JANUARY PAX FIGURES ON BMI DOWN 15.6%
 

It seems that bmi is getting in more trouble and are half way down a slippery slope to ruin!! pax figures just released by the AEA (association of european airlines) show bmi as THE worst performer of all its members (including the likes of Olympic, JAT, etc...)
The load factor is down 6.3% while passengers boarded is down a massive 15.6 % meanwhile BA show an increase of 7% in business traffic. Sounds worse than what happened to dan air and air europe!!!!! R.I.P. bmi its time to jump ship!!!!:sad:

I think you will find that about 80% of the FO's have already taken your advice!

Some discussion about the January figures already here.

some of this will have been with bmi downsizing from 321 to 319 though right?

NO The first of the A321's have only just gone!! all of this is due to Nigel Turner's "NEW BUSINESS MODEL". Why he hasn't been sacked yet by SMB is beyond me. I can only think that hes been told to prepare the company for sale!!! As it stands, the only valuble thing in the company now is the slots at LHR. Time for bmi staff to jump ship, the iceburg is straight ahead!!!:eek:

flyme69
Do you have some sort of grudge with this "doomed" airline?:uhoh:

I jumped ship 16mths ago and now work for a larger more professional outfit. I see lots of bmi gold card holders (some who recognise me ) and they just say that the airline is now dire, unable to through check bags, gold card holders unable to prebook there seats , and to add insult have to pay 3.50 for a g & t out of there own pocket after a day which for many biz people may have started by getting out of bed at 4am and not returning till the 5 pm flight. Also many complain that the schedule is now pants. It used to be 4 x Mad a day then 2 then 1 and now being scrapped.

I think that Sir Michael has done a fantastic job in building up this company from nothing, He's never seeked publicity like others, and used to have a fantastic product. However he's taken his eye off the ball and surrounded himself with muppets. I hope that he has squirrelled some pennys away as I fear bmi are on there way out.

Goodbye bmi and RIP

It seems bmi cant add extra routes (longhaul & shorthaul) because there simply arnt enough flight crew!! their all off to BA and Virgin, same with the cabin crew!! time for bish to sell his baby!! :sad:

Time to sell ? No. Sell high , Not while the ompany is on it's knees if you were a multi millionaire would you buy a company going down the tubes ?

As chance would have it, I will be needing to go London to MAN in a couple of months time, so decided to compare prices.

The BMI prices out of LHR to MAN are about level pegging with BA but what amazed me was that I could not find detail on the 3rd party charges - or if they ARE all 3rd party! It simply states:
applicable taxes, passenger service charge and insurance surcharge GBP 46.50
So they are charging me for insurance that is neither detailed nor optional?? Perhaps the detail is there but I checked each page of the booking from first to the moment of asking for payment and could not find it. I searched their help pages and could not find it. Unless it is is staring me in the face ...

I did find the bit about no through bag checking and a T&Cs page that had text scattered all over the page and used airline short-form jargon. I found that to use a credit card would add another £4.95. Even RYR charge only £1.75 (according to their site a few moments ago). Altogether, having not travelled with BD for some years, I cannot see any reason to use them on this route. If I cannot find that detail, I will not book.

Blve it was Gordon Bethune of CO who said if your focus is to drive cost out of your business, at some point there will be no cheese left on the pizza.

I used to work for said company when they were competing with BA on UK domestics and saw Diamond Service successfully introduced. Premise was frequency and service, especially service. If they lose the key differentiator from their competitors (as well as price) then they will truly lose their market position. This is marketing 101. By the way, whatever happened to the famous breakfast ?? (BMI can't be as bad as Delta though - can it??).

I noticed that, too. As I'm about to book a ticket with them, I had resolved to use a debit card. After reading this thread, I'm beginning to wonder whether I should use a credit card, pay the fee, and treat it as the cost of "scheduled airline failure insurance". :)

According to various people both within bmi and externally, Mr Branson is supposedly lining up an offer... Having Airbus fleets (common flightdecks), Heathrow bases and the much coveted domestic/European networks surely Virgin could turn it around. It couldnt get anyworse thats for sure!

My prediction is bmi will not be sold. I think they will benefit from open skies and start sensible measured growth in 2007.
SMB will not retire for at least a decade, but when he does the airline will be a respected worldwide operator and a great place to work.
I for one am staying and am quite optimistic about the future.

It has been common knowledge for years that the ONLY value of the bmi operation is the slots it holds at LHR.

Sir Richard is a shrewd businessman, and would only be interested in aquiring the slots (obviously). The business itself is a complete mess.

I feel very sorry for the many superb people who work for this 'outfit' who may suffer if it comes to a sticky end. The question is - how has such a valuable asset as the Heathrow slots been p*****d-up against the wall by the bmi management? It is quite an achievement, even by thier own standards.

P.S. Where is ACBUS1? I agree with everything he has to say on this matter - even though he hasn't posted yet. Where are ya' buddy?

I remember flying 'British Midland' in the 80s on the DC9s and then the B737-300s and to be honest, you couldnt get a better service on domestic and European routes. Knocked spots of Birdseed Airways. It is sad that an airline bold enough to challenge BA in the early days and hold its own, and build up a network so so diverse, should now find itself being battered and bruised, waiting for the bell to signal the end of the fight.

The Moo

Funny I thought it was only Pilots that got out of their beds at 0400. The rest of us work cushy 9-5 hours.
I dont go near the BMI web these days its a complete pain :\