History:
Biman Bangladesh Airlines was established on 4 January 1972 as Bangladesh's national airline under the Bangladesh Biman Ordinance (Presidential Order No. 126). [10][11] The initiative to launch the flag carrier was taken by 2,500 former employees, including ten Boeing 707 commanders and seven other pilots of Pakistan International Airlines , who submitted a proposal to the government on 31 December 1971 following the independence of Bangladesh. [12] :6 The airline was initially called Air Bangladesh but was soon changed to its current name. [13]
Fokker F-27 Friendship of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at the then Dum Dum Airport in 1974.
On 4 February 1972, Biman started its domestic services, initially linking Dhaka with Chittagong, Jessore and Sylhet, using a single Douglas DC-3 acquired from India. [14] Following the crash of this DC-3 on 10 February 1972, near Dhaka, during a test flight, [15] two Fokker F27s belonging to Indian Airlines and supplied by the Indian government entered the fleet as a replacement. [14] Shortly afterwards, additional capacity was provided with the incorporation of a Douglas DC-6 , loaned by the
World Council of Churches , [14] which was in turn replaced with another Douglas DC-6, a DC-6B model leased from Troll-Air , to operate the Dhaka- Calcutta route. [16] On 4 March 1972, Biman started its international operations with a weekly flight to London using a Boeing 707 chartered from British Caledonian . [17] The short haul fleet was supplemented by a Fokker F27 from India on 3 March 1972; the aircraft was employed on a daily scheduled flight between Calcutta and Dhaka on 28 April 1972. [12] :7 Three additional Fokker F27s were acquired during March and September of that year. [12] :6 In the first year of operation, Biman operated 1,079 flights carrying just over 380,000 passengers. [12] :8
A Biman Bangladesh Airlines Boeing 707-320C on short final to London Heathrow Airport in 1981.
Four Fokker F27s joined the fleet in 1973, enabling Biman to double the frequency of the Kolkata flight to a twice daily service. [12] :7 A Boeing 707 was added to the fleet in September and the flight to London became twice-weekly, while a Chittagong–Kolkata flight also began operating. [12] :7 In 1974, operations were extended to Kathmandu (February),
Bangkok (November) and Dubai (December). [12] :7 In 1976, Biman sold two of its Fokker F27s and bought another Boeing 707 to extend international services to Abu Dhabi , Karachi and Mumbai . [12] :7 Singapore was added to Biman's list of international destinations, when a third Boeing 707 was purchased in February 1977, followed by Jeddah ,
Doha and Amsterdam the following year, which also saw the purchase of its fourth Boeing 707. [12] :7 In 1977, Biman was converted into a public sector corporation to be governed by a board of directors appointed by the government. [12] :7 The airline broke even for the first time in 1977–78, and made a profit the following year. [12] :8 International destinations expanded to include Kuala Lumpur , Athens, Muscat and Tripoli in 1979, followed by Yangon , Tokyo and
Dhahran in 1980. [12] :7 Biman took delivery of its first 85-seater Fokker F28-4000 in 1981. [18] In 1983, three Douglas DC-10s joined the fleet and the airline started to phase out the Boeing 707s. [12] :7 [19] The flight network expanded further to include Baghdad (1983), Paris (1984) and Bahrain (1986). [12] :7 On 5 August 1984, Biman faced its worst accident ever when a Fokker F27 flying in from Chittagong crashed near Dhaka, killing all 49 on board. [20] The long haul fleet was then supplemented by the purchase of two new Airbus A310s in 1996, followed by the addition of two more in 2000, from Singapore Airlines and Air Jamaica , and another in 2003. [12] :7
