BD: UK Winter Schedule Announced - Cuts ahoy, but don't panic... yet

British Midland International have announced their winter schedule, and there are cuts left right and centre on the UK Domestic programme.

• London LHR <> Edinburgh will be reduced from a maximum of 8 flights a day to 6 during Monday to Friday. Saturday drops from 6 to 4 flights, Sunday drops from 7 to 5 flights a day
• London LHR <> Manchester gets an even bigger cut with services cut from 8 to 4 flights a day during Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday go down from 4 flights to 3 flights a day.

Now whilst this may look like timetable cannibalisation this isn't down to the recent slot sale. BMI have been busy trying to launch new routes, but also it is winter. And that's an important thing to remember

Because it's a quiet time to send aircraft off to get serviced, and also time for the charter arm of BMI to make serious money.

However for those of you on connecting flights in the regions, you've got less choice on when to catch your flight now, and less choice of how long you'll be stuck waiting for the next flight.

So don't panic... yet.

VS/BA/BD: Branson to IAG - Stop Slicing of bits of BMI

Well it's taken long enough for the Bearded One to get involved, but Richard Branson is calling on regulators to examine the purchase of slots at London’s Heathrow by IAG from Lufthansa.. and it's British Midland International subsidiary according to Bloomberg

Virgin Say:

“Branson is concerned that BA could be attempting to salami slice BMI’s key assets, increasing their dominance whilst leaving just an uncompetitive and unattractive rump for sale,”

Apparently, it's been revelation that the slots that were sold last week were initially sold for lease - not permanent sale

It's an open secret that Virgin Atlantic has been eyeing BMI for quite some time - either to use it for slots, or to create a European/Domestic feed with the Virgin name.

But there is a bigger issue. If Virgin have been looking at this since 1999, why the hell are they waiting? Because Lufthansa won't sell BMI off without trying to recover some of the losses. In addtion, Virgin has it's own issues to attend to since the three major alliances have teamed up - leaving Virgin on it's own over the pond.

Certainly, it's getting to the point where Virgin must either put up the cash... or back off...

BD/BA: The continued canablisation of BMI - sells 6 slot pairs to British Airways

It seems according to http://www.thebasource.com/ that IAG have purchased 6 pairs of slots at London Heathrow from BMI.

According to the site, the six pairs of daily slots  will start to be used from late October with both longhaul and shorthaul expansion.

Whilst 6 pairs is not a lot, it's still a fair lump. Early indications suggest that slots from the Berlin and Edinburgh have been hit, as well as some of the slots operated for Lufthansa Italia (itself due to close at the end of October). 

Where else the hit will come from has yet to be revealed, but it's a certainty to say we'll find out sooner rather than later...

BD/LH: Morgan Stanly starts to peek inside the BMI kimono as it goes to the block..

According to FlightGlobal, Lufthansa has formally engaged Morgan Stanley to look into a potential sale of BMI

Lufthansa is struggling with BMI (and part of it is it's own fault for not sorting out Donnington Hall), and are considering all options - including the sale of the airline, finding a partner or getting BMI back to profitability by some magic means that has yet to be defined.

A timescale for the sale has not been disclosed or advised, although lets face it - Lufthansa would want to be shot of it sooner rather than later as it is bleeding money. This could mean either the sale of the units of BMI, or going after the crown jewels - the sale of the London Heathrow slots and disposing of the airline.

Of course, as Lufthansa were "forced" to buy BMI from Sir Michael Bishop, the chances of Lufthansa regaining their initial investment seems remote.

BMI last week appointed Vagn Ove Sørensen, replacing Wolfgang Prock-Schauer as the CEO of BMI, citing Sørensen's "experience with corporate restructuring is of particular importance and value to the company in this crucial period",

Diamond Club Card holders and BMI flyers in general - hang on... like the last two years since Papa Lufty took over - this could be rougher than normal.....

BD: Prock-Schauer confirms BMI is up for sale.

