BMI Drop Washington & St Lucia

[sevenforeseven]

Just heard that BMI are dropping Washington for good and St Lucia for a 7 week period. St Lucia is being dropped for 7 weeks because the hurricane season is approching (Who are they kidding).
As I have said in the past a complete and utter shambles of a airline. The sooner VS take them over the better!!
Anyone know the real reason?

[Tiger]

bmi are currently stuck in the middle with the low cost carriers snapping at their heels and their needs to find other markets together in joining Star Alliance. They played too safe years ago with their domestic network, branching into Europe late. In the late 1980`s they applied for 11 European routes which only 5-6 where ever operated. When they joined Star they had to pull some of there German routes..FRA for example. Being honest bmi costs aren`t really high in the first place, as they pay peanuts to other UK airlines.

When the EasyJets of this world came on the scene bmi was hit harder as there paxs were the more likely to move to these than the BA paxs. The management lost out on long haul to Virgin at LHR and have spent way too many years chasing a dream which don`t look like it going to happen, unless you count the cast off BA Saudi stuff and one route to India. With the Saudi routes I cann`t help but say remember B.CAL!

bmi does too much this and a little of that these days, with odd routes from MAN which to be honest isn`t really there first choice airport. They consantly change themselves, from full thrills to zero thrills, name change, route change, lets give this ago, that ago. bmibaby was hastly flung together as "Go" anounced routes from EMA, BM own back yard and sacried ground. So I guess soon bmi LHR will be bmi baby with long haul being bmi. Perhaps going back to what it did best which was domestic maybe the way ahead.

[keepitlit]

wheres your info from?

[RevMan2]

This is an airline run not by common or economic sense, but rather by Sir Michael's whim.

[Fuzzy112]

The text book on how to destroy a route has just been updated by bmi...

Reduce capacity and service by changing from a A330 to a B757. Throw away vast cargo revenues. Then tell everyone that the route is not doing very well and has to be terminated. - it should come as no surprise to anyone that the route is not doing very well!

[maxy101]

Sounds like BM have been taking lessons from the "BA Way"of route closures.

[randomair]

Just wondering, where as you getting this info from? i can't find a thing on it!

[Fuzzy112]

Just wondering, where as you getting this info from? i can't find a thing on it!
Company memo

[goldeneye]

If they are dropping it, they are still selling the route on worldspan, pretty bad if they are pulling it.

[The_Banking_Scot]

Hi,

Washington service (IAD) to terminate from end of OCtober 2005 according to this;

http://www.flybmi.co.uk/trade/en-gb/index.aspx


( thread link fron flyertalk.com)

Regards

TBS

[Max Angle]

It was never the right route anyway and never performed well, I am amazed it lasted as long as it did. Trouble it there is nothing to replace it with at the moment apart from hopes of a daily Mumbai. All pretty hopeless really.

[apaddyinuk]

Maxi 101....What are you on about???
BA pulled off the Saudi routes as they really were not making money. They barely made money as direct services and the profit totally went out the door when they had to operate through Kuwait for security reasons.
As for the South American routes, these two were barely profit making. If an airline pretty much has the monopoly on a route and still cant make a profit out of it, perhaps its not worth operating! The Bogota route was continously downsized with equipment in an attempt to make a profit by haveing smaller planes an dkeeping the bigger ones for more profitable routes!!!

[acbus1]

I'm surprised they didn't try the Embraer for a while. :rolleyes:

About as sensible as anything else they've done in the last few years.

There'll be a big bonfire if SAS/Lufthansa ever get their mits on a majority. It'd be the kindest thing to do.

[RevMan2]

Star Alliance carrier BMI is axing its transatlantic service between Manchester and Washington, blaming the failure of ‘open skies’ talks and poor connections from the US airport for its decision.

How about ....... slack management and product degradation?

[lexxity]

poor connections from the US airport for its decision.

That is hilarious! Everyone who was going through IAD was pretty much going onto MCO which was the vast majority of the a/c and the rest of the connections were to the obscure places which are only served from IAD. As for the route making no money, that is the biggest pile of nonsense I've heard in ages. Lots of cargo and lots of revenue traffic = money, but that only works with a 330!

