from BBC Scotland Business Editor today
Granite Air
"But as I've reported before, there have been hopes of, and advanced talks around a Scottish-based buy-out of BMI Regional.
It's the division of the airline based in Aberdeen, which used to be Business Air, and which flies 15 commuter jets between smaller airports in the UK and on the continent.
Under the codename Granite, there has been a prolonged effort both to raise the £20m to £25m necessary to buy BMI Regional from Lufthansa before the 31 March deadline set for the IAG deal, and to persuade Lufthansa to part with it.
But the money's not there. And in the absence of a deal, the division, with more than 300 jobs, most of them in Aberdeen, will become part of IAG.
The giant air group knew there was interest from a Scottish consortium in buying Regional, but it has said nothing about its intentions for it if it was handed over with the mainstream part of BMI.
It's still not saying, but there has to be a concern about both that business and the routes it operates, as IAG certainly doesn't see its future as operating commuter jets between smaller cities."
The silence has been deafening. I wish the news was better & that the above is incorrect. Hopefully there can yet be a rabbit pulled out of the hat, but banks & institutions are reluctant to lend to anyone in these times.
It would be sad at a time when business appears to be on the up again at Aberdeen, we could lose our based airline.