Biman Bangladesh Airlines

I recently flew with Biman accompanied by my 20-month old son from London to Dhaka to Sylhet. There was delays when boarding delays at Dhaka even though my flight was a direct one from London to Sylhet. During the night I was ignored by crew members despite my repeated requests for a blanket for my child. I eventually had to cover him with part of my sari to keep him warm. The toilets were filthy mother- &-baby changing facilities could not be found anywhere on the plane despite their notice being hung on a so-called baby-changing room. The crew were unhelpful and rude. At check-in in London I was told by a Biman representative to pay a 'reward' for the baggage handler to ignore my so-called overloaded baggage - which was NOT above the allowed weight! The food and service provided on board was shoddy to say the least. The plane was falling to bits seats and food trays did not stay where they were meant to a child seat belt had to be requested repeatedly by myself as crew members did not bother to check whether passengers had belted up. On the return journey I did not even bother asking for one - the hassle was too much. The most horrendous thing about Biman is that there is a serious lack of responsibility for passenger safety by crew members. This is quite frightening when travelling with young children. The return journey was very disorganised as we were required to reconfirm already confirmed tickets and once were contacted by their office to say the flight was delayed and to collect a new boarding pass which we had to pay for with our funds.

Business class BKK to LHR 39000bht or £550.Promotion offer! BKK Business class lounge fair to good. All types of alcoholic drinks and good snacks. A310 Bkk to DAC comfortable and good food considering old aircraft and limited staff. Beer and red wine as requested. Business class lounge at Dhaka poor. Dirty chairs but better than Economy Class area. Only coffee free and alcohol in nearby bar very expensive. DAC to stop over in Dubai old DC10food poor and business class invaded by air crew going on holiday. Dubai OK for Duty Free. Dubai to LHR Food very good and drinks as above. All in all good value for the money. Choose your flight dates carefully to get best connection times. I understand 11 NEW A330 aircraft have been ordered.

Riyadh to Dhaka and back - my second time. After the many delays and poor service at the counter (one advantage being that if your vacation is very short you have it extended by the delays and you can blame it on the plane to dodge your superior's wrath!) I was in a queue for over 3 hours just to get through immigration! I finally boarded the plane which was parked way out on the tarmac and got there by the bus shuttle service. Was winter so I was spared the heat (this flight didn't have very good air-conditioning I think it was one of the older planes) but it can get quite stuffy. The cabin crew quite friendly and chatty. The seats had very little legroom even for my 5’6 frame. I had to push the neighboring passenger off my shoulder - thrice well we really can't blame him the seats didn't recline and were cramped. Food was ok considering I’ve tasted worse. Toilet seats were bad and lets not forget the train of ants on the toilet wall; I saw tiny roaches crawling on a another flight! I received my luggage 2 days after I reached Dhaka. I had some clothes and personal amenities in my carry-all so I survived - but most of the other people on my flight were not so lucky... If your traveling in winter and it's one of the newer planes at night I suggest you keep your outerwear as it can get quite chilly (provided there is air conditioning) and blankets are in short supply. On one of my flights most people had turned in their jackets which were kept in a compartment behind the projector screen there weren't enough blankets to go around and so many people shivered mercifully children were given priority as for myself I had my jacket on - a cabin crew member suggested holding on to it - thanks to her. Well it's a very small fleet and so I guess not too much in the way of funds. As to whether I'll ever fly it again I don't know but in the mean time I'll put it on my list of airlines I'd fly only out of dire necessity.

I guess I can only echo the complaints below and be thankful that I made it back to London in one piece. Journey to Bangkok uncomfortable and delayed for only 10 hours - (I understand now that this really is a walk in the park when flying with Biman). Return journey was not so smooth - after spending two days trying to reconfirm my already paid for tickets and finally giving up I was allowed to fly from Bangkok to Dakar. Bad mistake - why didn't they leave me in Bangkok where you can organise things normally - alas my path had been chosen - I was to land in Dakar and get told that I am not allowed to leave - great - its not like I have a job to go to and I could think of nothing better to do than spend the rest of my days rotting away in possibly the worst airport in the known world. 9 hours of hard negotiation a call to the British Embassy and some serious negotiation with the London office meant that I was able to board the flight 9 hours later with only 20mins to spare. If this had not happened I would have been trapped in Dakar for between 3-5 days. I am not a religious man but I must admit I was praying with everyone else at takeoff when I saw the decor and found a piece of the plane (not sure which) under the seat in front of me - I carefully replaced this and tried to forget that I ever saw it - an unscheduled stop in Dubai (clearly to drop off all the passengers that they had over booked onto all the already paid for tickets) meant the flight from Dakar to London took 17 hours - match this with a non-reclining seat - air stewards smoking on a non-smoking flight and distinct uncertainty if we were going to make it made for an experience I will never forget. Long live Biman since my return you have made me appreciate every minute of every day that I am still here.

