If BA wants a presence on any of the routes that BMed currently flies, I imagine that they will need to fund this from within their own fleet and slots. GB isn't exactly flush with Heathrow slots and it is questionable as to whether many of the routes would financially work if flown from LGW.

Equally, some routes are constrained under the bilateral agreements with the overseas countries, and so there would not be room for BA, GB or anyone to enter certain routes alongside BMed if BMed's services remain in place with whatever name down the side of the 'plane. From memory, anyone wanting to launch services to Baku, Alexandria, Beirut, Tehran, Almaty, Ekaterinburg, Khartoum and Damascus would have problems as BMed uses the full quota of frequencies and rights available for UK carriers on its own.

Personally, I'd think that any prospect of GB having a headlong rush onto the BMed routes is pretty unlikely for the above reasons plus the rationale that if BMed has lost a fortune on many routes in the last 12 months, GB may well be wondering if they could do any better.

Oh great, whatever the pros or cons for the company I can't say I am looking forward to flying BMED's route network. 3-4 days downroute in some of the destinations they go to is not a nice thought. Had the chance to work for them some years ago and didn't just because of the work pattern and the long stays in places I would rather not be. Even more reason to follow the long line down the escape tunnel.

I fly for BMED, just back from a 5 day Addis, had a ball! It is true, some of the destinations are a bit off the beaten track, but in my eyes, they are far more fascinating and adventurous than the regular long haul routes. It has taken me a year to settle into BMED, there is more of a grown-up atmosphere, but there is also an emphasis on enjoying your work and having fun down-route.

bmi have openly said that they want to expand into the medium haul market, and have been looking at Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Cairo in particular. It would seem that the aquitsition of BMED will give bmi a ready made network, with some tweaking inevitable.

One thing is for sure, nothing will change in the immediate future, and the fact that bmi is getting rid of their 321s is likely to have little baring on BMEDs long-haul configured 321s.

I have to be honest, most people at BMED want to keep flying the routes that we fly, so if there is a large portion of bmi staff that don't like the sound of what might be on offer, there will be more than enough willing from this end.

Regards

Mike

BMI Intercontinental
 

Heard today;

Allegedly BMI are going to keep BMed as a separate company, (a la BMI baby & BMI Regional) to be called BMII - BMI Intercontinental. Apparently the plan is that BMII (ie BMed) will operate all medium & long haul services for the group. I had heard that the A330's will be flown by BMed/BMII pilots.

Don't know if it's true, but it does sound plausible.
Has anyone else heard anything like this?

I think BMI need to revert back to British Midland asap. I'm fed up with people removing 'British' as if they're ashamed to admit. British Midland was an established identity that didn't need to change.

The general feeling im getting from others in the industry seems to be that the BMI branding is and always has been a bit of a flop as the airline lost it's identity. BMI Intercontinental seems a bit over the top for what was BMED and sounds like someone in the commercial department needs a slap!

Apart from BMI Baby which has a pretty good marketing strategy change it all back to British Midland and simplify that eratic colour scheme!

bmi's Board is made up of

Sir Michael (50% plus 1 vote)
Nigel Turner
Tim Bye
LH 30% less 1 vote)
SK 20%

So either Sir Michael funds it personally or he has LH over the barrel (with the "Put/Call" options) to the extent that they have to go along with it.

I imagine an exceedingly peeved Mayrhuber presently...

I don't think bmi will keep BMED as a separate entity for too long, they already have three separate companies to look after (not counting cargo or charter) so adding a fourth would be too much. I'd expect to see BMED incorporated into bmi at the earliest opportunity, with the BA franchise ending also as soon as contractually possible, though I wouldn't be surprised if BA wanted to codeshare on these routes.

I can't help but agree that bmi would be well placed, as they move into the longhaul foray, to once again have a serious look at their brand, including re-establishing the kind of British style they put into the company when the trans-Atlantics were first launched.

I do not like raining on anyones parade but it has all the makings of a fiscal nightmare. Both outfits have a confused identity and establishing BMI,s product (present and future) will be hard enough. It could end in tears.

The change over process will take 18 months. bmi intercon.., bring it on!

Regards

Mike

Heard from a BMI cabin crew member the other day that BMI are planning to re-introduce a business cabin on all routes later this year. Also crew are to get new uniforms.

What does this mean for the A319 that seat 144 PAX. Seems BMI have finally lost all sence of direction.

Brgds

Richard

It is completely untrue to say that we’ve finally lost direction, we lost it years ago unfortunately and are paying a heavy price. If (and as of 15:50 today it's still an "if") we take BMED over one can only hope that it will restore our sense of direction but I wouldn't bet on it.

bmi and BMED latest
 

Just seen this info today 2nd Feb from bloggs99 on the BMED thread.
I hope this may give us a bit more info as to how things may be moving along quite soon now.

MR120

Dear Colleague
You will be aware from press comment and from briefings that we have been in talks with another airline with a view to their acquiring BMED. I am writing to you to bring you up to date with progress on these talks and to deal with some of the current rumours.
Confidentiality requirements have meant that I have not until now been in a position to confirm the identity of the airline. However we have now communicated to our shareholders that the airline in question is British Midland. We anticipate that the General Meeting of the BMED shareholders will happen today (Friday) in London, and that the shareholders will vote in favour of the sale.
I know that many of you have been concerned by the fast moving pace of events in the last few days and are worried about what the future may hold. There is also a natural sadness that, as a result of the proposed sale, BMED’s independence will come to an end.
The first thing to say is that we should all be very proud of what BMED has achieved over the last 12 years. To grow as we have done from one aircraft to eight and from one destination to 16 is a fantastic achievement built on the hard work and commitment to passenger service that has always been our hallmark. We have set a standard to which others aspire, widely recognised by the industry, our franchise partner and, most importantly, by our passengers.
In our industry change is inevitable. Naturally there are concerns, but there are also new opportunities and new challenges. I am certain that being part of a larger airline will enable us to widen our horizons and develop in directions that have been difficult in the past. In many ways British Midland’s history mirrors our own pioneering approach and I am sure that, although there will be different ways of doing things, we will have the opportunity to develop and prosper with our new owners.
Finally, can I thank all of you for your continued commitment over recent weeks. This has been a difficult period for everyone, but I believe we can now begin to move forward, proud of what we have achieved in the past, but confident in the opportunities that the future will bring.
Regards
David

bmed & bmi
 

If so - Thoughts go out to those happy souls in bmed who escaped from bmi and thought they'd never see the dark dickensian management of donington hall ever again......

