BMI REGIONAL-2

[The Cleaner]

I'm guessing from the lack of activity the grand master plan is still Top Secret??
It's getting a bit concerning that there has been not the faintest indication of future direction bar keeping alive a dead brand and losing work???

[midland_pilot]

Not even a hint of what is to come in anyway official. I hear that they are drumming up something in the way of an announcement though? Supposedly in way of a code share? I'm told there is smugness amongst the ranks in ABZ?

[Van G]

Seems the aircraft are owned now by a leasing company.

Free company financial check on SECTOR AIRCRAFT LEASING LIMITED. Free company accounts. Companies House information

Not sure where the IOM link is.

Nice little earner for them. Assets of 14 embraers for 8 million. No debts. Lease them back to bmi regional and top up the account.

No win. No fee.

[Granite City Express]

Is this a totally separate company from the one that now owns the operating company?

If so, the assets are protected if the op co goes down, or do I see this incorrectly? The assets were the big selling points, weren't they?

[flying macaco]

Yep. Think if BMI regional were, god forbid, to fold anytime from here on in then Sector Aircraft Leasing still walks away with a pretty tidy little pot of gold.

I think this transfer of assets to a leasing company is a legit thing to do (though smacks a bit of a certain mr Bishop) but don't employees need to be informed that as a result of the sale all their company's planes (pretty hefty assets) were being transferred out of the company? What are the legal implications of this if any?

[LGS6753]

FM -

The employees have nothing to do with the financial arrangements their employers enter into.

Transferring the assets into a separate company can be seen as asset stripping or safeguarding the investment of those who coughed up the £8,000,000.

[Granite City Express]

Never mind the legal implications, it tells me enough about what messers Woodley Ross and Sturman think about the future of the company

[SWBKCB]

Robert Sturman is a director of BRITISH MIDLAND REGIONAL LIMITED and SECTOR AIRCRAFT LEASING LIMITED (as well as SECTOR AVIATION HOLDINGS LIMITED)

[flying macaco]

I just meant regarding TUPE. I am very ignorant on this subject but trying to learn. Having gone from a company which owns most of its fleet I'm now in one which owns none. I guess so long as my T&C's remain the same that's all my new owners need satisfy?

Anyways. Deck chairs and titanic springs to mind.

[CKT789]

By selling and leasing back the aircraft this gives the airline cash to use as working capital which it may need while they make any changes to the route network over the coming months. Also £8 million was paid for the whole airline (assets and liabilities). The airline will need cash from somewhere to pay the liabilities and this is quite a straight forward way to do this.

[The Cleaner]

On reflection I don't think it's anything to get into too much of a flap about. Sale and leaseback is quite common in the aviation business, I believe AF recently did it to e few of its aircraft recently to put dome cash on its books. Besides if I'd just put up 8 million I'd do what I could to protect that outlay, seems sensible. In fact at least it shows there's some decent financial planning taking place to protect assets and raise working capital.

[EI-BUD]

I may have missed the detail of this but will the airline maintain the name indefinately. I.e bmi? My original understanding was prior to the completion of the sale was that it would have to change eventually.

My interest will be what will the airlines strategy be.

Will they maintain the existing network, which looks like operations from Aberdeen, Manchester, Leeds/Bradford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, East Midlands and Norwich in the UK.



The network is made up of what looks like 15 routes including:

• Aberdeen- Esbjerg
• Aberdeen- Groningen
• Aberdeen- Manchester
• Aberdeen- Norwcih
• Manchester- Lyon
• Manchester-Edinburgh
• Leeeds/Bradford- Glasgow
• Leeds/Bradford- Edinburgh
• Leeds/Bradford- Brussels
• Glasgow-Copenhagen
• Edinburgh- Copenhagen
• Edinburgh- Zurich
• Edinburgh- Brussels
• East Midlands- Brussels
• East Midlands- Frankfurt

In addition, there are 3 routes that operate to/from LHR and it would seem logical that these routes will disappear when the integration is completed:

• Heathrow- Aberdeen
• Heathrow- Hannover
• Heathrow- Manchester

This begs the question, will bmi regional be aiming to gain the rights to operate Heathrow- Edinburgh and Aberdeen, if they do this could form large part of their operation.

My question would be what size, shape and direction would the airline pursue given that the existing network (excluding the 3 LHR routes) is made up of 15 routes, 10 international, 5 domestic.

It feels like they should be pursuing a strategy of niche routes, like the thinner routes to say FRA, BRU, ZRH, CPH, Scandinavinan destinations. Though would they be better served operating in a franchise model such as Flybe or even serving BRU or FRA from all over the UK with SN or LH affiliation?

Otherwise my feeling is that they will go after ad hoc charter and leasing contract work somewhat like Titan.

What does anybody else think? Flybe would seem to be the most obvious threat to the existing network so my feeling is some sort of co-operation with them would seem like a logical approach, and given that the investors have Loganair connections, this would suggest that there would be a conflict of interest so why would they go head to head?

EI-BUD

[SWBKCB]

An obvious strategy would seem to be to continue to feed into Star Alliance hubs. Understand that they've left the alliance but flights are still bookable as code shares, what's the current position?

[BHD2BFS]

What are the chances that they may look at Belfast for possible routes ie Frankfurt or Copenhagen?

[commit aviation]

LBA-GLA & LBA-EDI have both been dropped by Bmi-R
The GLA route was picked up by Loganair

[flying macaco]

Midland pilot

@Midland pilot

What have you heard regarding an announcement and a code share?

[Rougueg]

Nothing heard here of any codeshare.

[BKS Air Transport]

It's a bitty sort of network they have left, no real cohesion, almost just a series of unconnected routes.

I wouldn't expect them to be looking at the inter-regional domestic market, flybe have that pretty sown up, with a good business model and suitable aircraft.

Best solution might be to take a leaf out of KLM cityhopper's book and concentrate on linking regional airports to one or more European hubs. STAR seems a weakness at present, so maybe BRU and/or FRA, like at East Midlands springs to mind. Would need to codeshare, though.

[SWBKCB]

Once you take out LBA-EDI/GLA, which have already gone, the routes basically split into the ABZ 'oil' routes

• Aberdeen- Esbjerg
• Aberdeen- Groningen
• Aberdeen- Manchester
• Aberdeen- Norwich

A couple of oddities:

• Manchester- Lyon
• Manchester-Edinburgh

And 'Star Alliance' feeders:

• Glasgow-Copenhagen
• Edinburgh- Copenhagen
• Edinburgh- Zurich
• Leeds/Bradford- Brussels
• Edinburgh- Brussels
• East Midlands- Brussels
• East Midlands- Frankfurt

Shame the SN NCL/BRS-BRU flts have gone as they fitted in nicely!

I've never regarded the LHR routes as BMIR operations rather as slot sitting for Mainline, and if the new BMIR was to get involved it would effectively need a brand new operation.

Interesting to see what the approach is going to be.

[Skipness One Echo]

And 'Star Alliance' feeders:

Glasgow-Copenhagen
Edinburgh- Copenhagen
Edinburgh- Zurich
Leeds/Bradford- Brussels
Edinburgh- Brussels
East Midlands- Brussels
East Midlands- Frankfurt

In reply to :
"Hi, we'd like to establish a codeshare to feed your hubs please."
What if the answer is "We're happy to do that ourselves now you're no longer in STAR." Is that not much more likely, particularly in the medium term.
Why have a third party non alliance member do that?