BD595 We are on this flight from manchester to heathrow could some one tell me how big the aircraft is or is it one with propellers (meaning a very small plane ) thank you a bit nervy about flying can you tell ????

You can expect an Airbus 319 or 320 Jet seat configuration 3+3 single aisle.. Not prop.

Nivsy

Hi all!

My girlfriend and I are planning to fly with BMI Baby from EMA - FAO dep 27 Sep rtn 04 Oct for the first time.

What can we expect please re aircraft type, seat pitch/comfort etc please compared to Monarch, Thomson, Easyjet etc?

Many thanks!

There is now significant speculation about the future of the BMI Group.

The sale of BMI Regional is expected to be considered by the Lufthansa owners soon and the future of mainstream BMI and that of BM-Baby remains unclear.

Nivsy

It's a real shame what is happening to BMI. I enjoy flying with BMIbaby better than Ryanair and Easyjet, it seems a bit more civilised, even if the planes are getting on a bit.
If Baby goes how will EMA survive?

International Airlines Group (IAG) and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa) have today reached an agreement in principle for the sale of British Midland Ltd (BMI) to IAG.

The sale and closing of the deal remain subject to conditions including a binding purchase agreement, further due diligence and regulatory clearances. It is thought that the purchase agreement will be signed soon and the aim is for the transaction to be completed in the first quarter of 2012.

Speculation on the future now anyone?

Nisvy

I'll speculate that any routes that compete with Lufthansa/Swiss International are scrapped.

Baby gets sold off to another lowcost who will simply close competetive routes. Or maybe Stelios will quietly invest (he's been talikng of a new airline but i'm pretty sure his contract with easyjet bans him from this market).

Regional will be sold on (someone is already looking at it) because BA have no interest in regional routes that don't serve the Heathrow hub operation.

BAs main interest will be the Heathrow slots that BMI hold.

I immediately thought of the current summer codeshare routes between BSL and MAN which are operated in BMI metal - and the prices for these flights are substantially higher than when LX operate them on their own in the winter season. I wonder what will happen next year.

I'm sure that the extra LHR slots were the sweetest part of the deal.

BBC report that Virgin are trying to get a foot in the door and may outbid IAG. That would be very interesting because the Heathrow feeder routes and transatlantic services would fit very well with their existing operation. They already have a low cost operation in Australia so may like to work on Baby since it doesn't compete with any of their existing business. Singapore Airlines own 49% of Virgin and are members of Star Alliance - just like Lufthansa - so that deal could have long term benefits to Lufthansa through code share and feeder routes. And a Virgin deal may be less likely to fall foul of competition rules than one with BA (although it would mean Virgin planes would be competing with Virgin trains on some UK routes, assuming they keep the rail franchise after December 2012!)

Virgin will not buy BMI because they haven't got the money.
Branson is just a self publisist, quite a good one in fact.
It wouldn't surprise me if IAG take over Virgin in the next 12 months.

if IAG take over Virgin in the next 12 months.

I think that the UK Mergers and Monopolies Commission -if it still exists or if not its successor- would probably get involved with this if the hypothesis you suggest becomes a reality ...

Virgin makes rival bid for BMI

Virgin Atlantic has confirmed that it has signed a terms and conditions contract with Lufthansa over the sale of BMI.

Virgin said it is now in negotiations with Lufthansa over the next stage of the purchase.

BA's parent company, International Airlines Group, last month announced it had reached an agreement in principle to buy BMI from Lufthansa.

Since then, Virgin has been clear about its intention to stop that deal with an offer of its own.

"British Airways' hold over Heathrow is already too dominant and we are very concerned - as the competition authorities should also be - that BA's purchase of BMI would be disastrous for consumer choice and competition," said a Virgin spokesman.

"We believe that our offer will lead to the best outcome for the millions of consumers that fly in and out of Heathrow every year."

According to reports in the financial press, Virgin's offer is lower than IAG's but it is relying on the fact that any deal is likely to be completed more quickly as it would not be open to so much scrutiny from competition authorities.

Lufthansa is expected to make a final decision on the sale early in the new year.

