No such thing as a BMED pilot
 

BMED pilots are some of most professional I have encountered. Not only are they well trained, fun, dont mind buying the crew a drink - they are dam fine operators! BMED pilots will no longer be brand, but they will certainly go on in style, approach (forgive the pun) and ability to make everyone on the crew feel good.

vs buy out next?
 

bmi were too expensive for VS to buy out before we bought BMED

No chance of us wearing that lovely red uniform anytime in the future!!!!

YAY!:D

A big welcome to all of our new collegues, welcome (back for some of you). This is certainly a turn up for the books, it's so good to see bmi doing something positive for a change!:ok:

I think two troubled carriers just became one happy family. Excellent business move which should benefit all.

I'll be interested to see the results of the 30 day BMED business review which bmi is conducting to see where to go from here.

Regards.

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.


Teh A319 actually has a curtain which can be moved aft(I think it goes to about Row 9-Exit row is 10).

I think the purchase of BMED is great for bmi. I also think that BMED is not long for this world, and will be absorbed pretty quickly into bmi mainline, not too sure about the terminal situation @ LHR though.

If I were in charge of bmi, I would merge WW in as well, and bring back "BMI British Midland" branding, and yes the new uniforms would be good as well.

However HANDS OFF THE LIVERY-its the best thing about bmi, one of teh most beautiful colours seen in Europe in recent times, especially the "swoop" and the red engine tops! I like the monochrome Union Jack on the tail as well. Its a classic livery and MUST BE KEPT!

Totally agree.

BMI have made the deal of the year so far!

Does anybody think that LH ans US will want codeshares?

The livery is supposed to be based on the curves of a dolphin - Elegant and Graceful

bmi indeed has a very attractive and eye-catching livery, which I think will help to establish the airline quickly in the new Middle Eastern market. The only problem as I see it, is the name. bmi, despite having the union flag on the tailfin, does not sound very British, and I agree that a move back to British Midland would do a lot of reestablish the airline. Not only would it reestablish the airline in the UK where it is mostly still referred to as British Midland, but abroad the airline would have a fierce sense of nationality, which I think particularly for a longhaul airline is very important.

I strongly think that this merger, alongside the drop of CDG, will be the first in a series of steps to get rid of the shorthaul network out of LHR. bmi know that mainline is being attacked at all angles by more efficient competition. That could be British Airways providing a full-service product and extensive route network. It could be easyJet or Ryanair flying from local airports with much lower cost bases. Or it could be the train, who profit from it's hassle-free city-to-city option, and it's current green image. Yields have become so eroded in bmi's traditional shorthaul markets, that I'm sure as soon as bmi have the resources and licenses, the airline will move swiftly to more medium and obscure longhaul markets.

It could also spell the beginning of warmer relations between British Airways and bmi. BA and bmi already offer passengers the opportunity to fly from Saudi Arabia to London, and then onwards, with just one ticket. BA also offers members of Executive Club to rack up air miles and tier points on bmi's Saudi flights. I can imagine BA would not like to lose the through traffic from these important markets, and would be keen for bmi to codeshare and offer through traffic from October when the franchise ends. Purely from an observer's perspective, this could work well to get bmi off of the domestic feed routes, BA operating these instead (obviously bmi keeping their slots).

I can't see bmi merging any members of the group into one umbrella brand any time soon, sadly. bmibaby has established itself north of the M25, with a visible and popular brand. The airline may well be chronically underfunded and shy of the competition, but in the markets where we are now, we're often a key player. I wouldn't be surprised to see bmibaby sold however, because it's clear that bmi are no longer interested in serving the kinds of routes that bmibaby do, and perhaps might find the baby brand dilutes that of mainline. bmi regional will have a very successful future simply doing what Midland had been doing for years, finding a niche market and providing an excellent product to attract returning customers.

What will happen with the 5 A321s and other 5 on order?

BMI had got rid of the A321s from their network last year, will they change the orders with Airbus to other A320series?

For example:

5 A321s for 10 A319s
5 A321s for 5 A319s and 5 A320s
OR 5 A321s for 5 A319s and 1 A330?

In was going for the A319 because of the range of the aircraft.

I personally think they will keep the a/c for sometime to asess their performance on the routes served by BMED.

Warming of BA Bmi relations
 

It could also spell the beginning of warmer relations between British Airways and bmi..(said by bmibaby.com)

Bmibaby.com, I couldnt agree more. I Have felt that there has been a warming of relations between BA & Bmi of late. Although simple examples but increased interlining arrangements, the recent strike the tone of Bmi's announcement of additional services for the proposed BA strike sounded more like a cooperation rather opportunism.

