Hi all.
BA is no more buying BMI than Iberia is. IAG is doing the buying so I suspect that they will remain separate companies otherwise why would BA not do the buying. Considering that present pilots with BA Cityflyer and Openskies have to complete the full recruitment process, I would be very surprised if all BMI pilots got a free pass into BA and all the associated arguments over seniority etc.
As I understand it BMI Regional and Baby are profitable or nearly so. Could these two be used as a feeder service for IAG long haul routes from LHR, LGW and MAD and close down BMI Mainline which is the huge loss making part and use its LHR slots to expand the IAG long haul route network.
There are also lots of regulatory issues to clear, IAG would own 53% of Heathrow slots which I would think would be unsustainable. Some of these would surely have to be sold off to the competition.
All the best