bmi approached by several airline wanting bmi to buy them
By Danny Fortson, Business Correspondent
Friday, 25 April 2008
Several airlines struggling to cope with the record oil price have approached BMI to sound out whether the carrier would be interested in buying them.
"They have already started coming to us," said the chairman Sir Michael Bishop after a speech in which he predicted the slowing economy and the record price of fuel was leading to a clear division of airlines into the "haves and have-nots." Those able to withstand the difficult conditions – five airlines have folded in recent weeks – would be determined largely by their fuel hedging positions. BMI, he said, has hedged 75 per cent of its fuel for this year.
Start-up carriers and those with insufficient scale to withstand the hike in operating costs are likely to be the most vulnerable. The approaches BMI has received have thus far been informal, Sir Michael said, but he added he is keen to expand BMI through "bolt-on acquisitions".