BMI
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The baby website already redirects to the Germanwings website if there is no valid baby flight....
The question is this how long more are LH prepared to sustain the losses at bmi.... Shareholders will start to get sick of the situation and the failure to turn the outfit around, of course there are challenges ie Fuel prices, situation in Libya etc but bmi losses now an historic situation.
EI-BUD
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Came across this article today....
German flag carrier Lufthansa plans to sell some or all of its loss-making unit British Midland (BMI), board member Stefan Lauer said today.
Speaking at industry event in Vienna, Lauer said that Lufthansa however intended to hold onto Austrian Airlines (AUA) despite it too being a drag on company profits.
BMI lost €120m in the first six months of the year and AUA €64m, with both units hit hard in the aftermath of Japan's massive earthquake in March and by unrest in North Africa.
German flag carrier Lufthansa plans to sell some or all of its loss-making unit British Midland (BMI), board member Stefan Lauer said today.
Speaking at industry event in Vienna, Lauer said that Lufthansa however intended to hold onto Austrian Airlines (AUA) despite it too being a drag on company profits.
BMI lost €120m in the first six months of the year and AUA €64m, with both units hit hard in the aftermath of Japan's massive earthquake in March and by unrest in North Africa.
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bmi sale now on ....
Unless I'm mistaken an acquisition by BA of the ~ 11% of LHR slots that bmi holds would give it around 50% of the LHR total. Which still puts it behind DLH, AF and KLM in terms of slot dominance at the main national hub.
And given the large supply & competition in the SE of England on domestic and European routes between FR, EZY, BA, JE, bmi etc, the swallowing up of bmi is probably not going to be of great significance in terms of consumer choice and pricing in a EU or UK context.
Sit back and watch....
And given the large supply & competition in the SE of England on domestic and European routes between FR, EZY, BA, JE, bmi etc, the swallowing up of bmi is probably not going to be of great significance in terms of consumer choice and pricing in a EU or UK context.
Sit back and watch....
Chieftan o'the Pudden Race
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Mr benip,
Willy Walsh said he was interested in having talks about the future of bmi - huge, huge difference from saying anything about buying it.
$20 million on a DCS system is regarded as better investment than a BIS that would cost less than $200,000. That decision in itself tells me enough about the priorities of management - pennywise and pound foolish. A company that relies so heavily on Access databases and Excel spreadsheets is just asking for huge data issues and they have them, in bucketloads.
EI-BUD
Linking to a company outside of the bmi group is, imho, significant if maybe a little subtle. I have noticed in the past couple of weeks an increase in advertising at EDI for Germanwings. I think you are missing what I am guessing maybe a potential scenario; Baby is dead and Germanwings will pick up whatever routes are profitable and those that are not will go to whoever can make a go of them (Eastern or FlyBE maybe?)
they already are, what do you think has promted this statement?
Facelookbovverd
There is a long and illustrious list of airlines that had a fantastic on board product, but the management is what will kill an airline. I don't think it is a great secret that SMB bled the company dry for the last 10 years of his tenure with chronic under investment and surrounded himself with yes-men who did his bidding. Once the put option deal was signed that was his signal to relax and take what he could out of the company. All legal and above board of course.
DLH have already poured a vast amount of money into the bmi group, that can be measured in terms of fractions of billions of euros (depending on how you calculate it anywhere between 0.5 Billion and 1.0 Billion) and there is no sign at all of a turnaround happening quickly enough to placate the board of directors at DLH or the Lufthana shareholders.
Willy Walsh said he was interested in having talks about the future of bmi - huge, huge difference from saying anything about buying it.
But slimming down and streamlining that dinosaur as much as possible through better IT implementation has to be an absolute priority.
EI-BUD
Flypuppy, I wouldnt read much into this, if you select a bmibaby route from bmi drop down it will take you to bmibaby website, so thats pretty much par for course. I cant see any linkages going forward between baby and German wings, I cant see LH having any interest in baby long term irrespective of what happens with Bmi. Germanwings brand also would be hard to develop in UK outside of routes to Germany (my opinion).