New Delhi to Dhaka: without doubt the worst airline I've ever flown. On a scale of 0-10 with 0 the worst and 10 the best Biman rates -10. My check-in experience was horrendous. There was no order or organization and the process took over an hour - a good thing the flight was running a few hours late. I had to fight to keep people from cutting in line in front of me. The staff didn’t seem to know what they were doing and there didn’t seem to be enough staff. The excess baggage fee was highway robbery - I checked two bags and paid just over $125. And they don’t take credit cards. I was thankful that I had kept my Indian rupees so that I was able to pay the huge excess baggage fee. I can understand a shop in remote village not taking VISA but not an international airline. Their handling of cash would give an accountant a coronary. Make sure you keep good records of what you pay and who you give your cash to. I would have sworn that the antique looking Airbus 310 I flew Delhi to Dhaka was built back in the 19th century - never cleaned or maintained since. The unusual mechanical noises during taxi take off flight and landing were unnerving. The seats are small and tightly squished together - pity anyone taller than me (I'm 5'10") I have no idea where they will put their legs. I was struggling to find someplace to put mine - heaven forbid if the passenger in front of you decides to recline back into your lap and face. I doubt I could have read a book on the flight. There wasn't room for one! Plus the pages would have burst into flames due to the extremely hot temperature inside the cabin (I had a thermometer with me) it was over 91 Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) and there was no air circulation which made it seem even hotter. If you don't have any natural padding don't expect to find any in the seats. And pray you don't have to use the restrooms during the flight. Many have over the years and most seem to have missed their target. After landing I really expected to look back (as if I could really see though the filthy dirty windows) and see wing parts debris one of the engines and all our luggage spread out behind the aircraft as we taxied roughly off the runway. After arriving in Dhaka only two and a half hours late I hoped my return flight would be better. But after reading the negative comments on this web forum I didn’t have much hope for a better flight back to Delhi. I just hoped I would survive! And a recent article in the local paper about Biman flights experiencing 50 hour delays in New York and multi day delays in Europe didn’t encourage me any. If anyone ever suggests that you fly on Biman walk instead. If you arrive at your destination you will be required to reconfirm your return flight at least 72 hours before your flight or your confirmed ticket will be canceled. That may be good or bad depending upon your perspective. Reconfirmation is another huge hassle with Biman. It took me six tries; once by phone as stated on their web site and twice at their office in Chittagong and I tried again without success at a travel agency. The lines at the Biman office were long and not moving maybe they had staff working the counters and maybe not it was hard to tell looking through the multitudes of people waiting in the dark room. I ran out of time during both attempts at the Biman Chittagong office and had to leave. When I got to the Chittagong airport I went to the Biman ticket counter and they couldn't reconfirm my ticket there. Finally a local friend spent several hours getting my return ticket reconfirmed for me in Dhakha. I don't see the logic of having to reconfirm already bought and paid for confirmed tickets. My return flight went better than my first one did. My experience at the check out counter went well. I thought it was interesting that my excess baggage fee was less than half what I paid on my first flight considering that I had a few more kilograms on this flight. The flight left on time and arrived on time in Delhi. I had some friends who flew from Mumbai to Dhaka the other day and their flight was fourteen hours late. The aircraft was an old DC-10 and this flight was not stuffed full. In fact I had an open seat next to me which gave my legs someplace to spread out to. The food was not as tasty as the first flight but so far I’ve not gotten sick. The cabin temperature was comfortable only during take off and landing. During flight the air temp was around 85 Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) without any air circulation still way too hot for my taste. I didn’t brave the restroom on this flight. I don’t plan to fly with Biman again. The hot cabin temp very tight seating space excessive excess baggage fees and the reconfirmation hassles are enough to keep me off their planes in the future. Seriously fly on another airline when you visit Bangladesh. The few dollars saved with Biman Bangladesh Airlines are not worth it.