Well spectulation and rumors are one thing. But it seems British Midlands International's CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer has pretty much sums it up

From Flyertalk

Many of you will be aware of press reports mentioning that Lufthansa is considering a possible sale of bmi. You will also recall that during our previous meetings regarding the Lufthansa half year results, I spoke about the financial situation of our company. I emphasised that decisive actions are needed to address the financial challenges of our company.

The reasons behind these considerations and the current financial situation are due to the following factors:

The Middle East and Africa are important markets for bmi and we have been affected more than others by the political unrest in these regions
Increased fuel prices
The economic situation in the UK

These have all affected our business and therefore for reasons such as this Lufthansa and the bmi management team have to look at various options in order to best face these developments.

These options include the implementation of a more focused bmi business plan. As I have previously mentioned, we have now taken a fresh look at our business, including questioning how we do our business, in order to find better, more efficient and cost effective solutions to deliver a great service to our customers. The focused business plan details areas such as the markets we serve and sales and marketing initiatives. We have also detailed fundamental changes to internal processes, systems and the way we work. We want to reshape bmi so that it will be in a stronger position to deliver improved results.

One of the options being considered by our shareholder is a partial or total sale of bmi. This could be a prolonged process as it will include approaching different parties, due diligence exercises and regulatory requirements.

At this stage it is important to say that all the different options need to be explored and assessed and that no decision has been taken.

It is therefore our utmost responsibility to deliver improved results for bmi and because of this we will start to prepare the bmi focused business plan. We have the opportunity to strengthen bmi and demonstrate the value of our business to our shareholder.

Going forward we need to maintain the high level of service our customers have come to expect from bmi. We will continue to develop our route network, plus we will invest in key investment projects such as reconfiguring our aircraft and our IT infrastructure.

I can assure you that the management team and I are fully committed to navigating bmi through this challenging time. I will shortly be arranging staff meetings and I look forward to meeting with you. I count on your continued support.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer

Embolding mine. Whilst it's not 100%, it seems that once again BMI will be sold. When and how is another matter.

And sadly for those wonderful crew members and the staff of BMI, the future of it's business is up in air. Again.

There's an active discussion on Flyertalk

BD: Psst. Wanna buy an airline? BMI put up for sale.

Well it seems it's all change at BMI (again) as Lufthansa has formally put BMI on the sale block according to Aviation Week.

It seems that the failing domestic network and the madness of engaging in a Middle Eastern scatter-gun deployment to whatever turns into a hot potato has finally clicked at Lufthansa HQ that the plan isn't working.

BMI could be sold as a single entity, or it could be sold as a partnership. Meanwhile, Lufthansa will continue to attempt to stem the losses after loosing €120 million in the first half of 2011.

There have been reports of expressions of interests with no one mentioning who they are, but there are some easy guesses - all already on the tarmac at London Heathrow.

Firstly, there's International Airlines Group - or British Airways who would gobble up the slots for breakfast. Of course, that would set the regulators off like bonfire night. Next door, there's Virgin Group who would love the slots for expansion purposes whilst developing a European airline.

Who else will show their cards of course we will find out in time. Whilst BMI itself may not be worth a lot, the chance to grab a substantial lump of slots at London Heathrow could bring out the vultures to pick over the remains of the airline... as well as the remains of my Gold card.

BD: Speaking of the clowns in Revenue Management.... (EMA-FRA New Route)

Remember in the last post I talked about the clowns in revenue management? Well here's their version of a new route from East Midlands Airport to Frankfurt-am-Main.

BMI Regional are to operate a 3x weekday and 1x Sunday from 31st October 2011.

