Farewell to the DC-10
February 2014
When Biman Bangladesh announced they were to fly their last remaining DC-10 to Birmingham (BHX) from Dhaka to operate a series of ‘Scenic Flights’ before the type’s retirement, I knew I would regret it if I didn’t book a seat on one of the flights. This would be the last chance to fly as a passenger on a DC-10, so as soon as the flights became available to book, me and a friend booked ourselves window seats for £150 each.
The day started with the drive to Birmingham, an airport I had not yet flown from or visited. Upon arriving at the airport nice and early at around 08:45, we proceeded to check in desks 26-28 where there were already a few people being checked in despite Biman stating on their website beforehand that check in would open 2:30 hours before each departure.
After waiting for 10 minutes while the check in staff dealt with another passenger, we were quickly checked in and managed to select the seats we wanted. As the 11th and 12th passengers to check in, virtually the whole aircraft was available to choose from. I chose 15A to try and get a nice view of the engine and wing.
With just under three hours to kill before our flight, we decided to have a wander around the airport and check out the temporary Biman shop set up on the top floor of the terminal. On sale were various items of DC-10 memorabilia including these safety cards..
From this location great views could be had over some of the aircraft stands, taxiways and runway. From here we managed to watch the first of the DC-10’s scenic flights depart and arrive back.
The first flight departed about 30 minutes behind schedule and subsequently landed around 10:30.
As soon as the aircraft arrived back we headed down to security which was quick and efficient, no doubt helped by the fact the airport was pretty much empty at this time of day.
Around 15 minutes were spent in the departure lounge before Gate 65 showed up on the flight information screens and we headed down to the gate.
The DC-10 sitting on stand 86C behind one of the many Ryanair 737's parked up at Birmingham.After arriving at the gate and a further wait of 15 minutes, boarding commenced and you could sense the excitement building in the air. We boarded the buses that would take us to the aircraft. There was no mistaking this for an ordinary flight, as everyone was armed with various pieces of camera equipment to capture every moment.
We arrived at the aircraft and were informed we would have 10 minutes to take pictures before boarding. As soon as the doors of the bus opened, we all swarmed around the plane. It was fantastic to be able to spend so much time wandering around and taking in the sight that is the DC-10. Until this point I had never seen this aircraft type up close before.
After taking as many pictures and videos as I could from a variety of angles, it was time to board! Upon entering the aircraft I was welcomed by the very friendly crew and directed to my seat.