With permission from Travelmole

IAG secures bmi deal

British Airways owner IAG has reached a binding agreement with Lufthansa to buy troubled airline bmi for £172.5 million.

But the airline group, which also owns Iberia, has warned that the deal could mean job losses.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said: "Given the scale of bmi's losses, there is an urgent need to restructure the business.

'Unfortunately, this will mean some job losses but we will secure a significant number of high quality jobs here in the UK and create similar new jobs in the future."

The acquisition, which is due to completed in the first quarter of 2012, will see IAG gain an additional 56 daily slot pairs at Heathrow.

IAG said Lufthansa has the option to sell bmi regional and bmibaby before completion. There will be a significant price reduction if Lufthansa does not opt to sell bmibaby before completion.

The takeover is still subject to clearance by competition authorities.

Lufthansa had also been in talks with Virgin.

Virgin Atlantic today confirmed it was no longer in talks with Lufthansa and vowed to fight the IAG deal all the way.

"The offer we have made for the business is a fair one in view of bmi's financial difficulties and doesn't account for any premium that BA might pay to cement its monopoly position," it said.

"We have a strong business that will continue to grow successfully and we will not overpay for bmi.

"If the acquisition is completed, it will tilt the competitive landscape dangerously towards BA and cast a shadow over the British travelling public.

"We will be asking the competition authorities to stop this deal and to protect the many millions of passengers on routes where BA and bmi currently compete. With Heathrow sewn up BA can use its monopoly power to force up prices at the expense of the consumer."

But Walsh insisted the deal was good news for the UK and for consumers.

'Buying bmi's mainline business gives IAG a unique opportunity to grow at Heathrow, one of our key hub airports," he said.

'Using the slot portfolio more efficiently provides the option to launch new longhaul routes to key trading nations while supporting our broad domestic and shorthaul network.

'This deal is good news for the UK as we will maintain a comprehensive domestic schedule including Belfast. Our plans to expand our longhaul network would guarantee growth by making Britain better able to compete on a global scale. It will also help maximise Heathrow's position as a world class hub airport.

'Customers will benefit from access to new destinations, more convenient schedules, enhanced frequent flyer benefits and greater investment than had been possible for loss-making bmi.'

IAG said it intends to finance the purchase from its own funds, with £60 million of the purchase price paid in four instalments to Lufthansa pre-completion. This amount will be secured by Heathrow slots.

With permission from Travelmole

Buying bmi's mainline business gives IAG a unique opportunity to grow at Heathrow

or to put it another way, kiss goodbye to other Regional routes and Baby!

Not too sure about that Steve. Lets face it...Baby has a better opportunity well away from BA (or IAG) so that they concentrate on Heathrow.

Naturally this is not good news all round for the British Midland. I think Baby will have a buyer somewhere and regional will probably survive - ironically it is the regional business that has been doing quite well.

As a regular user of BMI and their lounges -I fear for the future as a FF BMI Silver Card holder!

However without a buy out the airlinme would collapse. I remain skeptical about Virgin's interest. Somehow I just cannot see them having the necessary skills to run a short/medium haul carrier. BA and IAG naturally have no interest in BMI - its just the Heathrow slots they want I now I wonder just who will operate the flights I have already booked with BMI during 2012.

Nivsy

Didn't LH put their hat in the ring to acquire BD at one time? It's gone very quiet this side of the channel ... and LX and BD are still codesharing BSL-MAN ...

The Lufthansa group do (currently)own BMI. They want to get rid of it hence the sale.

And that is the point really - what happens to all the code shares with Star Alliance partners etc.....BD code share with LH on a number of German routes as well with LX - for example on the Basel Manchester route you quote Alsacienne.

Nivsy

and as I said a few weeks ago, Virgin are 49% owned by Singapore Airlines who are in Star Alliance and that could have been useful for the code shares.

I remain skeptical about Virgin's interest. Somehow I just cannot see them having the necessary skills to run a short/medium haul carrier

Don't know why not, because Virgin have plenty of the necessary skills to run the Virgin Blue airline linking major destinations all across OZ (now renamed as Virgin Australia)

I wonder just who will operate the flights I have already booked with BMI during 2012.

Me too, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Sanji