Timings:

East Midlands (EMA) - Frankfurt (FRA)
Monday to Friday

BD1261  DEPT EMA 06:00   ARR FRA 08:30

BD1263  DEPT EMA 11:30   ARR FRA 14:05

BD1265  DEPT EMA 16:15   ARR FRA 18:50

Frankfurt (FRA) to East Midlands (EMA)

BD1262  DEPT FRA 09:15   ARR EMA 09:55

BD1264  DEPT FRA 14:45   ARR EMA 15:25

BD1266  DEPT FRA 19:40   ARR EMA 18:50

Sunday Service:

BD1265  DEPT EMA 16:15   ARR FRA 18:50

BD1266  DEPT FRA 19:40   ARR EMA 20:20

Booked Aircraft: Embraer ERJ-145. All times local.

Now, remember I said that the clowns are at it again? Well here's the pricing.

Sale Prices £99.50 return
Cheap Economy £168.50 return
Economy Flexible £893.50 return
Business Return £1098.50 return

Whilst the Sale prices and Cheap economy are within normal Intra-EU tolerances, the Economy Flexible fare is laughable when there are other routes and airports near EMA (for example, BMI operate the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt from Birmingham which can be had for hunderds of pounds less), and the Business Return... well.

BUSINESS CLASS IN AN ERJ-145??? For crying out loud, the only difference is you'll be in the first row and may get a better meal.

Once again, the clowns strike again. If there's an example of why BMI needs a good shake up, this is it....`

BD: Papa Lufty: Fix it or Sell it?

Odd news from Lufthansa today with two conflicting views coming out.

Speaking to ATWonline, LH Group are working with BMI management to redevelop a long term business plan to push BMI back into profitablity - something that BMI has failed to do for sometime thanks to poor route planning, weak UK & Ireland loads and various North African/Middle East crises hitting their target markets

Herr Lauer says “There is no doubt that bmi traffic suffers because the Middle East market has broken down almost completely,” and whilst London Heathrow slots are: "slots are a real asset, but slots alone don’t make a business plan. There must be a long-term solution.”

However... Airliners.de have a different spin on this. Now whilst my German isn't that great and the Google Translation is worse, according to this story, Lufthansa wishes to sell BMI off... from the same source.

BMI is in a very odd position alas, thanks to it's poor route choices, it's ventures into territories before pulling out citing bad loads and revenue and the fools who run revenue management who need to be shot (and to be honest, looking at each time I've wanted to book a BMI flight, the prices have always been in the silly numbers)


The fact that BMI needs to change - but has only danced around the issues and not done a wholesale change. And it's hurting the airline. And possibly it's future.

BD: Award flight sale!

It seems BMI are conducting a fire sale on award routes. The table below should give you a hint of what they're flogging and how much to where.

Deliving in the T&C's, there are some little gems.

• Addressee only, but it seems all BMI Members can get this
• BMI Operated flights only. No Codeshares or wet leases
• Cash and Miles EXCULDED.
• BMI Gold Members will be upgraded from Economy to Business subject to availability (The BMI Gold Upgrade Joker).
• Sale period: 24 August and midnight on 2 September 2011 for travel between 1 November 2011 to 31 March 2012
• Subject to capacity.
• Must be booked by the Call centre ONLY. Yes. BMI's grip on technology seems to be falling away one step at at time here.
• Taxes, Dutues and Charges of course are exculded. But you guessed that.
• Changes and Cancellations subject to usual Diamond Club Rules.
• Changes beyond 1 November 2011 and 31 March 2012 which then results in award flight travel to be taken outside of the promotional period will be subject to full award miles deduction

If you can use it, knock yourself out!

Safety Video Saturday - British Midland International A320

Ok, I don't tend to do this - by posting taped on the plane videos - but I could resist.

It's time for British Midland to demonstrate safety onboard their Airbus A320's.



And yes, those of you remaining at Donnington Hall (including the Social Media team who seem to miss their flights), that's a hint for you to stick a copy of your safety video online.

BD: Takes another step to being an LCC - Seat assigment charges and Buyable Lounge Access

It seems with a new web site interface, everything is up for sale. Firstly we'll cover the business of seats for sale.

And that's if you're not a BMI Diamond Club Gold or Silver (and those travelling with BMI Golds/Silvers), it's time to pay up if you want a seat assignment in advanced.

