Biman Bangladesh Airlines have received 2 new Boeing 787 Dreamliners since August 2018. These new 787's are in a 2 class configuration with 24 business class and 247 economy class seats.
The Biman B787's are currently deployed on Middle East routes such as Kuwait, Doha and Muscat. Occasionally they fly to Bangkok or Singapore as part of the on-going crew training.
Biman operates many Middle East flights from Dhaka via Chittagong, so there are some great and cheap opportunities to fly The Biman 787 on domestic flights such as Dhaka to Chittagong or Sylhet to Dhaka.
My flight, BG125, is operating from Dhaka to Doha via Chittagong; I joined the flight as a domestic passenger and I was given early boarding so I could take plenty of photos in the fresh cabin, to present it in its best light.
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Economy Class
Biman Bangladesh 787 has 247 economy class seats across 2 cabins in a standard 3-3-3 seat configuration. I was delighted with the rainbow mood-light on the ceiling and those colourful pillows.
Each seat has a touch screen enabled IFE, with plenty of choices of films, music, games and Live-TV. Wi-Fi is also available on The Biman Boeing 787.
Business Class
The Biman Bangladesh 787 has 24 business class seats in a 2-2-2 seating configuration. The business class seat can go fully flat, a first for Biman!
Not an Ordinary Flight
Before coming on this flight, I ran a promotional campaign to giveaway 4 tickets for 4 lucky winners to fly on The Biman 787 together with me. They are all really into aviation but have never had a chance to fly before; so this is their first flight of their life! I couldn't be happier to see them flying on the latest Biman 787 Dreamliner, more so than on any other plane!
Biman staff kindly gave them a special tour of the plane include in the cockpit. Biman also upgraded them for free to Business Class.
The pilots on Biman were all very kind to us. I was doing a filming project with Biman so I observed how they communicated and flew the 787. I must say Biman has some of the best airmanship in the industry. Watch the video to see the cockpit action.
You can see the 787 cockpit action include takeoff and landing in my video
It was a short flight that lasted only 29 minutes. We cruised at 15,000 feet with a speed averaging around 310 knots. For the 4 lucky winners, being their very first flight, it was an unforgettable day in their life.
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Maslin Executive Lounge
I had another opportunity to travel on Biman the next day, this time a much longer flight on The Biman 787 from Dhaka to Muscat. As a business class passenger, I was invited to the Maslin Executive Lounge at Dhaka. The lounge has had a facelift recently. It was very pleasant and there was only one other person in the lounge during my stay. The lounge has a lot of finger food and several hot items; please do be aware that there is no alcohol offered in the lounge.
Flight BG21
Dhaka to Muscat
Flight time: 4 hours 40 minutes
Reg: S2-AJS "Akashbeena"
This flight was operating as an all economy flight, as it was oversold in economy and I was the only Business Class passenger. There were a number of lucky customers who were able to experience Biman's latest business class seat for the price of an economy ticket.
Amenity kits were offered on this 4 hours flight. (It was missing on my earlier 10 hour flight from London to Dhaka)
The 787-8 can fly long haul for up to 16 hours. Behind the cockpit door, there is a crew rest area with 2 crew bunks and 1 armchair for the pilots.
To my utter surprise, the crew prepared this celebratory cake. They wanted to surprise me and make this flight a memorable one. I was really moved and I sincerely appreciated their efforts. I shared the cake with all the crew together.
Perhaps, one of the biggest improvements on Biman 787 is the fantastic IFE. Plenty of entertainment options include films, live TV, music video, games and Wi-Fi. There were 2 screens from which you could play 2 different programs at the same time.
8 Live TV channels played flawlessly and with excellent reception (BBC, CNN, Sky News, Sports Channel, NHK, CNBC...)
Perhaps the most funny one to watch was the Bangla music videos. You have to watch one to believe me!
It was a very smooth flight with an early arrival into Muscat. Smiles all around!
Conclusion
Congratulations to Biman Bangladesh on receiving The 787 Dreamliner. It was a quantum leap to just a few years ago and their ancient DC-10 classic. I can see great improvements everywhere, especially the hard product. No one expected Biman to deliver a 5 star airline experience, as Bangladesh is a developing country with different priorities. The human touch on Biman was fantastic and perhaps their biggest asset. Watch my video to understand why I enjoyed flying with Biman so much!