View Full Version : bmi closing down next year?
MissChief
29th Oct 2001, 12:00
Anyone to confirm that Bishop has started a 3-stage process to run down bmi completely over the next 12 months? Seems plausible given recent actions, and yet it was such a good airline. (Rumour coming from within the company)
I know this is a Rumours & News forum but this must be the biggest pile of pish I have seen! Even if Bishop did want to close bmi down don't you think the other shareholders would have something to say?
le loup garou
29th Oct 2001, 13:22
Start long haul, new direction eg.bmi and after Sept 11th seem to keep long haul. Two months ago looking to recruit more Pilots and only because of recent events may have to let some go. Doesn't sound like an airline with a Three stage run down plan.
I hope that I dont have to eat these words but i think your source is full of it.
As with most good rumours - this could be a complete load of twaddle or there could be a grain of truth in it. Personally I doubt whether the airline will just be 'run-down' -more likely to be sold to LH and/or SAS or merged with these partners to form a completely new and much larger international competitor to the likes of BA, Air France, UA and AA. Seeing as how Bish, LH and SAS arethe shareholders of British Midland Airways Ltd I would suggest this is a far more likely development. Anyone out there got any better suggestions?
wooof
29th Oct 2001, 13:37
What a load of b*llox :mad:
MaximumPete
29th Oct 2001, 15:43
MissChief
I suggest you spend more of your time playing with your stamps and less time starting ill conceived threads on this public forum.
If you run out of stamps there are loads in the British Libriary (next door to St Pancreas Station)
Angry MP
Raw Data
29th Oct 2001, 16:11
It's just stunning what some people will believe, even when it flies in the face of reason, common sense and good business practice.
And I thought pilots were supposed to be intelgi... integile... smart! :rolleyes:
Busta Level
30th Oct 2001, 00:42
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah - oh blimey - heeeheeeheeeheee. Good fishing session mischief(!) - best for a while :D :D :D
Good luck with landing your future catches ;)
Diplomate
30th Oct 2001, 00:55
I'm sure that this particular rumour isn't true - but, I've just flown bmi LHR-MAN (pax) and tried to pick up a new timetable. The customer service staff told me that the new timetable won't be issued before December at the earliest due to continued uncertainty over routes etc.
Arkroyal
30th Oct 2001, 04:59
Diplomate,
The summer timetables were about a month late, and that was before all this bother.
This winter's timetable appeared in draft form only at the end of last week, so it'll be a while before it's out in glossy.
As for Misschief's original posting....
Only if bmi is selling its slots at LHR to a pig farm.
From the bmi web site:-
online winter timetable
Due to unforeseeable schedule changes the delivery of the new online timetable has been delayed.
To ensure infomation published is as accurate as possible we expect the new timetable to be available online by Friday November 2nd at the latest.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Also from the web site. The axing of BCN and FCO.
From the beginning of December bmi will be suspending services from London Heathrow to Rome and Barcelona, operating in conjunction with SAS and Lufthansa.
Both of these routes were launched only recently. Consequently, the services had not been operating pre September 11th for a sufficient period of time to reach full maturity and become viable operations. Advance booking indications lead the airline to believe that, given the uncertainty surrounding air travel at the moment, these services are now unlikely to sustain an acceptable level of performance. bmi has therefore decided that it would be inappropriate to continue their operation taking into account current market conditions.
[ 30 October 2001: Message edited by: Gaza ]
MissChief
30th Oct 2001, 20:20
Cheers Busta, gotta keep a sense of humour even when you've lost your job! (Yes, I have, not joking, and it's really not funny for any of us).
Incidentally why so many pilots sacked, when either 3 or even 0 a/c will be moth-balled, acc. to engineers rumours today? ....maybe some of the senior "single pilot" aces will now be operating by themselves soon!
Arkroyal
30th Oct 2001, 20:38
MissChief wrote:
Incidentally why so many pilots sacked, when either 3 or even 0 a/c will be moth-balled, acc. to engineers rumours today?
Very good point indeed. I'm spending my next leave period practicing one armed paper hanging to prepare for my new role :D
I sincerely hope that it means fewer or no redundancies. Remember that the issue of the poison pen letter is not the final word.
Wishing you all the best, and keep those fingers crossed!
Noisy Hooligan
30th Oct 2001, 21:01
Miss chief, what a load of complete b*ll*x. Have you nothing else better to do than spread sh!te and instigate bad feeling and negative aura's wherever you go?
bmi is NOT going down the toilet, it is one of the most stable airlines in Europe.
For ***** sake, grow up.
Stage 1: Sell off the valuable bits. (e.g. LHR slots and profit making routes to LH.)
Stage 2: Shut down the awkward loss making bits that are a total pain in the a*se.
Stage 3: Transfer the bits that can make a profit if they are run on a much lower cost base to bmir.
Result: Bigger Star Alliance, profit making bmir working as part of Star Alliance, cash in his pocket,less stress in his life.
As fishbed says LH and SAS are the other shareholders. Between the three they can do just about what they like and there will inevitably be consolidation in Europe. A medium size airline like bmi cannot hope to survive on it's own. Mere conjecture but if he does this I'll sue him for copyright!
[ 30 October 2001: Message edited by: Bash ]
mahonysherms
31st Oct 2001, 15:54
Bash,
Nice industry analysis, Work for bmir do we??
Think about this:
1. BMI has one of the lowest cost bases of all the European/world airlines.
2. Vast numbers of LHR Slots.
3. It is well placed to pick up the pieces after Sabena,Swissair and Virgin may fall.
4. It is trying to acheive part-time over redundancy for the winter sched. This is because he needs the pilots at his fingertips when opportunities arise.
bmi has always been held back by red tape, and monopolising agreements. I suspect that this shake-up is just what the industry needs to help create a level playing field. I would bet my ray-bans that if this happens, Sir micheal will be the one up front scoring the goals.
Watch this space. ;)
Stagnation Point
31st Oct 2001, 20:15
This isn't new they were talking about this when I joined bmir a couple of years ago.
Many a true word spoken in jest :eek: :eek:
Bash,
I would like to refer you to my original posting-
"What a load of b*llox"
:mad:
[ 01 November 2001: Message edited by: wooof ]
The only thing about the future we can be pretty sure of, is that it won't be what we expect. It was mere conjecture. Probably is complete bollox, like most of the stuff I and lots of others post here.
[ 01 November 2001: Message edited by: Bash ]