Bmi’s subsidiary Bmibaby has announced a restructuring programme that will see its fleet cut by nearly 30 per cent from 17 to 12 aircraft next year, with a refocus on flights from its main base at East Midlands airport.
The carrier says the restructure will see Bmibaby “focus its activities and efforts on routes where there are clear indications and prospects for future growth and development”.
There are no specific details of which routes might be cut, although the carrier says that 54 pilot and 82 cabin crew positions at Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff airports “are at risk of redundancy”, along with 22 management and support positions at Bmibaby’s head office facility and at the airport bases.
The airline says that the restructuring programme will create capacity to add to the number of destinations it will serve from East Midlands airport next year, with Barcelona, Malta, Venice and Cork among the routes recently announced for 2010. Bmibaby’s headquarters are located in Castle Donnington close to East Midlands airport, from where the carrier first started operations in 2002.
For more information visit bmibaby.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
