BMI
Join Date: Mar 2000
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Why would anyone buying regional want to get shot of bases just because they were in England? That just doesn't make sense at all. Especially if they are making money. Scotland just isn't a big enough aviation market on it's own.
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: gate 67 JFK
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Back to the future,this thread will over heat this weekend ...if the BBC are correct and Regional is to be sold to a previous owner to become an independent airline.
G AWZK
Click back on the BBC link and see the comments made since the link was added, many seem to think this is a done deal.
G AWZK
Click back on the BBC link and see the comments made since the link was added, many seem to think this is a done deal.
Last edited by INKJET; 27th Oct 2011 at 07:08. Reason: Typo & reply to G AWZK
Good luck to any airline that tries to become a significant standalone Scottish airline rather than part of a larger group. Globespan ceased operating almost 2 years ago, meaning Easyjet, Jet2 and Ryanair have now had ample opportunity to pick off many of the profitable routes within Europe from EDI and GLA, and they ain't gonna give up easily.
Join Date: Sep 2009
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Why would anyone buying regional want to get shot of bases just because they were in England? That just doesn't make sense at all. Especially if they are making money. Scotland just isn't a big enough aviation market on it's own.
Join Date: Feb 2001
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This industry is littered with the wrecks of small independent airlines, each time they find a profitable niche route someone bigger comes along and takes it off them!
Globespan were in a completely different market to bmi Regional and could have been successful but were let down by poor management and cost control, Jet2 have moved into Scotland to pick up where they left off. I wonder if they'll add Jet2thenoo to Jet2Malaga !
Globespan were in a completely different market to bmi Regional and could have been successful but were let down by poor management and cost control, Jet2 have moved into Scotland to pick up where they left off. I wonder if they'll add Jet2thenoo to Jet2Malaga !
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LHR
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Operating loss for the 9 months to September was 154m Euros, compared to a loss of 90m Euros for the same period last year:
http://investor-relations.lufthansa....R-2011-3-e.pdf
http://investor-relations.lufthansa....R-2011-3-e.pdf
Join Date: Apr 2008
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FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) Thursday said it plans to sell unprofitable business units and boost its low-cost segment in response to increasingly tough competition from no-frills carriers and amid waning demand due to economic uncertainty.
"We shall withdraw from loss-making units without a reasonable turnaround perspective," Chief Executive Christoph Franz says according to the draft text of a speech he will make later Thursday morning.
Lufthansa is weighing up options for loss-making British Midland Airways, or bmi, as well as its Chinese logistics joint venture Jade Cargo, according to the draft.
Other non-core operations, such as the information technology unit Lufthansa Systems, could also be sold, Franz said.
Lufthansa has previously said it is looking for partners for its IT unit and people familiar with the matter have said that the company has hired banks to prepare a sale of bmi.
The German flagship airline also Thursday said that it plans to expand its Germanwings low-cost passenger business in an effort to improve profitability of its loss-making short-haul traffic in Europe.
"We must improve profitability on the short-haul routes. We must achieve a cost position in European traffic that can compete with the low-cost carriers in order to remain profitable overall," CEO Franz says in the draft.
"We shall withdraw from loss-making units without a reasonable turnaround perspective," Chief Executive Christoph Franz says according to the draft text of a speech he will make later Thursday morning.
Lufthansa is weighing up options for loss-making British Midland Airways, or bmi, as well as its Chinese logistics joint venture Jade Cargo, according to the draft.
Other non-core operations, such as the information technology unit Lufthansa Systems, could also be sold, Franz said.
Lufthansa has previously said it is looking for partners for its IT unit and people familiar with the matter have said that the company has hired banks to prepare a sale of bmi.
The German flagship airline also Thursday said that it plans to expand its Germanwings low-cost passenger business in an effort to improve profitability of its loss-making short-haul traffic in Europe.
"We must improve profitability on the short-haul routes. We must achieve a cost position in European traffic that can compete with the low-cost carriers in order to remain profitable overall," CEO Franz says in the draft.
