bmi does have loyal passengers, diamond club is one of the most generous frequent flyer programmes in the business, and even though the product has slipped since the introduction of the NBM, I think the company has always prided itself on its professionalism. There are regular passengers on bmibaby who have flown with us for years, and even though they miss some of the Midland touches, still tell us there are traces of the company in the low-cost airline which is why they prefer us over the competition. If anything, I'd expect British Airways or Virgin (forget Lingus) would want us because we have a loyal following of passengers would move over.
I'm yet to be convinced with any of the bids being put forward by BA or Virgin. Even though BA would still have a smaller share than Air France or Lufthansa in terms of their major hub, I still can't imagine that the MMC would allow a merger to take place. Virgin makes a lot of sense, but they haven't indicated what would happen to the regional elements of the business or where they propose to find £1bn. Lufthansa might be an option having turned around Swiss, but they might be more tempted to follow SAS and make a quick buck from selling their shares.