Electric Sky
26th Jul 2002, 09:27
It seems Sir Michael is turning the heat up on the UK government and has hinted for the first time that the MAN long haul is under threat should an open skies deal not be signed.
Bmi hopes for open skies agreement
By Kevin Feddy
THE boss of the UK's second-biggest scheduled airline has said he hopes the long-running wrangle over an open skies agreement with the United States can be settled by the end of the year.
Sir Michael Bishop, the Bowdon-born chairman of bmi british midland, is optimistic a deal can be reached to give his carrier access to the US via Heathrow.
That could pave the way for more transAtlantic services from Manchester. Without it, a question mark will hang over the future of bmi's flights to Washington and Chicago.
At present, only British Airways and Virgin Atlantic can fly to the US from Heathrow, but bmi is barred by regulators.
Sir Michael, 60, said: "We have the capability and infrastructure to operate transAtlantic flights from Heathrow. If we were allowed to do so, it would help secure the long-term development of our Manchester-US services, and allow us to accelerate the scope of our Manchester operations."
His airline celebrated the first anniversary of its flights from Manchester to Washington and Chicago in May. The routes are still making a loss, after suffering from the effects of the September 11 attacks and the foot and mouth crisis.
Sir Michael said: "It takes three years for a new route to become profitable, but I cannot think of a worse set of circumstances that those we have faced.
"For that reason, we are treating this year as our first year. We have seen a recovery in traffic since the middle of March - our services are now operating at 70 per cent of capacity."
Commitment
It is likely the number of cheaper seats available on the routes will be reduced, in an attempt to boost yields - the amount of revenue per passenger.
He said bmi has a commitment to continue transAtlantic flights from Manchester - provided they make a profit and can be matched with services from Heathrow.
"The market at Manchester is relatively small. We need to have at least 10 aircraft in our long-haul fleet, to achieve the best economies of scale so we can compete with other carriers. We cannot see ourselves being able to build up to that level at Manchester, so we need to have operations from Heathrow."
Sir Michael met Transport Secretary Alistair Darling and other government representatives earlier this month to press bmi's case.
"There's been a cocktail of problems and the situation has reached an impasse. But I think the chances are better than they have been for a couple of years. We've had a lot of support from north west MPs.
"If an agreement is reached by the end of the year, it will allow us to start new US services by June 2003.
"If we don't get into Heathrow in a reasonable period of time, we will have to review Manchester - unless the services are profitable."
His airline will make a "moderate" loss this year but he expects it to be back in profit in 2003.
ES ;)
Bmi hopes for open skies agreement
By Kevin Feddy
THE boss of the UK's second-biggest scheduled airline has said he hopes the long-running wrangle over an open skies agreement with the United States can be settled by the end of the year.
Sir Michael Bishop, the Bowdon-born chairman of bmi british midland, is optimistic a deal can be reached to give his carrier access to the US via Heathrow.
That could pave the way for more transAtlantic services from Manchester. Without it, a question mark will hang over the future of bmi's flights to Washington and Chicago.
At present, only British Airways and Virgin Atlantic can fly to the US from Heathrow, but bmi is barred by regulators.
Sir Michael, 60, said: "We have the capability and infrastructure to operate transAtlantic flights from Heathrow. If we were allowed to do so, it would help secure the long-term development of our Manchester-US services, and allow us to accelerate the scope of our Manchester operations."
His airline celebrated the first anniversary of its flights from Manchester to Washington and Chicago in May. The routes are still making a loss, after suffering from the effects of the September 11 attacks and the foot and mouth crisis.
Sir Michael said: "It takes three years for a new route to become profitable, but I cannot think of a worse set of circumstances that those we have faced.
"For that reason, we are treating this year as our first year. We have seen a recovery in traffic since the middle of March - our services are now operating at 70 per cent of capacity."
Commitment
It is likely the number of cheaper seats available on the routes will be reduced, in an attempt to boost yields - the amount of revenue per passenger.
He said bmi has a commitment to continue transAtlantic flights from Manchester - provided they make a profit and can be matched with services from Heathrow.
"The market at Manchester is relatively small. We need to have at least 10 aircraft in our long-haul fleet, to achieve the best economies of scale so we can compete with other carriers. We cannot see ourselves being able to build up to that level at Manchester, so we need to have operations from Heathrow."
Sir Michael met Transport Secretary Alistair Darling and other government representatives earlier this month to press bmi's case.
"There's been a cocktail of problems and the situation has reached an impasse. But I think the chances are better than they have been for a couple of years. We've had a lot of support from north west MPs.
"If an agreement is reached by the end of the year, it will allow us to start new US services by June 2003.
"If we don't get into Heathrow in a reasonable period of time, we will have to review Manchester - unless the services are profitable."
His airline will make a "moderate" loss this year but he expects it to be back in profit in 2003.
ES ;)