From Yahoo business news;
- BMI British Midland Airways has denied that there are any plans to reinvent the airline as a low-cost operator such as easyJet and Ryanair.
The Sunday Business newspaper had reported that group Chief Executive Austin Reid would signal the move at a conference on Monday, building up profitable routes to places like Amsterdam, Dublin and Glasgow at the expense of other routes.
In an interview with the paper Reid said: "With the low-cost industry banging the drum about 10 pound fares, there is something inherently wrong about someone charging 550 pound return to Zurich. What has got to change is all related to a change in the cost base."
However, a spokeswoman for the airline said on Sunday that Reid's comments had been misinterpreted. She said the review was part of a restructuring announced back in July to look at reducing costs.
"We are not relaunching ourselves as a low cost carrier," she said. "We are looking at our cost base in terms of airport costs, pilot costs and aircraft costs so we can offer more competitive prices."
In October BMI was forced to cut flights and slash jobs because of falling demand for air travel in the wake of the attacks on the U.S. in September.
The spokeswoman said the airline had witnessed more and more business traffic turning to economy and their aim was to compete more effectively for that business.