I never thought an airline could be this pathetic. Missed my Emirates connection from Dubai to Dhaka and put onto the Biman flight. Unreal! Lavatory doors broken - in the open position total seat fixed in place by many coats of paint last owner was spanish as all the signs etc were in that language (as though the Bangladesh passengers understood it) excrement on the floor no air movement inside the cabin told to pull shades down to keep heat out. No food no drink no nothing for the entire flight. It was a sweat box by the time it landed. Surely ICAO should ground this outfit!!! Avoid this airline your life may depend on it!

We tried to get to Bangkok with Biman Bangladesh starting from Paris Orly. We should have left from Paris on Sunday but the flight to Dhaka was cancelled. No announcement no information nothing. We managed to find a Biman representative who told us the flight would leave Monday morning. We could stay at a hotel close to the airport terminal paid by Biman. We (and some more people that slept on the airport floor because they did not find the well hidden Biman representative) left on Monday but not straight to Dhaka. First to Rome to pick up some other passengers that got stuck there. Finally we took off to Dhaka and landed there in the middle of the night. Tickets and passports were taken and we could stay in a dirty hotel until the morning because the flight to Bangkok was leaving on Monday morning. The bus to the airport never picked us up. No flights to Bangkok on Monday ! You will fly tomorrow morning we were told with a great smile. Finally we arrived in Bangkok Tuesday instead of Sunday. Return flight to Brussels via Dubai was okay only three hours delay - first time and last time ever with Biman Bangladesh.

Before takeoff the normal checks on passengers' safety belt was not carried out. There was a door latch that was unserviceable in the pantry. Before takeoff the cabin crew placed boxes in front of this door in the attempt to prevent it from flipping open. The exterior of the airplane was very dirty. The interior décor of the cabin is poor. The seat covers which have floral designs are old and tattered. A making tape was found pasted on one of the in-flight screen monitor. This monitor was suspected to have cracked at its edge. There was also a foul smell of lavatory in the cabin throughout the flight. Despite sound system being built in the seats earphones were never distributed to the passengers. No movie were screened during the flight. Other that the in- flight magazine ‘Digonto’ no other reading materials were available in the cabin. Orange juice was served before the flight. After airborne dinner which consists of only one meat puff and two springs rolls were served immediately. This meal was accompanied by hot beverage and plain water. The female cabin crew wears traditional ‘sari’ that gives the passenger an exotic South Asian feel. Only basic and essential service like food distribution was rendered to the passengers and nothing more. The cabin crew never smiled throughout. The standard of Biman cannot be comparable on the world stage -services are tolerable for very short haul flights but not suited for passengers intending to travel international beyond 5 hours of flight.

DAC-CGP Business Class. Flight delayed by two hours. The smell of aircraft fuel lingered onboard throughout the flight. The business class with its infamous floral seat covers in tatters. The seat configuration 2-3-2 on an airbus A310. Seat pitch poor (tighter than any other J class I have flown - pitch similar to WT+ on BA). Inflight service is minimal; pax offered water sweets pan masala and Biman's trademark 'Mango Bar' (which is quite good). Overall an ok flight - nothing to write home about. Biman should consider revamping their aircrafts - they are horrible. I don't believe Biman will be purchasing a new fleet of B777s and A330/340's anytime soon so better not keep hopes high. A poor airline Biman should get its act together as quickly as possible.

London-Dhaka-Sylhet. We were a group of 17 and booked 4 months in advance. After check-in we were hurried to board the plane and was one of the last to board. Upon entering the plane I was disappointed with the interior flowery seat covers and it looked like something from the seventies. This was the Airbus A300 the National Express coaches in England look a lot smarter! There was a lot of confusion with seating and my family was split up they wanted my 4yr old daughter and my 3yr old son to sit some distance away from us the crew constantly saying let us take off then you can swap seats with anyone. In the end a compromise was found with another family. The flight was ok and surprisingly on time. Entertainment was nothing at all food not bad all I can say is they should improve the look of the planes interiors and modernise things or they are going to lose a lot of business to other carriers. The only reason a lot of people use Biman is because of convenience of landing in Sylhet airport (Biman does not allow any other international flight to land in Sylhet yet 90% of Biman passengers are Sylhetis)