Bangladesh is one of the least visited countries in Asia. Dhaka (previously spelled as Dacca) is served by some major airlines including Emirates, Qatar and Turkish but I thought it would be more interesting to try Biman Bangladesh Airlines. A very well priced one-way fare in business class was available from Rome on one of Biman’s Dreamliners, costing about half the price offered by the bigger airlines.
Biman uses Terminal 3 at Rome FCO.
There were many morning flights but only a handful of them to Asia.
Although there was a check-in desk marked business class, all desks were checking in economy class passengers, many of them with a lot of luggage. I asked an airport employee about business class check-in; he was first surprised but then he took my passport, told me to wait and checked me in at the desk – I didn’t have to go there.
There was a very short waiting time at security and no waiting time at all at passport control.
Biman uses Prima Vista Lounge. It's difficult to find. You have to follow the exit sign and go through what looks like a basement corridor.
The lounge is splendid. It's spacious, looks brand new, and the design is beautiful.
There are in-lounge bathrooms.
Hot breakfast was available.
Three types of fruit juice were offered.
I had a barista made excellent cappuccino.
I took the monorail and went to the gate about 45 minutes before scheduled departure time.
All other passengers seemed to be Bangladeshi.
Boarding started on time. I was the first to board and was warmly greeted by one of the cabin crew.
This flight was operated by a B787-800, registration S2-AJU, built only five years ago.
Business class has 24 Stelia Equinox 2D seats in four rows in a 2+2+2 configuration.
I had seat 2J, and as I didn’t have a neighbour, also seat 2I.
The screen in front of the seat.
Standard seat controls.
The cabin was not in very good condition: there was a rather ugly sticky tape on the floor at my seat.
Headphones. The plug for them was not working. Fortunately, it was at the empty seat next to mine.
The content of the amenity kit.
Welcome snack and drink (Biman does not offer alcohol at all – not a problem for me).
Push-back was at 08.12 for a scheduled departure time of 07.45. Some planespotting during taxi:
We took off at 08.40 from runway 25.
The view over Focene, the town between the airport and the sea.
Breakfast order was taken during taxi. There was no printed menu, but a cabin crew member had written down the four options on a piece of paper, showed it to me and asked me what I wanted.
Mood lighting was turned on after take-off.
Breakfast was served at 09.15. I chose grilled chicken. Not my typical breakfast but it was both good and plentiful.
I had a cup of tea after breakfast.
I slept from about Sofia to Trabzon. The seat converted into a flat bed was comfortable to sleep.
I didn't have a neighbour so I used the seat next to mine to watch movies.
There are 43 movies in English, 5 in Hindi, 5 in Bangla and 5 in Japanese. Not as much as on some other airlines but enough to keep you entertained for an eight hour flight.
There was only one Bangla Documentary, a short tourism promotion video.
The choice of audio was quite limited.
The lunch order was taken above Afghanistan, 2 hours and 40 minutes before landing. There was only one piece of printed menu on which the cabin wrote down the orders; I managed to keep it for two minutes and to take a photo of it. There was impressive choice of five different main courses.
The lunch as it was served.
A Biman branded napkin.
I chose vegetable curry with dal as my main course. It was very tasty.
I had some fruit to finish my meal.
I have to emphasize how nice the cabin crew was. They were honestly kind, friendly and helpful. It was one of the highlights of this flight.
The view 1 hour and 55 minutes before landing.
Getting closer to Dhaka.
We landed at 20.35 and were at the gate at 20.42 for a scheduled arrival time of 20.30.
Dhaka Airport was completed in 1981 and still feels like the 80s. Deplaning was quick. To get my visa on arrival I had to pay USD 51 in cash. I should have had my accommodation booking, my onward flight booking and my invitation letter printed but I only had them on my phone. I was sent to the IT Center which I couldn’t find; I went into the departure area, and I went into a lounge where they printed out my documents at no charge. I went back to the visa desk and got my visa in five minutes.
I spent the next day visiting Dhaka.
Bangladesh is often associated with issues such as poor transportation infrastructure, pollution and poverty. Yes, these are real problems, although there might be hope; a revolution only a few months ago chased away the corrupt prime minister who had been in power for 15 years. The walls around the University were full of rather surprising revolutionary street art, some of them in Bangla, some others in English.
Some more street art from around the University:
The Department of Fisheries at the University of Dhaka.
The students’ dormitory with a pond and palm trees.
The Lalbagh Fort.
There was a Hindu festival. About 8% of Bangladesh’s population is Hindu.
Rickshaws remain the main vehicle for public transportation.
There are buses as well, including some double-deckers.
Dhaka is possibly the city with buses in the worst condition in the whole world.
Trains are important for long-distance transportation. There are often crowded but they weren’t this time.
Overnight river boats ply Bangladesh’s hundreds of rivers.
The Pink Palace, officially the Ahsan Manzil Museum, is one of the city’s main sights.
Coconuts for sale at a market.
I went to see some sights outside of Dhaka the next day. Panam City was once wealthy but is now an abandoned street with crumbling houses.
The Folk Art Museum in a former palace of Sonargoan is on the other hand nicely renovated.
There are some nice gardens nearby.
A Bangladeshi man in a traditional dress sitting on the bamboo roof of a small wooden river boat.
Another boat passing by.
Local fishermen working.
Thank you for reading my flight report. Please feel free to comment.
Thank you David, such and interesting report on this lesser known airline!
I didn't know Biman was flying to FCO, I thought only UK destinations were served by the airline in Europe.
A way too early flight but it's not like there is a choice.
This seat is the 2D version as all persons lay down at the same height compared to the 3D version.
Interesting "touristic bonus", clearly a destination for a seasoned traveller such as you.
I feel like your rating is a bit generous though!
Take care and thanks again 😀
Hi, thank you for comment! I've corrected the seat type. The flight was very enjoyable, better than on some more famous airlines, hence the generous rating.
Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed reading this. I myself am from South Asia and alot of the issues you mentioned are present in that part of the world. Transport is poorly maintained as indicated by the malfunctioning IFE to the beat up looking buses. Even the flag carrier of my home country, PIA, has outdated cabins but the hospitality is what makes me still appreciate them alot and can make the experience much better.
Hello, thank you for your comment. I agree, true hospitality can be the most more important to make a flight experience exceptional.
In my opinion, Biman is leaps and bounds ahead of PIA, as it has fairly new 787s and decent 777s compared to PIA’s extremely worn and beat-up 777s nearly two decades old. Biman, at least, has an okayish hard product (though 2-2-2 is by no means acceptable for Business) and fairly new-looking IFE. PIA has only its hospitality and cuisine going for it, and pretty much everything else is falling apart, not to mention PK as a country is completely avoided by many global airlines, while Bangladesh is not. Can’t wait to see a review of US-Bangla’s A330-300 in the near future!
Thanks for this great report as I didn't know that Biman was actually serving any Italian destination. Always thought they only connected to the UK. Seems like the cabin crew was great and did their utmost best to please their J passengers with limited capabilities given by the airline with a cabin that does require some major maintenance, so I'd say props to the flight attendant to make this adventure somewhat enjoyable!
Thank you for your comment! Some airlines may offer a modern cabin, gourmet food and expensive champagne but that's an exceptional crew that can make a flight really memorable.
Awesome review on an exotic carrier once again! Despite some small maintenance issues in the cabin, it's a decent product J product for a relatively small airline and the food looks quite good. Good to hear the cabin crew were top notch. Very cool to see a review on this rather unknown airline in the West.
Thanks for sharing!