It's official.... Bmed sold to bmi
 

From an internal communication issued to bmi staff.....

Dear Colleague

We have today announced that the bmi group holding company British Midland plc has acquired control of the Heathrow-based airline British Mediterranean (BMED). Our holding company has subscribed to new shares in BMED which will effectively give bmi a 99 percent controlling stake in the airline. In due course we plan to buy out the remaining minority shareholders.

All existing non-executive directors of BMED have today resigned their positions and I have joined their board along with Sir Michael and Tim Bye. David Richardson, chief executive of BMED will retain his position and report directly to me.

We are extremely pleased with the arrangements we have been able to agree with the current board of BMED and the majority shareholders. We have been aware for some time of the opportunity that existed at BMED but have only recently been in a position to enter into a meaningful dialogue with them.

Bringing BMED into the bmi group offers tremendous opportunities for the growth and development of our businesses. It places BMED in our family of airlines where we have a significant presence and standing in a wide range of markets. We will be creating an operation with a turnover in excess of £1 billion a year. It also enables the bmi group to accelerate its strategy of expansion into the medium-haul markets of BMED. They operate to 17 destinations in 16 countries and there is no overlap with any of our own current routes. Many of the BMED destinations have restricted access to the market due to existing bi-lateral agreements that would have taken us a considerable amount of time to gain access to. There are also a number of clear business synergies between our two organisations. Like bmi, BMED is an established Heathrow-based carrier also operating Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft with IAE engines and, like our own medium-haul product, they have a two class cabin. Improved network opportunities will also exist through our respective Heathrow operations.

The opportunity for us to expand the bmi group in this way is yet again a clear vote of confidence by the shareholders and their commitment to grow our business. BMED is a first class airline whose staff have worked hard on developing an extensive route network and a reputation for delivering an excellent product and service. I look forward to working with them to rebuild their business after some difficult times over the past few months. We have already reached an agreement with British Airways that will see the franchise agreement and any other commercial agreements that exist with BMED continuing for a transitionary period until the end of the Summer 2007 timetable.

In the short term we plan for the business to continue to operate as it does today with no immediate changes to network or structure. A comprehensive review of the business will take place over the next 30 days. For those of you not too familiar with BMED here are some interesting facts about them:

• Formally known as British Mediterranean, BMED was established as a limited company in 1994 by a group of private investors

• BMED has operated as an independent franchise partner of British Airways since 1997

• BMED flies under the British Airways brand and utilises British Airways livery and flight codes. BA is the worldwide sales agent for BMED

• BMED has a fleet of three Airbus A320 and five Airbus A321 Aircraft

• The airline flies to 17 destinations in 16 countries throughout Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia and has 770 employees

We start the year off with more exciting news about the bmi group and I am sure you would wish to join me in giving BMED and their staff a warm welcome into the bmi group of airlines.

Kind regards
Nigel

It's official!!!!
 

The deal has finally been signed - bmi pulled their fingers out of their pocket and signed this afternoon.

Step in the Right Direction for bmi?
 

B limey
M ate
E e's
D one-it!:}

bmi finally going in the right direction? Medium haul instead is short haul/loco cut-throat. Comments.....

A warm welcome to all at BMED

Mmmmm...... there are lots of us ex-bmi at Bmed. Upandoffmyside's right. I personally didnt expect to ever have to wear those awful bar jackets ever again!!!!! I wanted to burn mine when I left.:ugh:
On the plus side at least there may be some certainty for a while at Hetherington House, but then will Nigels axe start to swing?????? We all know what happened to IAD from MAN!!!

The way the bmi pilot agreement for service is currently written, this is not possible. bmi pilots have sole and exclusive rights to fly all bmi Group operations from LHR. Once the washing is dry there will be no such thing as a BMed pilot, or a Bmii for that matter. Going to be a fun time for BALPA!

The (N)ext (B)ig (M)ove ????
 

As a bmi hostie I think it's a fabulous move and definitely in the right direction. For so long we have needed something positive. Morale at work over the last 6 months has been diabolical and this kind of change in certainly welcome.

Just need exciting new uniforms next please!!!!!!:D :)

BMED and BMI
 

As someone who has been at BMED for 10 years I welcome the move by BMI. I just wish that ALL my colleagues at BMED rather than just 99% were a little more positive.

BMED has much to offer, much to learn and this is almost certainly a win-win for all of us. New routes, better slots, more jobs, expansion, more experience ...

Thanks to BMI, and the people there that have welcomed us so far.
Cheers!

ps See you all in FNA, BEY, AMM, DAM, ALP, DKR, KRT, ADD, GYD, EVN, TBS, THR, ALA, FRU, ESB, HBE, SVX .....

As for BA - good riddance, crap handling, crap marketing, they missed out and have just lost 17 routes, 17 points of transfer traffic, £x million in franchise fees .... bye!!!!! We will just let you get on with your strikes! R

Roll on full-BMI at the end of the summer!