BMed
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Brighton, England
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BMed
BMED are to start flights from London Heathrow to Ankara in Turkey, and to Urumqi in China. Ankara daily non-stop, Urumqi schedule not yet published.
What a great success BMed seem to make of their obscure area of interest in the world, eking out what little traffic there may be to their destinations.
If BA mainline had retained responsibility for the area, I wonder how many of these points would even have any BA service at all ?
If BA mainline had retained responsibility for the area, I wonder how many of these points would even have any BA service at all ?
Join Date: May 2003
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Yes but look at the fares people pay on these routes.
I remember when my wife worked in business travel and was on call out she took a call at home on a bank holiday monday morning from a guy who says get me to Baku by tonight don`t care how much or how I get there but just get me there,
it cost thousands but all were happy
G-I-B
I remember when my wife worked in business travel and was on call out she took a call at home on a bank holiday monday morning from a guy who says get me to Baku by tonight don`t care how much or how I get there but just get me there,
it cost thousands but all were happy
G-I-B
There was some concern about Almaty because the Kazakh authorities were trying to move all international flights to Astana, to which BMed and various other European airlines didn't want to fly because demand to Astana is pretty low. However, it seems to have gone very quiet from the Kazakh side and for now, Almaty services continue and are expected to do so for the foreseeable future. It would be very surprising if BMed is dropping Almaty to replace it with Urumqi services as a pro-active move if there is no government pressure on it to do so.
Join Date: Sep 2003
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Astana now gets Turkish Airlines, Air Arabia and Uzbekistan Airways, Kazakh govt. have revoked their decision on forcing airlines to fly to Astana, these three are flying their on their own objective.
Join Date: May 2003
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Any chance they will fly to Atyrau once the terminal has been rebuilt 
We got a newsletter from the UK Embassy stating it may happen once the whole airport rehabillitation is complete - and it seems with the recent bad weather the authorities have been smart enough to open the new runway.
We got a newsletter from the UK Embassy stating it may happen once the whole airport rehabillitation is complete - and it seems with the recent bad weather the authorities have been smart enough to open the new runway.
Join Date: May 2003
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Newscaster
I have searched the forums and cannot find the relavant thread apart from myself stating that the UK Embassy had informed us that BA was trying. However I believe this was BMED and not Mainline. Maybe I am wrong and what with Wicked Willie, he might charter an Antonov 2 to do a daily shuttle service to Baku (and rebrand it BA Connect) ??
With one oil company adding up to 7000 additional employees in the next 12 months (don't quote me on the timing), there is a need for additional flights to Atyrau. Right now with the airport in bit's and pieces it's hard to see this happening. It would be nice, though - but I'd rather a A320 to Heathrow than an antiquated biplane to Baku.
I have searched the forums and cannot find the relavant thread apart from myself stating that the UK Embassy had informed us that BA was trying. However I believe this was BMED and not Mainline. Maybe I am wrong and what with Wicked Willie, he might charter an Antonov 2 to do a daily shuttle service to Baku (and rebrand it BA Connect) ??
With one oil company adding up to 7000 additional employees in the next 12 months (don't quote me on the timing), there is a need for additional flights to Atyrau. Right now with the airport in bit's and pieces it's hard to see this happening. It would be nice, though - but I'd rather a A320 to Heathrow than an antiquated biplane to Baku.
BA do want to fly London-Atyrau but several other European carriers want to fly to Atyrau as well, and there is no immediate prospect of this changing even despite the runway upgrade at Atyrau. Other works appear to be required before the airport can receive more traffic. It was BA mainline; and they were looking at Gatwick-Atyrau with a 757, but quite how this would work when the 757s are all based at LHR is something of a mystery.
The only recent development has been Astraeus re-starting its oil industry flights between Gatwick and Uralsk and then starting a new service between Gatwick and Aktau, further down on the Caspian.
The only recent development has been Astraeus re-starting its oil industry flights between Gatwick and Uralsk and then starting a new service between Gatwick and Aktau, further down on the Caspian.
Join Date: Jul 2004
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BMED
Just trying to settle a discussion..... at present just how many aircraft does BMED operate? My guess was 9 - 5 A321 and 4 A320 taking into accout this months delivery. A mate says there are 8! If anyone can shed some light it would be gratefully received! Yes, I know I should get out more but.....
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BMED currently operate 4 Airbus A321-231 and 3 Airbus A320-232. With more A321's on order.
Jethros have a current fleet list for BMED. Also the CAA G-Info listing show details of the current fleet.
Jethros have a current fleet list for BMED. Also the CAA G-Info listing show details of the current fleet.
Join Date: May 2000
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BMed & bmi
Surprised that nobody has picked up on this yet.
Telegraph:
BMED, the British Airways franchise partner that flies to some of the riskier parts of the globe, is in last-ditch rescue talks with another airline, thought to be Bmi, after a proposed pounds 30m deal with Lebanon's Mikati family broke down.
Amid a looming cash crunch, BMED has written to its shareholders warning them that, should the current negotiations fail, there was a risk the airline would be unable to pay its debts.
