The way things are going at bmi regional are to say the least very sad. The airline has it stacked against them on many levels.
- High costs associated with regional jets. The average fares needed to make the flying programme are prohibitive.
- To sustain these costs they need some high volume routes with steady income flows to keep cash flow in the right state
- Possibly the biggest challenge in my view is the lack of brand recognition, how do they communicate with their audience? They need a very effective marketing department. This is huge challenge for all smaller airlines, and airlines like EZY, FR etc who are experiencing success get much better value from marketing spend. Again my second point, some high frequency routes might make sense in terms of marketing and value for marketing spend. Next to impossible to market a low frequency route from EU to UK.
- The level of staffing mentioned earlier sounds huge in relation to the size of the flying programme.
The airline needs to develop a strategy, and from my perspective, it must be working as a feeder airline under another carriers branding, e.g. Aer Lingus Regional/ Aer Arann, a franchise arrangement or doing wet lease arrangements. Otherwise, I am not confident of the future.
A lot relates to the future position of Flybe, a weakening BE may create opportunities, but time may not be on their side.
EI-BUD