Biman Bangladesh Airlines - Fleet

Fleet

A vintage Douglas Dakota and Douglas DC-3 were the first aircraft in Biman's fleet. 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 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 disembarked a flight and travelled by road when he learned that the aircraft he was on was a BAe ATP. In January 2003, Biman leased two Boeing 737–300s which were used on domestic and regional routes for eighteen months. 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.

Despite their age, the DC-10s are planned to stay in Biman's fleet for at least three more years, as it has been signed in January 2012 (2012-01) a three-year contract with a German company for the maintenance of their powerplants.