WSJ.com
Join Date: Oct 2002
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'The reason for the drop in the operating result is
above all the reduction in earnings at British Midland'
With statements like these will LH try its low cost model (Germanwings) into LHR and just close BMI mainline ?
above all the reduction in earnings at British Midland'
With statements like these will LH try its low cost model (Germanwings) into LHR and just close BMI mainline ?
Join Date: Feb 2002
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I have a thing for bmi - worked there for nine years, so I really want to see it survive and prosper.
BUT
* Operating loss averaging nearly £650,000 per day averaged across Q1-Q3
* Operating loss averaging nearly £32 per passenger carried across Q1-Q3
* Cost cutting, but 125 more staff than a year ago!
OK so politically and economically this year hasn't been good, but clearly whatever has been done to turn bmi around hasn't been anywhere near good enough so far... It's not looking great, is it?
BUT
* Operating loss averaging nearly £650,000 per day averaged across Q1-Q3
* Operating loss averaging nearly £32 per passenger carried across Q1-Q3
* Cost cutting, but 125 more staff than a year ago!
OK so politically and economically this year hasn't been good, but clearly whatever has been done to turn bmi around hasn't been anywhere near good enough so far... It's not looking great, is it?
Join Date: Mar 2008
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DLH 3rd quarter figs make interesting reading, clearly much of the increase loss is fuel related, i understand that bmi does not have a robust fuel hedge position and is therefore more vulnerable to fuel price. With the strong 3rd quarter fig on the US economy this should strengthen the dollar and hopefully some of the money sloshing around holding the fuel price up will move back to $ as well, figures on iron ore prices also hint at a further slow down in China & India which again will dampen oil demand.
It is now very clear that APD is affecting sales on short haul routes within the UK.This coalition Government has got it badly wrong on its aviation policy, taxing people out of visiting the UK (well going home afterwards) with the Olympics coming up in a country that builds some of the worlds best Jet engines & wings shows a worrying lack of insight and the new Minster of Transport Justine Greening hates LHR, its like the old days of Babara Castle in charge of transport and couldn't drive!! FFS
bmi's Middle East & African routes should start to recovery next year, unless Damascus implodes, in any event given the scale of losses i can't see a white knight with very deep pockets anytime soon, but with Regional rumoured sold and baby en route to pastures new at least the management can focus all their energy on sorting mainline out.
I would just re brand all of bmi short haul routes as SWISS at least that way the buying public would have some idea of what they are getting, the product on bmi mainline is very good.
It is now very clear that APD is affecting sales on short haul routes within the UK.This coalition Government has got it badly wrong on its aviation policy, taxing people out of visiting the UK (well going home afterwards) with the Olympics coming up in a country that builds some of the worlds best Jet engines & wings shows a worrying lack of insight and the new Minster of Transport Justine Greening hates LHR, its like the old days of Babara Castle in charge of transport and couldn't drive!! FFS
bmi's Middle East & African routes should start to recovery next year, unless Damascus implodes, in any event given the scale of losses i can't see a white knight with very deep pockets anytime soon, but with Regional rumoured sold and baby en route to pastures new at least the management can focus all their energy on sorting mainline out.
I would just re brand all of bmi short haul routes as SWISS at least that way the buying public would have some idea of what they are getting, the product on bmi mainline is very good.
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: liverpool
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Facelookbovvered,
The product on Bmi Mainline has not been good for many years.I worked for BMI for many years from when when they made the money from the regions flying into LHR on the DC9 and Fokker 100 and 737s.They were the good times when load factor was 98 percent average.Then along came the australian cronies who ****** the airline up spending spending spending.James Hogan has a lot to answer for along with Austin Reed Mickey Bish and Wolff.
The product on Bmi Mainline has not been good for many years.I worked for BMI for many years from when when they made the money from the regions flying into LHR on the DC9 and Fokker 100 and 737s.They were the good times when load factor was 98 percent average.Then along came the australian cronies who ****** the airline up spending spending spending.James Hogan has a lot to answer for along with Austin Reed Mickey Bish and Wolff.
