BMI Regional: NWI and BHD

[jamesbrownontheroad]

Sorry if the title surprised you - not a question about a route between the two (although for the sake of my family I'd love one) but two questions for the price of one ...

1) How long did BMI-R operate NWI-MAN? I think I blinked and missed it completely. What were the loads, and can anyone summarise the events before during and after the brief existence of this route. Did BD get a bloody nose from Eastern?

2) Earlier threads mentionned a hint of BMI-R feeder between BHD and MAN. BD enjoy a healthy flow of pax connecting in LHR, but if you want the luxury of their own trans-Atlantic service you have to slum it on the Baby from BFS. Any news/progress on this route?

Ta,

*j*

[330-Purser]

Although I don't operate Regional flights, my colleagues on Regional did say that the MAN-NWI-MAN services were virtually dead from the start. They used to get excited if they had more than one pax each (2 cabin crew operation!) and thats no joke!

It had some really strange schedule too, very late departure ex-MAN and back. No use to anyone really...

[bmiboyz]

I am not regional either but know a quite a few crew there and it was a W-pattern 4 sector day for them hence the strange times. They worked MAN-NWI-ABZ-NWI-MAN.

[chiglet]

I work in ATC at MAN, and [as far as I recall] the BMA went out within 40mins of the EZE jetsream, at 1730[ish] and returned at [about] 2030[ish], so it's a pretty quick "W" pattern
watp,iktch

[keepitlit]

i think bmi would br more likely to start a BHD MAN to feed longhaul before doing a NWI

Rgds

K.I.L.

[jamesbrownontheroad]

Sorry KIL...must be a misunderstanding. I'm not expecting BMI-R to try MAN-NWI *again* - by all accounts they only managed a week or two last time (and Eastern seem to be doing ok with it).

KLM do pretty good business with 5 flights a day across the relatively short stretch of water to Schipol (which, when you include the expense of getting to/parking at LHR, is pretty competive with travelling from London).

BACX BHD-MAN is interesting, since BMI-R or FlyBe would be much more suited to that route. I could imagine an interesting scramble to fill the gap if BACX ever withdrew MAN from BHD (now their only route) between those two.

*j*