Biman Bangladesh Business Class disappoints, but mostly delights.
My first flight in Biman Bangladesh Business Class, on the carrier’s flagship 777-300ER London route, was very good overall. The ground experience…not so much.
I’ll have a full review later in the week, but want to provide my first impressions.
First, the ground services are well-intentioned, but simply uncompetitive. Biman provides a free hotel for transit passengers…but it is a one-star property. That is not the way to compete on a global market. Plus, the process of obtaining a visa is extremely onerous and transit passengers are under the control of Biman, meaning you are not free to roam around.
> Read More: The Police Chase After Me in Dhaka
The check-in experience was horrific (took almost an hour) and the lounge is very small.
But the onboard experience was surprisingly pleasant, nothing at all like Pakistan Airlines. Amenity kits and menus are provided. The noise-cancelling headphones are even of decent quality. The menu is a-la-carte. Yes, you can order what you want, when you want. The qualify of the food was was also decent.
The seat is not lie-flat and therefore not competitive on an overnight flight, but very comfortable for the 11hr daytime service from Dhaka to London. Bedding is also not great, but the blanket was not quite as scratchy as it looks.
The IFE selection is limited (about 20 English movies) and there is no wireless internet service, but the system is new and on-demand.
CONCLUSION
Considering the ticket from Dhaka to London was less than $1,000, I felt I received a very good value. Biman does not have a leading business class product, but I would not hesitate to fly it again: it was a surprisingly good experience overall. Stay tuned for a full report.
So, any updates on Ethiopian saga? Just curious….
You mean from my post on Saturday? Still trying to determine how to respond to them.
Looking forward to the full review already.
So where is the full review?
Coming soon!
So, would you recommend this product to your customers? It doesn’t look very aspirational. Aside from flying Biman to check it off one’s airline list, I don’t the point of flying them.
What for the review. It is certainly not aspirational, but for the price, I would recommend it. If you are on a shoestring budget and want business class, this certainly beats flying economy class on ANY airline.
As someone based in London who needs to make frequent trips to Asia, I’m really happy that you decided to fly Biman so others can see what it’s like — have been wanting to try it for some time due to the consistently reasonable business class prices, but never had the courage to go through with bookings. Can’t wait for the review! 🙂
Hi Matt,
Nice short trip report.
Btw, Biman Air will receive their 1st of 4 Boeing 787-8 new aircraft in the 2nd half of 2018. Hope you will board and review their NEW Long Haul fleet.
Best regards,.