Priced at £15 / €20 / $25 a SECTOR, this is just a moneygrab from BMI for those who want their preferred seat at the back of the plane. Seats are bookable by email or the call centre.

Routes affected: London Heathrow and Addis Ababa, Almaty, Amman, Amritsar, Baku, Beirut, Bishkek, Cairo, Damascus, Dammam, Freetown, Jeddah, Khartoum, Moscow, Riyadh, Tbilisi, Tehran and Yerevan.

Effective: 04/08/2011.

Exclusions: BMI Gold, Silver, Business and Full Fare Economy (Y farecode).

---

And then with the relaunch of the website comes the opportunity to buy access to the lounges - or in particular - The London Room.

This affects routes between London Heathrow and Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester or Dublin

Bookable on their site, at £20 a throw a person, it's limited to times - so at peaks the lounge isn't solid - Diamond Club Gold/Silver and Star Alliance Golds are subject to the usual rules.

It seems Father Lufthasna wants to try to make money out of the little airline that's having so many other issues at the moment, and is trying a land grab this way... and I'm honestly not sure this will work....

BD: Off to Nice and Agadir

It's never a dull minute at Castle Donnington where BMI have announced new routes to Agadir (Morocco) and Nice (France)

The Nice service will commence on 25th August on a single return flight a day on the 25th August 2011, scaling up to 2 return flights a day from 30th October 2011. This will be operated with an A320.

From 25 August – to 29 October 2011:

BD195 Dept LHR 17:30     Arrive NCE 20:40

BD196 Dept NCE 21:30     Arrive LHR 22:30

From 30 October 2011:

BD193 Dept LHR 08:50     Arrive NCE 11:45

BD194 Dept NCE 13:10     Arrive LHR 14:15 (Operates MON, TUE, WED, SAT)

BD194 Dept NCE 13:00     Arrive LHR 14:05 (Operates THUR, FRI)

BD195 Dept LHR 17:50     Arrive NCE 20:50 (Operates MON, TUE, WED, THURS, FRI, SAT)

BD196 Dept NCE 21:35     Arrive LHR 22:35

The Agadir service will be operated twice weekly, commencing 29th October. This compliments the current Marrakech and Casablanca flights. Again, this will be operated on an A320.


29 October 2011 only:

BD445 Dept LHR 10:55     Arrive AGA 13:55

BD446 Dept AGA 15:40     Arrive LHR 20:35

From 1 November 2011:

BD445 Dept LHR 09:55     Arrive 13:55 TUESDAYS

BD446 Dept AGA 14:50     Arrive 18:45 TUESDAYS

BD445 Dept LHR 10:50     Arrive 14:50 SATURDAYS

BD446 Dept AGA 15:40     Arrive 19:35 SATURDAYS

These are odd moves for BMI, least of all Nice has major competition with British Airways and Easyjet, whilst Agadir has competition with the low cost carriers.

Fares have not been disclosed, but knowing the loony bin known as Revenue Management at BMI, you can be sure they'll either be sky high or bargain basement.

Airplan p0rn - BMI Airbus A319

It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more airplane p0rn.

This week, it's British Midland (BMI) Airbus A319 pushing back at London Heathrow T1

More next week!

BD: New tag on to Amritsar

British Midland International is slowly expanding it's wings now it has it's full compliment of two Airbus A330-200's back.

Today, a new tag-on flight has been announced, with service to Amritsar - BMI's second attempt at heading to India.

Service commences October 13th, operating 3 times a week (subject to governmental approval)


The Northern Indian city will be served three times a week by BMI starting on October 13 with an Airbus A330-200.

