Biman Bangladesh On-Track for Manchester Route Resumption and Milan Expansion

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is expected to resume services to Manchester and inaugurate flights to Milan Malpensa following the arrival of the first of its Boeing 777-300ERs later this year. The carrier has four of the type on order and the first two examples are currently undergoing initial testing at the manufacturer’s facility at Seattle, USA. These are due to be configured in a two class, 419-seat arrangement (35 Business Class and 384 and Economy seats) and are scheduled for delivery in October and December this year.

According to the latest amendments to its GDS inventory, Biman will introduce the type into service from the end of October, initially serving the Italian and UK markets. Although subject to change, the first scheduled revenue passenger flight with the 777-300ER is due to operate on October 31 between Dhaka and Rome Fiumicino on a twice weekly basis. This route is currently served with a Douglas DC-10-30 via Dubai, but the Middle Eastern stopover will be removed following the introduction of the 777-300ER and instead the aircraft will fly on to Milan Malpensa before returning directly to Bangladesh. This extension will initially operate on a weekly basis, but will be introduced on the second weekly rotation from November 28.

The aircraft will also be used on flights to the UK, including the resumption of a link to Manchester. Biman had previous served the northwest UK city as an intermediate stop for its Dhaka – New York flights in April 2006, but these were suspended later the same month. The carrier will use the 777-300ER on two of its five weekly services from Dhaka to London Heathrow from November 2, again eliminating a stopover in Dubai. The aircraft will continue on to Manchester before returning to Dhaka and Sylhet.