It makes sense why they would cooperate and look to the future together. I think we should watch this space. Bmi will be looking at the BA strategy and how they can compete with LCCs etc. I also think that Bmi will no longer see Low Cost as core business, and reckon as I have said before bmibaby will be sold, with EZY being the leading contender to buy.

bmed & bmi
 

I'd like to add to the warm welcome to our new chums joining us from the south side of lhr.
We look forward to meeting, learning and working with you all in due course and sharing a few beers together sometime.
Preferably in better establishments than the dismal ABZ and MME hotels !
The company may appear a bit dour but I think you'll find the troops on the ground friendly and approachable with a good sense of humour....
I hope that bmed management can inject some of their relaxed friendly professionalism and decency in to bmi management operations management and liven up it up a bit with a human touch.
Here's hoping.
Meanwhile poor old BALPA, still creaking from an industrial quagmire left over from the summer will now have a host of additional issues to attend to with minimal resources.
Lets hope big Jim from New Road can give both BALPA CCs all the help and assistance they're going to need over the next few months.

EI-BUD

I would LOVE EZY to take over BMIBaby. This would help MAN in many ways. Highest income LC airline in Europe buying out BMIBaby and setting up shop at the airport. Not too bad, eh?

I would be very cautious though about the takeover. EZY would enter new grounds:

:eek: Birmingham when already have East Midlands
:ok: Strengthening at East Midlands from one of BMIBaby's main bases.
:eek: Manchester when already have Liverpool
:eek: Cardiff when already have Bristol

There are also other problems:

Rome flights operated at different Italian airports
EZY having to take over Irish routes, which wouldn't go down well with FR
New Jersey and Newquay airports

Upsides:

Many of the airports currently served by BMIBaby are also on the EZY map:

Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, East Midlands, Amsterdam, Paris CDG, Prague, Geneva, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Rome, Barcelona, Palma, Alicante, Murcia, Malaga, Faro and Lisbon are all served by both airlines.

This would surely mean EZY would have the most UK bases out of any carrier in Britain:

Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Belfast, Liverpool, Manchester, East Midlands, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted!

That would mean you are never more than 1 1/2 hours away from an EZY base! Amazing!:D

It's interesting that an off-hand comment about bmi potentially selling bmibaby to raise funds for their mediumhaul expansion and moving away from the no-frills market, has suddenly flowered into an in depth look at the potential of EasyJet buying bmibaby. As far as I can tell, the two airlines have very little commonality, with the exception of similar route networks (frankly Jersey and the Irish routes would go immediately whilst Rome would move to CIA.) EasyJet are trying to get rid of the Boeing 737-300 which makes up the backbone of our fleet, indeed many of the "new" 733s now pottering about our fleet are geriatrics that EasyJet have retired. To suddenly take on our complex labour relations, a second head office with considerable British Midland overheads, bases which are too close together and a geriatric fleet, I don't see how on earth we'd be appealing to EZY, who following the Go merger have sworn by organic growth. With their successful business model, attractive new uniform and very efficient fleet, I wouldn't be opposed to an EZY bid for bmibaby, but I don't think they'll be knocking on our door any time soon.

Exactly right.

Introducing bases too close together and using a/c that have already been sold becasue of their age is not a very clever idea.

Stroll on BMIBaby! Working well in the Midlands, Wales and Manchester!

The important thing to remember whilst we all speculate over the future direction of bmi, is that at this time, bmibaby are not up for sale. The airline is doing pretty well for the bmi group, keeping a presence in the no-frills market place, but the airline is very vulnerable to competition, which is increasingly establishing itself in all of baby's markets. If bmi are keen to move back to being a quality, high-yielding airline, then it makes sense for them to sell bmibaby at a profit and focus on bmi's new mediumhaul and longhaul stategy at LHR and bmi regional's strategy of high yielding business routes and niche charter markets. Strategically, there would of course be some benefits to an EasyJet purchase of bmibaby. EZY have a high number of Airbuses on order that they have to put somewhere, already have experience of the B733 which would have to be used short term, and are an established brand in baby's markets. WW has shown it's possible to operate BHX/EMA alongside each other as successful bases, but I can imagine that Manchester & Cardiff would probably be closed down because of very successful bases just up the road to each of them. However, it would be a major distraction EZY could probably live without.

On flights out of LHR, I think Bmi should go back to the same as BA and offer refreshments. No need for meal, maybe except in business class, but at least free tea/coffee/soft drinks free in economy, with just a snack like pretzels or shortbread. Alcohol charge for, or possibly free.

Bring back the bmi we know, a quality airline, that offers good schedules and good service, and a good alternate to BA.

Well, does the airline really need to be run in such an inefficent way Little Blue? I mean a LO-CO should have a streamlined operation, I am sure with a takeover, most jobs would be transferred, or maybe if a foreign plyer, they may be all kept, if there is a bit of an increase in the PAX numbers using ww, with a larger fleet. Anyway the UK we live in not the continent, jobs protectionism isnt that great at all, one of the joys of a free market. LB.

Hear, hear!

:D :D :D

I miss those pretzils in the wee white packets:sad: . If bmibaby are low cost and charge for refreshments then whats the point in bmi? And another thing, on the bmi routes that don't have a businnes cabin, instead you pay virtually the same price for a premium economy fare, but no free food! They do let you in to the businnes lounges if your premium economy though, but it means you have to pinch all the nibbles and shove them in your handbag so that you won't pay over the odds on the plane! bmi need to go back to just economy and business fares like they were before August 2005, that, to me, would be the bmi I know. And they need to take the charges off the refreshments.