Shareholders will start to get sick of the situation and the failure to turn the outfit around
Facelookbovverd
In Financial term, then yes bmi is a basket case, but its actually a very good airline that has been badly managed for the last decade and starved of investment,
DLH have already poured a vast amount of money into the bmi group, that can be measured in terms of fractions of billions of euros (depending on how you calculate it anywhere between 0.5 Billion and 1.0 Billion) and there is no sign at all of a turnaround happening quickly enough to placate the board of directors at DLH or the Lufthana shareholders.
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Willy Walsh said he was interested in having talks about the future of bmi - huge, huge difference from saying anything about buying it.
Willie Walsh, the chief executive of IAG, has expressed a renewed interest in buying Bmi, in a bid to gain the airline’s valuable slots at Heathrow. Speaking at the International Air Transport Association summit in Singapore, he said a potential deal hinged on whether current owner Lufthansa was willing to sell.
Willie Walsh, the chief executive of IAG, has expressed a renewed interest in buying Bmi, in a bid to gain the airline’s valuable slots at Heathrow. Speaking at the International Air Transport Association summit in Singapore, he said a potential deal hinged on whether current owner Lufthansa was willing to sell.
Chieftan o'the Pudden Race
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I stand corrected. My information was from a different source, but even then there should be no illusions that IAG will be some sort of saviour for bmi as an airline. IAG are purely interested in bmi’s portfolio of slots at LHR. Nothing else.
Lufthansa would, however, want to want to keep bmi at Heathrow, for the same reason IAG wants to acquire it - all those slots.
Lufthansa would, however, want to want to keep bmi at Heathrow, for the same reason IAG wants to acquire it - all those slots.
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Curiously Lufthansa are still saying selling is only one of the options. Be interesting to know what else they are considering.
If IAG only wants BMI for the slots then guess most of us are toast!
If IAG only wants BMI for the slots then guess most of us are toast!
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surely if IAG buys BMI they cant just buy the slots... they would have to take the a/c and crew with it. And there are laws pretecting the employees so they cant just be made redundant.
Which makes me believe (and I hope) BMI will survive in a much slimmed down version... with a chunk of slots being sold off...
I also believe this as BD now do engineering cover for LH, OS and also do the check-in for LH, OS having just taken on a load of Menzies ground staff. Plus plans are still proceeding for the business seats for the midhaul a/c.
Which makes me believe (and I hope) BMI will survive in a much slimmed down version... with a chunk of slots being sold off...
I also believe this as BD now do engineering cover for LH, OS and also do the check-in for LH, OS having just taken on a load of Menzies ground staff. Plus plans are still proceeding for the business seats for the midhaul a/c.
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surely if IAG buys BMI they cant just buy the slots... they would have to take the a/c and crew with it. And there are laws pretecting the employees so they cant just be made redundant.
1) Dan Air which BA bought for a £1, kept some routes, crew and B737-400s and that was pretty much it and...
(this one's MUCH worse !)
2) Buzz which Ryanair bought off a European flag carrier, KLM and took on some routes and crew and let the rest go, including all the aircraft.
Classic F.I.F.O. from Michael O'Leary to the staff who threatened to strike.
However in the case of BMI, the A320 series aircraft would be a good fit into BA, indeed some were delivered to BMED in the current BA scheme.
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Dan Air is always a scenario, however....
Employment law has moved on a bit from there and concidering that BA is in a recruitment phase it would be very difficult to justify the laying of of crews who are flying the same aircraft at the same base on the same or simular routes. That is of course if BA or another UK based airline were infact interested.
Employment law has moved on a bit from there and concidering that BA is in a recruitment phase it would be very difficult to justify the laying of of crews who are flying the same aircraft at the same base on the same or simular routes. That is of course if BA or another UK based airline were infact interested.
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Commercially, this could be a difficult call for BA/IAG.
Acquiring bmi is a once in a lifetime opportunity to grow significantly at LHR. But it's not without risk and the airline would have to move very quickly in terms of stripping out costs and integrating the back office functions. I don't know whether bmi would technically sit under IAG with the BA brand licensed from BA, or whether assets would be transferred into BA.
Alternatively, holding out for LH downsizing bmi and disposing of slots would be a lot cleaner and without much risk.
