The financial situation at bmi is quite different from either Austrain or Germanwings, and not in a positive way.

What happens behind the scenes is exactly that, behind the scenes. Some of which we may be privy to, some not. Time will tell who is correct, don't you think?

What is very safe to say, however, is that with out DLH constantly throwing money at Donington Hall, bmi would have disappeared a couple of years ago.

Also remember you can still get made redundant from tupe. I've been on tupe before when the company I worked for lost a contract to a competitor. Transfer over and the new company has to pay redundancy - that's win win for Lufthansa because they won't have to pay e redundancy fees.

Very complicated but sneaky - I've known people to tupe, get redundancy and end up going back to the original employer full time a few weeks later with a new job offer there.

INKJET, what are bmi paying SMB leases for? Slots, aircraft, property?

I would agree with a previous poster, Why would LH sell to BA and give them a stronger HUB at LHR. Surely strategically LH would not wish to see BA expand or increase connectivity at London Heathrow. I would expect if the assets are to be stripped the slots would be sold to other Star Alliance Partners and also some additional slots for LH and it's own carriers Austrian and Swiss.

Lufthansa did try to sell Bmi not too long ago and invited interested parties to the table. They didnt feel that the prices that were on offer were strong enough, so whats changed in the mean time? BA in stronger position to buy?? Now with the Iberia merger now in place.

Bmi dont have the range of connectivity through London that BA do, nowhere close and as a result there are far more exposed to competition on short haul point to point routes than BA. So if they are more in the game of the loco's they need costs that allow that.

So if LH do sell the slots what becomes of the leases of the aircraft and all that, I am sure that there are exit costs that will need to be measured up carefully.

EI-BUD

2 years of performance. Turnaround has been much much slower than DLH expected and some unfortunate route choices have not helped - none of which have been in bmi's control. bmi is still haemoraging cash and financial top ups from DLH have been needed on a regular basis.

I understand that VS and BA made offers a couple of years ago in the range of £60-65m. At that time it was deemed unacceptable as DLH had just been forced to part with £320m.

There is no way DLH will be able to recover their expense shovelled in to BMI, which is a real shame.

I personally see BMI as a declining dark ages airline.

Shame about bmi's problems - remember the days when it was pushing into BA's domestic and near european monoply with great effect with elderly DC9's against the modern BA 757 and 737.