitted personal touch screen displays provided thales. loaded movies, songs , games. has high resolution moving maps , live flight information. in 2 languages – english , bengali.

biman launched in-flight duty free sales in march 2014, branded biman boutique. duty-free products include: perfumes, cosmetics, jewelleries, watches, children s gifts, chocolate , tobacco.

in 2014, biman launched amenity kit children on-board include coloring books, stationery, dolls , jigsaw puzzle.

biman 1 of few airlines doesn t serve alcohol beverages on flights.

frequent-flyer program

biman loyalty club, frequent flyer program of airline.

biman launched frequent-flyer program, named biman loyalty club, in november 2013. offers rewards such tiered benefits, mileage bonuses, baggage, lounge access , priority check-in @ airports.

as of july 2014, frequent-flyer program had 8,000 members.

ticketing

an agreement signed amadeus in 2007 upgrade biman s ticketing system e-ticketing solution comply iata rules, set out deadline of 31 december 2007 member airlines switch on ticketing systems. e-ticketing has enabled major airlines provide online check-in facilities, reducing need queue @ check-in counters. however, biman has not made attempts improve customer service through adoption of e-ticketing, although has been able reduce own costs. in 2005, biman had briefly stopped using amadeus ticketing system when government suspended operation of local amadeus subsidiary following court order, after allegations of money laundering. suspension, however, lasted month, , lifted after writ appealed in high court.

in 2013, biman signed agreement german e-ticketing company hahn air, enabling biman s tickets purchased anywhere around world.

biman cargo

biman operates cargo service using cargo holds of passenger aircraft ship freight international destinations. has established cargo village @ shahjalal international airport cargo packaged , labelled before being loaded onto aircraft.

while air cargo industry in bangladesh grew 16.5% in fiscal year 2003–04, biman s cargo operations remained stagnant when private operators such bismillah airlines, best aviation , air bangladesh produced 108% growth previous year. private operators increased share of cargo market 10.6% , responsible handling 24% of total 99,000 tonnes of cargo @ expense of both biman , foreign airlines saw reduction in shares 4.6% , 6.0% respectively. foreign airlines handled 47% of total cargo biman taking on remaining 29%.

as passenger service , management, corruption has been rife @ biman cargo. investigation in 2004 uncovered irregularities in number of biman s middle east operations deprived government of millions of dollars in revenue. biman officials in dubai found have been extending special privileges main freight handler in exchange bribes. smuggling of foreign currency , gold bars reported have taken place @ biman cargo village biman , caab employees. number of arrests made perpetrators evaded punishment through lack of evidence , pressure caab union.