I'm sorry to say it but I just don't think bmi has the brand recognition and clear sense of purpose to survive. In the absence of any growth at LHR, it is probably for the best that IAG acquires bmi to make BA a stronger competitor against AF etc. I don't see any other buyers stepping forward. Although the irony would not be lost on LH, from their perspective, they have a massive presence in mainland Europe and may decide that with BA, the LCCs et al, it's not worth trying to compete in the UK.
Acquiring bmi is a once in a lifetime opportunity to grow significantly at LHR. But it's not without risk and the airline would have to move very quickly in terms of stripping out costs and integrating the back office functions. I don't know whether bmi would technically sit under IAG with the BA brand licensed from BA, or whether assets would be transferred into BA.
Alternatively, holding out for LH downsizing bmi and disposing of slots would be a lot cleaner and without much risk.
I'm sorry to say it but I just don't think bmi has the brand recognition and clear sense of purpose to survive. In the absence of any growth at LHR, it is probably for the best that IAG acquires bmi to make BA a stronger competitor against AF etc. I don't see any other buyers stepping forward. Although the irony would not be lost on LH, from their perspective, they have a massive presence in mainland Europe and may decide that with BA, the LCCs et al, it's not worth trying to compete in the UK.
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Err. Do I really need to answer that one? It's not the nightstop that's the problem. More the risk of getting blown out of the sky!
You couldn't pay me enough to even contemplate going to Tripoli for the next 6 months. I might do it as a personal "danger tourism" thing, but for work? Nope.
You couldn't pay me enough to even contemplate going to Tripoli for the next 6 months. I might do it as a personal "danger tourism" thing, but for work? Nope.
From a common-sense commercial view, BMI being merged into BA would be a Good and Sensible Thing. There are a number of non-competitive BMI routes, and the days of the combined operation having a monopoly have long passed with the emergence of Easy and others on parallel routes. As an alternative to BMI just fadng away, it is surely attractive.
If part of the merger was a requirement that the number of domestic slots out of Heathrow was maintained, then there would be encouragement for a more effective set of UK connections through Heathrow that would develop (restore) BA's business in the regions.
Alas you now have seemingly self-appointed organisations like the OFT and Competition Commission (UK) and the European Commissioner for Competition (Brussels), all of whom seem to have been penetrated by oddball academic economists with their own angels-dancing-on-a-pinhead competition theories. Actually aviation has not (yet) suffered as badly from them as some other transportation businesses. But you can see it coming, as each tries to grab the headlines from the other by demanding ever more Heathrow slots are taken away in any merger and given to overseas carriers (who gleefully take them and the business, but behind the scenes must feel the UK government are complete idiots). How are Lufthansa and Air France freely allowed to build up operations at their own hubs with far more dominance that any BA/BMI combination at Heathrow might have ?
Lastly, not to feel left out, and to finally put the cherry on it, the DfT come along, not with any support for UK carriers, but with restrictions and civil service makeworks that put such restrictions on sensible arrangements for connecting passengers at UK airports, compared to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, etc, that ANY carrier trying to have a UK hub feels they are fighting with both hands and both feet tied behind their backs.
If part of the merger was a requirement that the number of domestic slots out of Heathrow was maintained, then there would be encouragement for a more effective set of UK connections through Heathrow that would develop (restore) BA's business in the regions.
Alas you now have seemingly self-appointed organisations like the OFT and Competition Commission (UK) and the European Commissioner for Competition (Brussels), all of whom seem to have been penetrated by oddball academic economists with their own angels-dancing-on-a-pinhead competition theories. Actually aviation has not (yet) suffered as badly from them as some other transportation businesses. But you can see it coming, as each tries to grab the headlines from the other by demanding ever more Heathrow slots are taken away in any merger and given to overseas carriers (who gleefully take them and the business, but behind the scenes must feel the UK government are complete idiots). How are Lufthansa and Air France freely allowed to build up operations at their own hubs with far more dominance that any BA/BMI combination at Heathrow might have ?
Lastly, not to feel left out, and to finally put the cherry on it, the DfT come along, not with any support for UK carriers, but with restrictions and civil service makeworks that put such restrictions on sensible arrangements for connecting passengers at UK airports, compared to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, etc, that ANY carrier trying to have a UK hub feels they are fighting with both hands and both feet tied behind their backs.