(sorry rant over)

[Red 69]

They dropped the MAN-IAD route a couple of years ago just as it was getting going. They then went back to pick up the pieces but decided to finish it off once and for all by sticking a 757 on it. Brilliant piece of management! As for the 7 week lay off because of the hurricane season on the St Lucia, it'd be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic.

This company has no chance of survival in the present climate with the present management. I'd put my money where my mouth is and say it won't exist in its present form inside 24 months. Any takers? The company is slowly contracting and getting smaller aircraft while all around them are expanding again. Looks like they're having the life squeezed out of them. I don't think the prospect of a VS merger would be so good for the majority of bmi staff as they seem to think either. Take a look at any past merger/take over and history will only repeat itself. Great for VS, not for bmi

As for this new business model, well, who dreamt that mish mash up? As a BA spokeman said, "what a dogs dinner, I can't see it working" Can only agree with him. NT's already changed his mind on Dublin. Maybe his imaginary 10000 people survey wasn't so good after all. What a surprise. Would love to know who these people he asked were. Maybe it was a questionnaire he sent to local primary schools (sorry, I shouldn't be so derogatory to 5 year olds - they'd do a better job than present management) or maybe more likely he sent them to BA? Hahah!

Why hasn't he just changed the name now to baby, without all this nonsense?

Anyway, I digress......

[Max Angle]

This company has no chance of survival in the present climate with the present management Very true. Many of us who have been with bmi for a long time have always comforted ourselves with the thought that the company has always survived and is a pretty safe bet. Most of us feel that this is no longer the case and that we could be in big trouble very shortly.

[liquid sunshine]

I don't think the management really know what sort of product they want to have. BD was in its prime with Diamond Service one class cabin with good inflight product and excellent staff. Since going to the two class service and then dropping business on some routes and the creation of BMI Baby it would appear that they have no genuine long term business plan. Many good staff have left the airline over the last few years after realising that the airline is going nowhere except down the tubes!!

[AUTOGLIDE]

Sad news, I've flown the MAN-IAD route 5 times and it was always busy, once I had to change date by 5 days due no seats available. Agree with the comments previous about identity, at the moment i have absolutely no idea what sort of airline BMI now is, low cost/ full service etc. Shame, I always kind of liked BMI. :(

[max magic]

this company has no chance of survival in the present climate with present management

Absolutely - as I'm sure most bmi pilots know -

Still lots of pilots applying elsewhere, more leaving within the next few months, even cabin crew leaving after only 3 months working for bmi.

Jetset747 - I'm with you my friend 24 months !

[Anne.Nonymous]

RevMan2

Where did you pick up the bit about blaming "open skies" and poor connections, please?

Anne :O

[RevMan2]

Anne.Nonymous

ATI

[expelair]

Star Alliance carrier BMI is axing its transatlantic service between Manchester and Washington, blaming the failure of ‘open skies’ talks and poor connections from the US airport for its decision.

Blame open skies all you like fact where were they planning to fly to in the USA anyway?
Star alliance does not allow competition between carriers with this in mind where would they have flown to out of LHR and who would have handled them.
Pulling out of MAN which is what it looks like they intend to do, slowly, is typical of the lack of forsight which bmi currently have plenty of. Man is one of the fastes growing airports in the country, just look at the new routes added over the last 5 years.

does any one know if anyone at DH in thier ivory towers ever read any of the pax/staff comments?

[MarkD]

Well, if VS decide to start MAN service then they will be able to effect a de facto takeover of BMI LH without actually taking it over.

If it weren't for the weird shareholdings at BMI it would make so much sense - 330 pilots quickly convertible to 340s, BMIR as the feed to VS LHR/LGW and bmibaby+V Express making a more sizeable overall force in the budget market rather than cannibalising BMIR traffic as it seems to be destined to do.

[The Real Slim Shady]

The route " axe-ings" are ex MAN.

What does that tell you?

Starting Mumbai and Riyadh ex LHR etc.............