Biman should adopt the ways of modern air travel

For his trip to Bangladesh this July-August, the writer traveled by Emirates, non-stop between New York and Dubai and Dubai and Dhaka. Eighteen months earlier, the writer went to Bangladesh on Singapore Airlines. In previous years, the writer used to make sure to travel by Bangladesh Biman exclusively. Two things have dissuaded the writer from traveling by Biman anymore. First, the hassle of ground services, especially reconfirmation. A visitor to Bangladesh has better things to do than to visit chaotic Bangladesh Biman offices for reconfirmation, which often requires a visitor to surrender his passport for a few days. Passengers traveling on Emirates and Singapore Airlines are not required to reconfirm their tickets. Two days before the writer was to leave Dhaka early last year, he received a call from Singapore Airlines inquiring whether his travel plans were intact! Secondly, Bangladesh Biman maintains a very old fleet: some planes are over 30 years old. Sure, the planes are well maintained. But there must be a reason why the average age of planes belonging to prestigious airlines such as Singapore and Emirates is less than seven years!

During the writer's recent visit to Bangladesh there was this bizarre episode concerning a newly acquired, ill-gotten, Bangladesh Biman plane that was stranded in, and could not take off from, Chittagong airport. Our planned trip to Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar had to be cancelled partially because some family members refused to board a Biman internal flight. We could not convince them that the planes for all internal Biman flights were airworthy!

This stands in sharp contrast to what one experiences traveling by Emirates and Singapore Airlines. I wanted to experience Singapore Airlines because it is rated the best in the world. The reputation is well earned. The service is excellent and the gourmet food exquisite! The in-flight entertainment, especially on the Singapore-New York (Newark) route, was better than anything I had experienced before.

Emirates' in-flight entertainment tops even Singapore's! Part of the reason why I prefer a window seat on a plane is to watch the take-off and landing. These are the two most exciting moments of air travel when transitions -- land to air, and air to land -- take place. These are also the two most dangerous moments, when most accidents take place. Emirates' new Airbus planes are equipped with forward and downward cameras. Every passenger can now monitor take-off and landing on his personal screen. Landings at night are thrilling to watch! After touching down at Dhaka, the first thing one notices is the overgrown grass in and around Dhaka airport, which makes for a bad first impression. Is there any ordinance forbidding grass cutting around Dhaka airport?

Our flight plan in and out of Dubai to and from New York was revealing -- hugging the Iranian border, avoiding war-torn Iraq, into Turkey, Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Eastern and Western Europe, Atlantic Ocean into Labrador, Canada and then the US. For day flights, passengers are required to keep the windows closed so that those watching the entertainment on their screens are not disturbed with daylight. And what entertainment they have! From the latest news through hit sitcoms to the latest Hollywood movies, everything is available. Apart from western entertainment, an equal dose of eastern entertainment is also served. During our 14-hour Dubai-New York flight, I saw my elder son, sitting next to me, watch almost every episode of American sitcoms "Friends" and "Home Improvement!"

For me there was a treasure trove of Hindi songs and movie entertainment. There were about thirty hit songs each by Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, and Kishore Kumar. Some of the Lata songs such as Dil Se Milake Dil Pyar (from the Dev Anand film Taxi Driver) and Lagja Galese I had not heard in ages. I listened to each and every song with rapt attention and an avalanche of nostalgia. Every time Lataji sings an old song, she touches my heart! With so much time at hand, I even managed to watch three recent Hindi movies: Baghban, Tehzeeb, and Devdas. Watching Baghban, which addresses a very pertinent generational question, I was reminded of how great an actor Amitabh Bachchan is and how beautiful Hema Malini still is! (I would advise Amitabh against singing in films, though!) Tehzeeb, too, was a reminder of the extraordinary acting talents of Shabana Azmi. But I shall remember Tehzeeb for two very enchanting ghazals scored by A. R. Rahman, Aap Ko Mujhse and Sabak Aisa.

Some day soon, I hope to be writing a column about my exciting experience aboard a non-stop Bangladesh Biman flight from New York to Dhaka!