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Mutleyshriek
I can only go by what i have seen and flying back into the UK last week on a 321 i was very impressed, spotless inside and out, cabin crew have never been a problem with bmi. To be fair BA are good these days and i do like T5, i wish them well, but yes i think all the chops and changes have damaged the brand and how you get more bums on seats is beyond me.
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Good hard product, combined with places that are suitable for both business and leisure traffic. Marrakech and Casablanca seem to do well, Tunis could do well now the trouble is over. Also - maybe a return to Palma & Naples, and introduce Dubrovnik & Cagliari. A lot of the Middle Eastern flights are too dependant on transfer traffic, and business travel.
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Leeds, UK & Cork, Ireland
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To rebrand British Midland as SWISS would be most bizzare. SWISS has it's own brand and service concept, just like BD has. BD only fly 2-3 routes to Switzerland, how would the mid-haul routes work with SWISS branding. IT's not exactly intuitive that SWISS would fly JED-LHR, is it?
I think the BD brand relaunch was done fairly well, I have my reservations about the oneworld-esque log, but overall the look is good, consistent (for the first time in a decade) and used sensibly. Going back to British Midland was defiantly the right move, I think the public perceive "bmi" as a Lo-Co type carrier.
Midland is being hit very hard by very poor management decisions. In a way LH have no-one to blame but themselves, the deal they had with Bish encouraged asset stripping, brand devaluation and poor decisions - LH and SK simply underwrote losses and guaranteed the Bish a fat cash payout when he got bored. I can understand why LH may have lost patience and is no longer willing to throw good money after bad, but this is a mess they very much helped to create.
I think the BD brand relaunch was done fairly well, I have my reservations about the oneworld-esque log, but overall the look is good, consistent (for the first time in a decade) and used sensibly. Going back to British Midland was defiantly the right move, I think the public perceive "bmi" as a Lo-Co type carrier.
Midland is being hit very hard by very poor management decisions. In a way LH have no-one to blame but themselves, the deal they had with Bish encouraged asset stripping, brand devaluation and poor decisions - LH and SK simply underwrote losses and guaranteed the Bish a fat cash payout when he got bored. I can understand why LH may have lost patience and is no longer willing to throw good money after bad, but this is a mess they very much helped to create.
Join Date: Sep 2004
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A few years ago I worked briefly for bmi. During that time I met many LH people, all of them very skilled and very disciplined. I was intrigued that they all loathed Donington Hall. I had worked in airlines for 25+ years but I found bmi to be completely amateur. I think that the LH loathing of Donington Hall must have made it very difficult to get a grip on what seemed to me to be a very poorly managed business.
Join Date: Apr 2004
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The cabin product may be wonderful, and the aeroplanes may be the cleanest in town, the problem with bmi, is as the last couple of posts allude to, is the management.
The company haemorrhages cash and they have little idea where it goes. The levels of loss are beyond redemption now. DLH have poured more than a BILLION euros into the blackhole that is Donington Hall. The shareholders cannot and will not stand for it. Painful to say but, bmi as we know it is dead.
The company haemorrhages cash and they have little idea where it goes. The levels of loss are beyond redemption now. DLH have poured more than a BILLION euros into the blackhole that is Donington Hall. The shareholders cannot and will not stand for it. Painful to say but, bmi as we know it is dead.
Join Date: May 2006
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I would agree with Facelookbovvered that the outlook for BMI is better than it has been... ALA/ATQ, FNA, GYD are doing well, RAK, AGA, CAI, AMM, BEY and IKA, JED, DME, KRT, ADD very healthy loads (although i dont know the yield).
Plus with more focus away from shorthaul and more North African, midhaul destinations BD has a good chance of turning a breaking even at least in the near future now some of the arab resolutions have passed.
Plus with more focus away from shorthaul and more North African, midhaul destinations BD has a good chance of turning a breaking even at least in the near future now some of the arab resolutions have passed.