As somebody who used to stand at the front of the queue (not with my hands in my pockets, I've always been a paragon of customer service), there are a few reasons for why certain barriers are closed. Firstly, sometimes you are asked by immigration officers to keep them closed for monitoring, but more often than not it's because there are other flights due in, so it doesn't make sense to open them for one flight then try closing them all before a plane-load of people arrives. It certainly doesn't benefit the ground staff having to listen to people moan about being treated like cattle, or having to stand there anyway telling people to switch off mobiles and take passports out of wallets - please do this by the way.

Great news about EMA-CGN being continued by bmi regional, will these flights offer any onward connections. FRA or DUS would've been better, but try getting the slots.

Well its a step on the right direction for BD. If CGN proves successful for it, (which it will considering EZY), it might encourage them to introduce other destinations (if slots are available) and it may bring us the rumoured second ERJ145.

SAM-EMA

I wonder whether this will mean bmi regional will begin recruiting again for EMA, I know there's plenty of girls at baby who have considered moving across. I can't see regional paying for the crews to come in off of the BD234 then sit around for 2 hours doing squat before flying off to CGN. Hopefully the route will perform well to bring on a second Embraer, I had heard ABZ and ZRH was being considered.

This ain't going to go down too well, but still. Im glad EMA and BMI are going to continue with the route, and possible more to come. But and its a big but.. . . . It was a busyish route for easyJet, and the main reason is because its fares were low, and affordable to everyone.

But BMI prices are not that cheap, which is a shame because it really is a nice city to visit for a weekend. But still well done to BMI for keeping it for business pax.

With BMI looking at EMA again, does this mean that Baby might add a few new routes?

Lee

bmibaby.com:

When you say ABZ, do you mean Baby or (presume) Regional.

Just mindful that Reg tried a comeback on EMAABZ a couple of years ago, but it was a late morning arrival up here, no use for biz & the route was axed again.

Will they try a more "business-friendly" schedule if it is Reg?

I remember it was once daily during the down-time from the EMA-BRU route, which was never going to be able to compete with T3's 3x daily service. All I've heard is that if regional base a second ERJ here, then there's a strong chance that ABZ would be one of the routes. Just in relation to another post made, I don't think that bmi ever stopped looking at EMA as a base with expansion potential. The issue has been that BHX have offered a very tempting deal to open and expand a base there, and EMA feels the pressure of FR more. Hopefully WAW and GDN will do well and it will encourage baby to expand more into "emerging" markets, though the Eastern Europeans will go with the cheapest option on the route - which probably won't be us - and also I do wonder how heavily baby are planning on marketing the routes abroad and in the UK's Polish media.

Is their some more new routes to come from Easyjet for 2008 as thy have not put the 2008 summer on sale yet, but have hinted at more new routes and extra flights from programme.

When will the new bmir cgn service be confirmed and no 2 aircraft for bmir
at the airport.

The airport has to make use of hits 5 awards this year to sell itself to the world and pick up new business.

Well done east midlands airport penny and her team.

Given the business nature of the bmi regional flights, I wouldn't be surprised if the CGN route isn't announced for a little while yet. They have to have the slots confirmed, organise handling agents, fees etc. It should be a nice little earner for bmi regional though, although it's a shame they weren't able to get into a premium business market which would've been better suited to their type of operation.

EZY have previously stated their happy with just three based a/c at EMA, but it's nice to see the route network getting a bit of a shake up with the new routes to BCN and PMI. We could certainly do with a new route to MXP, what with flybe now offering the only service from BHX. Although it's a similar distance from Milan Centrale as BGY, it's the premier Milanese airport and also serves the business district and exhibition centres.

Bit off thread but common interest.....
 

Given FlyBE's announcement re CWL and their growth plans for S08 will baby throw its toys out of fight back?

Opinions...........

Fight with who tho? Think of the money it could cost to fight ezy or fr on a route, Why fight, just open new routes. . . . .

According to Penny Cotes, bmibaby have announced a 3 times weekly service from EMA to Nice. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Anyone heard this?

Regards

Stu

No i have not heard this, but if Penny sayz so, well then. . . . . is Nice anywhere near that Ryanair already operates to out of EMA? Should be popular with the second home owners.

Lee

Sorry, where has this been announced, I can't see it yet either on the airport or on the bmibaby website. It's a good route to come back if it does happen (I'm at pains not to say it's a nice route), but wonder whether it will be launched with creative scheduling or if another route is being dropped or having dropped frequencies to launch it. With regards to FR airports, there are none served from EMA which are close to NCE, the nearest being FNI - which is a good 4 hours via Avignon on the train. It is however, quite convenient for MRS, which if it wasn't for the delightful French employment law, would probably be a bigger base for FR.

Well done babies if true anyway on clawing back some marketshare.

'Bmi Baby will fly to three new destinations from East Midlands Airport.

Passengers will be able to travel to Nice in France and Gdansk and Warsaw in Poland from next summer.

Flights to Nice will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, services to Gdansk will run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and flights to Warsaw will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.



David Hodge, commercial director of BMI Baby, said: "We are delighted to announce further expansion of our services from East Midlands Airport with the launch of three new routes.

"Nice is currently unserved from the East Midlands so our service will be fantastic news to leisure and business travellers."

Penny Coates, managing director of Castle Donington-based EMA, said: "I am thrilled that our local-based carrier has expanded its summer 2008 portfolio from EMA."'

This is taken from ThisisDerbyshire.co.uk, which is where i found it.

Possibly anything to do with the way that bmi has treated the route over the last five years? Originally a bmi route, it was one of the first bmibaby routes in 2002. Then gradually reduced from a daily flight to a few times a week, before being transferred to bmi regional in 2005 as a weekly flight every Saturday, then axed so that baby could focus on BHX-NCE. Got to love marketing spin ..., but good news for a new route.

Hi

This is also in the Derby evening telegraph, today 2 x routes to poland and the one to Nice, so good on BMI baby, nice to know they are coming up again, it is funny though, when i was crew at EZY we had the BCN, and then that went, and now is making a comeback, Well looks like all the old ones are coming back...
Girls, Remember perms ? Well they may make a comeback so chuck out the hair straightners, like everything in life, everything always makes a come back.
LOL

Mike

Bmibaby 2008
just checked the baby website booking engine all destinations from 2007
plus new nce/gdk/waw and extra fao ara loaded, will we see ibz loaded later as mid summer flights.
On checking it will need 5 aircraft each early am and 5 aircraft mid am
plus also 5 aircraft mid pm no slack , hope the bmi charter airbus is spare to cover can see no work for it in the it charter market?
regards
stuart

I see EMA have applied to the local council for planning permission to build a new hotel onsite at the airport. If they get the go ahead, that will be 4 onsite after the Thistle, Premier Travel Inn and Express by Holiday Inn. anyone any ideas????

Regards

Stu

Rumours that UKIA's aircraft has been taken back by its owners. Is it still at EMA?

Calling all other EMAs cabin crew. Just a quick question well two actually.

1) Do you allow pax to drink their own alcohol?

2) Do many pax actually bring their own on board and try to drink it?

Im asking because i've noticed that a fair number of pax have been trying to dirnk them little 50ml bottles which have been brought in the airport. Don't you think alpha should stop selling these little bottles (50mls)?

pvt is good cheers :O

Lee