I havent heard anything from my usual sources. It is even quieter than DLH!!

bmi brand
 

With reference to the value of the bmi brand name being kept- i'm not so sure. You only have to look at people complaining on bmi mainline social media sites about early closure of bmibaby and vice versa about bmi closure to see that many don't recognise the difference, which I believe has, in part, led to the damage the brand has incurred. SAH would have to be very careful about how they market their 'new' airline.

bmi brand
 

bmi brand
perhaps "British Midland" would be a good name, as opposed to "BMI", which may be associated with closure or associated with BA takeover?

I can't see us getting any idea what plans are till they've got the nod from the CAA and the the ownership transfer is 100% done. As frustrating as it is I can see the merit in this.

After that happens I do hope there will be more open comms from management than has previously beeen the case during the past 12 months.

Perhaps you should all learn Doric!

Thinking of Doric, what's happening to Donnington Hall?

Todays stand up informed us that at the moment they don't know what is going to happen with the Hall.

And the new owners of bmir are planning on operating and having there hq at east midlands.

Is the bit about BMIR a wind up??? Surely cheaper just to let HQ remain in ABZ?????

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation
 

Aviation services - Met Office

Nice picture of an EMB on the Met Office website

Any word on the CAA approval anyone???

Nada. Would be nice to hear any form of update from abz...

Any truth to the rumour aircraft to all be on uk soil for the announcement? I heard that in the rumour mill. Bit concerning. Probably not correct...

Excuse my ignorance, but where is the benefit of having all the aircraft in the UK for the announcement? I can only see 2 purposes to that,

1. So that all crews can be present at any announcement.
2. For winding up of the company and grounding of all assets.


But like you say, it was only a rumor anyway.

But if the sale is blocked by CAA, then BA still own them and they still need to operate the summer season as they've said and be wound up at the end of summer? Getting all aircraft on the ground in UK makes no sense even if it is bad news.

Formalities for transfers of ownership of aircraft generally require them to be in UK at completion so that will be why the rumour is around. All aircraft were either owned by or leased to British Midland Airways Limited and will therefore need to be transferred to Regional or Granite when the deal completes.

well thats positive news... it presumes that the time is nearing when the deal is signed off.

Any date with that rumor?

I understand from my impeccable sources that the deal will be completed this evening or very early tomorrow morning.

Yes that was confidential until today I believe. So not so impeccable :)

FLASH: bmi Regional sale completed | 1 June 2012 | Stock Market Wire

Sale of BMI Regional completed

Deal is done. Still no real news on the plan.

Travelweekly reporting the completion too.
Good news at last but still concerned about taking on the BMi brand,Unless it is a temporary measure I believe it is now unfortunately damaged, maybe beyond economic repair? As far as 99.9% of the general public are concerned BMi is now BA, I have heard friends say they have shied away from booking BMi recently due to uncertainty. In the general publics view there is pretty much NO differentiation between BMi and BMiR, in their minds eye its one and the same. All the major press stories have been about BMi being taken over and BMiBaby potentially shutting down. I think it would take A LOT of money spent on advertising to redress the publics view if it is even possible???

300 jobs secured with sale of Bmi division to Aberdeen consortium
 

300 jobs secured with sale of Bmi division to Aberdeen consortium

300 jobs secured with sale of Bmi division to Aberdeen consortium - News - Scotsman.com

This copied from another forum. from the MD of BMi

Following my update to you on 10 May regarding the sale of bmi Regional, the deal between IAG and Sector Aviation Holdings Ltd to sell bmi Regional has been completed today.

The ownership of bmi Regional has now transferred to Sector Aviation Holdings Ltd (SAH) and from 1 June 2012, bmi Regional will no longer be part of the bmi group. I thank the bmi Regional team for their hard work, patience and commitment to the business and wish them well for the future.

We will provide elements of support to bmi Regional for an agreed period of time, yet please be mindful that bmi Regional is now a competitor and should be treated as such. If you are required to maintain a working relationship with bmi Regional, your manager will provide advice on how to conduct business going forward.

I realise that staff in both companies have worked side by side for many years, and for some of you, you will continue to come into regular contact with bmi Regional staff within the business environment or socially. Please just keep in mind that business matters should not be discussed.

For customers, the change of ownership will have no visible impact. The airline will continue to use the same airport locations and facilities and its summer schedule remains as planned. The bmi Regional logo and branding, the current aircraft liveries, BD and 236 airline codes will all continue until 27 October 2012.

Members of bmi’s Diamond Club will also see no immediate changes and will continue to earn and redeem miles, book reward flights and enjoy status benefits on all bmi Regional flights.

In the absence of its own website and booking functions, bmi Regional will continue to utilise flybmi.com to enable its customers to book and service their flights until 27 October. bmi’s call centres will also provide support until October.

The five Embraer aircraft currently wetleased to bmi mainline will continue to fly for us during the Summer timetable as planned. This agreement will cease at the end of the summer timetable and the aircraft will return to bmi Regional.

For bmi mainline, good progress is being made in all areas to integrate the airline into British Airways before the end of the summer timetable. The first group of routes transferred on 23 May and now operate as BA flights. These nine routes still operate into Heathrow Terminal 1 and with the same schedules, they just have BA flight numbers. Over time all mainline aircraft will also start to take on the BA style inside and out. The first bmi A319 to undergo rebranding took to the skies on 28 May in its new Olympic Dove livery.

Regarding bmibaby, following the start of the consultation process, which began on 3 May 2012, proposals have been reviewed regarding future options for bmibaby. After in-depth analysis of the different options, we can confirm that we will now be working to the proposal to close the business on 10 September 2012.

Please note that even at this very late stage, if a new and credible offer was received to acquire the bmibaby business, either in whole or part, IAG would readily enter discussions. However, we do not realistically anticipate this happening. In the meantime, consultation with union and employee representatives continues.

Following the changes to the flying programme announced earlier this month, the bmibaby team worked tirelessly to make sure customers affected by flight changes were refunded quickly and within seven days of the announcement. An advertising campaign was launched last weekend in the Midlands to serve as a reminder that bmibaby continue to fly and customers can still book flights for the summer with confidence.

I recognise that it remains a difficult time for staff at bmibaby and bmi mainline, yet I remain impressed with your professionalism in managing the day to day business and continuing to deliver an excellent service to our customers.

I will continue to keep you up to date with any developments and share information with you

Thank you for your continuing support.

Peter