The proposed schedule is:

Outbound - Operates Monday, Thursday and Saturday
BD991 - Depart LHR 09:55, Arrive ALA 23:20, Depart ALA 00:10, Arrive ATQ 02:45

Inbound - Tuesday, Friday and Sunday
BD992 - Depart ATQ 04:10, Arrive ALA 07:45, Depart ALA 0845, Arrive LHR 10:50

For those who think BMI is playing risk here, this could be an interesting play as there is no current direct link from London to Amritsar. 3 times a week is enough of "communications link" to make it worth while, whilst BMI are risking nothing other than having a plane on the ground at ALA for 6 hours. Might as well try and make them earn some money.

That or BMI wants to incite more regime change (after all, look what happened to the Tripoli service - they managed to operate 1 rotation before all hell broke loose there...)

BD: A330 Routes Confirmed.

Well after making a few pennies hiring an A330 to Turkish Airlines, BMI have now got the other frame of it's massive A330 fleet of 2 aircraft, and has decided how to deploy them.

The frame will be operating:
Heathrow-Almaty/Bishkek from 25/06/2011
Heathrow-Freetown from 26/06/2011.

Heathrow-Freetown will be non-stop now, as the previous aircraft that operated the route - an A321 - required a fuel stop along the way.

The other A330 will operate:
London - Riyadh
London - Jeddah
London - Dammam.

Both are configured in Business and Economy Classes - the Premium Economy of old long gone.

The Boeing 757 leased by BMI will be returned to Astreaus - it's task complete..

Well it's good to see the BMI A330 subfleet up to speed at long last (as a semi frequent user of them when they operated MAN-ORD). Hopefully the leasing costs of these birds aren't going to be too much of a millstone round BMI's neck, and that they can make the extra capacity work and pay.

Volcano Ash II: NATS update

NATS are predicting closurses or limited services for the following airports from 19:00 to 01:00BST.

• Barra
• Glasgow
• Edinburgh
• Prestwick
• Newcastle
• Carlisle
• Durham Tees Valley
• Cumbernauld
• Tiree

Meanwhile,

• BMI and BA have resumed Aberdeen services, 
• BMI has followed BA's lead and shut off all Glasgow and Edinburugh services
• Ryanair is still trying to push past the ban. It is waiting for the IAA to grant approval.. or not.

More updates later....

Volcano Ash II: And guess who doesn't want to hold the flight ban.

Firstly, lets get up to speed with who is doing what:

• Aer Lingus - 12 flights affected to and from Scottish Airspace
• BMI flights to and from Aberdeen are subject to delay, but services in and out of Glasgow and Edinburgh were running normally
• British Airways will not be operating any flights between London (LHR/LGW/LCY) and Scotland until 1400 BST
• Eastern Airways will not be operating any services in or out of Scottish airspace
• EasyJet cancelled flights to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen between 0500 and 1300 BST
• Flybe cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen and Inverness
• KLM has cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley Airport
• Loganair has cancelled 36 flights.
• Ryanair has been advised by the Irish Aviation Authority not to operate flights from Glasgow Prestwick, Edinburgh or Aberdeen until at least 1300 BST but believed that "there is no basis for these flight cancellations"

Weather patterns are all over the shop, and whilst the cloud is predicted to head southwards down the United Kingdom, spreading to Wales, northern England and Northern Ireland by midday and across much of the UK by the end of the day.

The decision to  fly or not in ash cloud conditions is down to individual airlines, although they have to apply to the Civil Aviation Authority for final approval.

Again, the best advice is to keep an eye on your airport's website, your operators website and the links in last nights post.

Safe travels to all.

GhettoIFE will be continuing coverage as and when - The Next Planned Update is 13:00BST. 

BD: Regional Services Expands

The little subset of BMI, BMI Regional has anoucced more routes from Edinburgh and Glasgow for this summer.

EDI-CPH (Edinburgh to Copenhagen)
Additional flights Friday and Sunday from 03/06/11 to 28/08/11

GLA-CPH (Glasgow to Copenhagen)
Additional Saturday flight from 03/06/11 to 28/08/11 (Now a daily service)

EDI-ZRH (Edinburgh to Zurich)
Additional Services Monday - Friday.

