Bmibaby: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 21:33, 1 September 2012
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| Founded | 24 January 2002 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 22 March 2002 | ||||||
| Operating bases |
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| Frequent-flyer program | Diamond Club | ||||||
| Fleet size | 14 | ||||||
| Destinations | 42 | ||||||
| Parent company | International Airlines Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Donington Hall Castle Donington, England, United Kingdom[1] | ||||||
| Key people | Wolfgang Prock-Schauer (CEO) Stefan Lauer (Chairman) Peter Simpson (Managing director)[2] | ||||||
| Website | www.bmibaby.com | ||||||
Bmibaby Limited (styled as bmibaby.com) is a British low-cost airline that flies to destinations in the UK and Europe from its bases at Birmingham and East Midlands airports. It is a subsidiary of British Midland International, itself wholly owned by International Airlines Group (IAG). Bmibaby's head office is in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire, England.[1]
Bmibaby holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, and is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[3]
Following the takeover of BMI and its subsidiaries by IAG in April 2012, it was announced on 3 May 2012 that Bmibaby would be shut down in September 2012, with many flights ceasing to operate with effect from 11 June.[4]
History
The airline was established on 24 January 2002[5] and began operations on 22 March 2002 with a flight between East Midlands and Málaga.
Continued expansion for the airline led to it opening further bases at Cardiff in October 2002,[6] Manchester in May 2003,[7] Durham Tees Valley in October 2003[8] and Birmingham in January 2005.[9] Insufficient passenger numbers led to the closure of the Durham Tees Valley base in 2006.[10]
On 1 March 2007, the airline announced an initiative for business travellers with an "only choose what you need" approach, allowing passengers to choose from a range of services such as ticket flexibility, executive lounge access and on-line check in, and only pay for the services they used. The company also announced that BMI's frequent flyers could now gain Diamond Club miles.[11]
By 2007, Bmibaby had nine Boeing 737 aircraft based at Birmingham Airport, making it their biggest base, however in December 2008 the airline announced that it would be suspending five routes from the airport as a result of a reduction in the number of customers booking city-breaks.[12]
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Further cuts were announced in November 2009 when it was announced that the fleet would be reduced from 17 to 12 aircraft in 2010, with up to 158 jobs at risk of redundancy.[13] The airline said the action was necessary to stem record losses and that it would focus on growth routes best fit for the business.[14]
In April 2011, Bmibaby announced it would close its bases at Cardiff and Manchester Airports in October 2011 to increase services at Birmingham and East Midlands Airports as well as opening a new base at Belfast City Airport, moving from Belfast International Airport where the airline was based for several years.[15]
In May 2011, Bmibaby launched what it called the first European airline loyalty programme tied into a location based social network. Passengers use the Gowalla smartphone application at Bmibaby check-in desks to collect points.[16]
On 22 December 2011, IAG announced it had agreed a contract with Lufthansa to buy BMI. The contract allowed for Lufthansa to sell BMI Regional and Bmibaby separately before the completion of the main sale, although the price payable by IAG would be reduced if the airlines were not sold.[17] On 2 February 2012, BMI announced it had signed a "non-binding and non-exclusive" agreement with a "UK-based company", with plans to complete the sale by the summer of 2012.[18] The sale was not completed by the time IAG purchased BMI, and so Bmibaby and BMI Regional became part of the group. IAG said it would continue the attempts to sell both airlines.[19]
However, on 3 May 2012 IAG announced that it had not found a buyer for Bmibaby and that it was proposing to shut down the company by 9 September 2012.[20] Flights to destinations such as Belfast, Amsterdam, Paris and Geneva ended on 11 June 2012. Several hundred jobs are expected to be lost as a result of the shutdown.[4]
Destinations
Bmibaby flies to over 40 airports throughout the UK and Europe from its three bases, all within the UK, at Belfast City, Birmingham and East Midlands Airports. The airline flies to eight UK airports, with services into Edinburgh, Glasgow International, Jersey and Newquay from East Midlands, and London Stansted served from Belfast City. Birmingham and East Midlands are both served by Belfast City, although Birmingham is the only Bmibaby base not to serve other UK airports.
Other popular European destinations served by Bmibaby are within France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Fleet
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The Bmibaby fleet consists of the following aircraft in an all-economy class (as of May 2012):[21]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Economy) |
Average Age (years)[22] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 12 | 148 | 14.7 |
| Boeing 737-500 | 2 | 131 | 18.0 |
| Total | 14 | - | 15.2 |
Several aircraft have names with the word baby in the title.[23]
Onboard services
Bmibaby offers a buy on board programme with variety of items to purchase including scratch-cards, tax-free shopping and onboard drinks and snacks. The shopping range includes items such as jewellery and fragrances, gifts and travel accessories. On non-EU flights, duty-free priced cigarettes and spirits can be purchased. Drinks and snack items include hot and cold drinks, alcoholic and soft drinks as well as crisps, sandwiches and confectionary. The drinks and snack menu is named the Tiny Bites menu. The Bmibaby inflight magazine is known as Yeah baby!.
The majority of Bmibaby's cabins have shaded blue leather seating with a 29/30" seat pitch. Extra legroom seats can be found on the front rows and on over-wing exit rows of all the Bmibaby 737 aircraft.
References
{{{inline}}}
- ^ a b "About us". Bmibaby. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ "BMI Baby to stop Belfast flights from 11 June". BBC News Online. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ Operating Licence
- ^ a b "Low fare airline bmibaby to close". Press Association. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ UK Companies House Company #03259921
- ^ bmibaby to serve nine destinations from Cardiff Airport[dead link]
- ^ Passenger numbers soar 400% at bmibaby
- ^ bmibaby chooses Teesside for new low-cost base
- ^ bmibaby confirms first nine European routes from Birmingham Airport
- ^ bmibaby to end Durham Tees Valley operations[dead link]
- ^ bmibaby joins Diamond Club : Birmingham Airport News Stories
- ^ David Irwin (1 December 2008). "Sixty five jobs go at bmibaby". Solihull News. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ "Low-cost airline cutting 158 jobs". BBC News Online. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ Bmibaby to focus on growth routes
- ^ "Bmibaby to stop flying from Cardiff and Manchester". BBC News Online. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ Laura O'Reilly (3 May 2011). "Bmibaby launches Gowalla loyalty scheme". Marketing Week. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ "Binding Agreement for bmi purchase". International Airlines Group. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ "Bmi closes in on sale of Bmibaby". Business Traveller. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ "BA owner IAG doubts it can sell BMI Baby and Regional". BBC News Online. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ "Important information for customers". Bmibaby. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ CAA database - Bmibaby Fleet
- ^ Bmibaby Fleet Age Details
- ^ Bmibaby Fleet Names
External links