The carrier, which is chaired by Tory peer Lord Hesketh, who himself owns a 19pc stake, is thought to have only weeks to conclude a rescue deal.
A collapse would create another problem for BA chief executive Willie Walsh, just as 10,500 cabin crew have called a trio of three-day strikes, starting on Monday.
BMED, which became a BA franchise partner in 1997, flies eight aircraft under BA colours to 16 destinations from Heathrow, including Beirut, Damascus, Teheran, Tashkent and Khartoum. It employs 750 staff.
Should BMED fail to strike a deal, BA would have to consider whether to fly these routes itself or abandon them and their passengers to other airlines.
BMED, formerly British Mediterranean Airways, was set up in 1994 and for many years operated as a profitable airline. Its most recent accounts, for the year to March 31 2005, show profits of pounds 5.12m pre-tax on pounds 99.7m sales. However, it has been brought to the brink by the soaring oil price and the war in Lebanon, and is expected to lose pounds 21m this financial year, on sales of about pounds 118m, after pounds 10m losses in 2006. BMED's financial crisis was triggered by the decision of Syrian financier Wafic Said, whose family owns almost 50pc of the shares, not to put any more money into the company, having already advanced it an pounds 8m loan.
Under the putative deal with the Mikatis, the Lebanese family was to provide a pounds 3m bridging loan and inject a further pounds 27m to take majority control of BMED and repay Mr Said's loan.
However, BMED chief executive David Richardson said yesterday: "While we are still having conversations with the Mikatis, their exclusivity period has come to an end. They wanted to make some pretty significant changes to the deal which our shareholders thought was unjustified.''
He declined to make any comment on the talks with another airline, or identify it, but said: "I am still confident that we will be able to secure a deal with someone. If you are an airline with eight slots at Heathrow, it's bizarre that you wouldn't survive in some shape or form because those slots have value.''
BMED is also talking to BA about possibly amending its franchise agreement, under which it pays 3pc of turnover to fly in the flag-carrier's colours.
In 2004-2005, BMED paid BA around pounds 14m by way of franchise fees and payments for other services such as engineering and lounges. It also provided BA with pounds 28m worth of connecting passengers, while BA fed through pounds 35m worth of passengers from its routes to the BMED network.
Mr Richardson said: " BA are happy with the franchise agreement as it is but we are struggling to make it work for us.''
Telegraph:
BMED, the British Airways franchise partner that flies to some of the riskier parts of the globe, is in last-ditch rescue talks with another airline, thought to be Bmi, after a proposed pounds 30m deal with Lebanon's Mikati family broke down.
Amid a looming cash crunch, BMED has written to its shareholders warning them that, should the current negotiations fail, there was a risk the airline would be unable to pay its debts.
The carrier, which is chaired by Tory peer Lord Hesketh, who himself owns a 19pc stake, is thought to have only weeks to conclude a rescue deal.
A collapse would create another problem for BA chief executive Willie Walsh, just as 10,500 cabin crew have called a trio of three-day strikes, starting on Monday.
BMED, which became a BA franchise partner in 1997, flies eight aircraft under BA colours to 16 destinations from Heathrow, including Beirut, Damascus, Teheran, Tashkent and Khartoum. It employs 750 staff.
Should BMED fail to strike a deal, BA would have to consider whether to fly these routes itself or abandon them and their passengers to other airlines.
BMED, formerly British Mediterranean Airways, was set up in 1994 and for many years operated as a profitable airline. Its most recent accounts, for the year to March 31 2005, show profits of pounds 5.12m pre-tax on pounds 99.7m sales. However, it has been brought to the brink by the soaring oil price and the war in Lebanon, and is expected to lose pounds 21m this financial year, on sales of about pounds 118m, after pounds 10m losses in 2006. BMED's financial crisis was triggered by the decision of Syrian financier Wafic Said, whose family owns almost 50pc of the shares, not to put any more money into the company, having already advanced it an pounds 8m loan.
Under the putative deal with the Mikatis, the Lebanese family was to provide a pounds 3m bridging loan and inject a further pounds 27m to take majority control of BMED and repay Mr Said's loan.
However, BMED chief executive David Richardson said yesterday: "While we are still having conversations with the Mikatis, their exclusivity period has come to an end. They wanted to make some pretty significant changes to the deal which our shareholders thought was unjustified.''
He declined to make any comment on the talks with another airline, or identify it, but said: "I am still confident that we will be able to secure a deal with someone. If you are an airline with eight slots at Heathrow, it's bizarre that you wouldn't survive in some shape or form because those slots have value.''
BMED is also talking to BA about possibly amending its franchise agreement, under which it pays 3pc of turnover to fly in the flag-carrier's colours.
In 2004-2005, BMED paid BA around pounds 14m by way of franchise fees and payments for other services such as engineering and lounges. It also provided BA with pounds 28m worth of connecting passengers, while BA fed through pounds 35m worth of passengers from its routes to the BMED network.
Mr Richardson said: " BA are happy with the franchise agreement as it is but we are struggling to make it work for us.''