BMI Regional loves to niche itself, running ERJ-145's (and in turn running the same aircraft for the mainline operation).

Lets hope these routes can pay for themselves....

BD: Groupon Offer - £25 down, then either +£124 to Basel, +£144 to Vienna in Business

BMI seem to be embracing Groupon, and is once again offering flights through the group buying site.

It's £25 down, then to Basel it's an extra £124 (£149 Total) or Vienna it's an extra £144 (£169 Total)

Both of these book into BMI's Business Class.

Terms and Conditions:

• Expires 30 June 2011.
• Voucher activates on Thursday 17 March 2011.
• Bookings must be made between 17-29 March 2011 at www.flybmi.com and is valid on flights between 16 April-30 June 2011.
• The Groupon voucher is valid against business class fares priced at £303.89 (Basel) and £392.70 (Vienna) against which a supplement will be required (Basel - £124) (Vienna - £144).
• Groupon voucher valid on BMI/BD operated flights only.
• Flight times subject to availability.
• Credit card booking fees may apply.
• For enquiries call 0844 8484888 or email open@flybmi.com.
• Valid for flights and Lounge access only.

This turns this into a cheap 3200 mile run and whilst not stellar value at 5.31p a mile, it's not a bad deal consider the normal prices - or dread the thought - it's a nice break away somewhere! ;).

If you can take advantage of this, hit http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/london/bmi-ma11/288322. As always with group buying, do your research before hitting the buy button.

BA/BD: Flight to TIP suspended.

Both British Airways and British Midland International have suspended their Tripoli operations due to the unrest in the area.

For BMI this is very bad news as the service litrally begun the day before.

Both BA and British Airways have updated their travel information. Check before you set off


Meanwhile, the FCO has updated it's advice for Libya:

•  We recommend against all but essential travel to Libya. Those without a pressing need to remain in the country, should leave by commercial means if it is safe to do so. British Nationals requiring assistance or further advice can call the Foreign Office on 020 7008 1500 from the UK or 021 3403644/45 from Libya.
•  There will be no British Airways flight from Tripoli to London on 22 February. Commercial flights are available from Tripoli airport. However, the majority of airport offices in Tripoli are closed until further notice. We advise British Nationals who wish to leave Libya but cannot purchase tickets online to travel to the airport carrying sufficient cash to buy tickets. Problems with internet connections in Libya mean that electronic payments may not be accepted.
•  The Consular Section at the British Embassy is closed. British Nationals who need an Emergency Travel Document or other urgent consular assistance should telephone the Embassy on 00218 21 340 3645. The Embassy will be open for the issue of passports from 08:00 -17:00.
•  We have been notified by the Libyan Immigration Authorities that foreign nationals are now able to leave Libya without securing an exit visa. We have not received any reports that British Nationals being held up at airport immigration because of the lack of an exit visa.
• Political demonstrations are continuing in Tripoli and across Libya, including in Benghazi, Derna and Al Bayda in the East of Libya and Misurata and Zawiya in Western Libya. Security forces have been deployed and there are reports of clashes and the use of violence , including water cannon, live ammunition and tear gas, to disperse crowds. You should avoid political gatherings and demonstrations and respect any advice or instruction from the local security authorities. We advise all British Nationals unable to leave to stay indoors wherever possible.
•  You should follow the news on TV and radio and not go out in areas where demonstrations are taking place. British organisations in Libya should consider deploying contingency plans.
•  The Embassy in Tripoli has received reports of increased crime levels in Libya during the recent unrest. British Nationals in Libya should ensure that their homes and possessions are secured and avoid non-essential travel, especially after dark.
•  We have also received reports of attacks on company compounds in areas close to towns and cities. Companies with staff working in these compounds should make an evaluation of the security measures that they have in place and their level of supplies. If adequate security remains in place, workers may be safer remaining on site. If not, companies should consider leaving their compound and making preparations to move their staff out of Libya, if it is safe to do so. 

Source: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/libya

Keep safe.