Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Dhaka) is currently now planning to operate the last passenger McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 revenue flight on January 30 on a regular flight between Kuwait City and Dhaka as a stand-by aircraft. This retirement is always subject to change due to operational requirements. Biman currently has two DC-10-30s which are also the last passenger DC-10s operating in the world. The airline is offering a ferry flight to Birmingham and possible scenic flights in the UK in which it will sell seats.

Previously CEO Kevin Steele issued this statement on November 10, 2013:

There has been a lot of interest lately from press, aviation enthusiasts and the general public, on what will be happening with Biman’s last DC-10s, which will be phased out in the coming months with the arrival of new aircraft. These are the last flying passenger DC-10-30 aircraft in the whole world. So I thought I would take this opportunity to brief you with the latest news, which will be updated when further firm news becomes available.

Biman currently has 2 DC-10-30s flying. As their fuel consumption is higher than other aircraft in our fleet, they are used sparingly. One of those DC-10s will come to the end of its economic life on November 10, 2013 and will be scrapped locally. The last DC-10 will continue normal flying until December 7, 2013, the start of the revised schedule for the fog period here in Dhaka. Thereafter, it will only be used as a standby aircraft, in case another aircraft in our fleet become unserviceable for any reason. We will not be scheduling it on any route though.

This last DC-10 will continue as a standby aircraft until sometime in February 2014. The exact date is not known yet, as it is being coordinated with the arrival of our brand new Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft from Boeing. We expect to know the exact date in early January 2014.

The last DC-10 is being donated to a museum in the USA, a fitting end for an aircraft that has served Biman loyally and well over many years. Accordingly, we will then offer for sale, as a last opportunity to travel on a passenger DC-10, anywhere in the world:

a.  Seats on a last flight Dhaka to Birmingham (UK). Note this will need a technical stop
somewhere.

b. 2 (or more if demand requires it) one hour ‘scenic tours’ to/from Birmingham

c. We are unsure if the US authorities will give us traffic rights on the Birmingham to USA
sector. If they do, this will also be offered for sale.

d. We are also discussing with the UK Post Office, about the carriage of ‘Last day Covers’
on the last sector Birmingham-USA, for sale at a later date.

Tickets will only be sold via our website, hopefully from early January, so do not buy tickets elsewhere, we want these tickets to go to genuine aviation enthusiasts. If there is a demand for more ‘scenic tour’ flights at Birmingham, we can consider these too.

We hope you will join with us in celebrating the farewell of a loyal, beautiful aircraft, but also to recognize that the time has now come for Biman to equip itself with the very latest in new aircraft and technology.

Copyright Photo: Michael Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 S2-ACQ (msn 47817) prepares to land in Singapore.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines: