[Anonymous]

[Tom Otley]

As previously mentioned, we will be meeting up with Bmi this coming weekend to fly on the new mid-haul product and will be posing questions for Bmi CEO Mr Prock-Schauer.

Please feel free to add your questions to this thread.

Here’s what we have so far….

Dear BusinessTraveller

Please can you ask Herr Prock-Schauer when Diamond Club will be merging with Miles and More, how much notice we will have, and what concessions loyal bmi customers will have given the lack of attractiveness of M&M vs DC (or indeed Executive Club)

Secondly, can you ask why the short-haul business route network and frequencies have been watered down the point that they are now completely and utterly useless for, errr, business travel. Half of the routes I used to regularly fly bmi on, are no longer flown (CDG, BRU, AMS, LBA, MAD, JER, ORD to name but 6). How can I be loyal to an airline that can only get me to, errr, Khartoum and Tbilisi?

Yours sincerely

A bmi Gold Card holder for the last 8 years (…what’s the betting that Lifetime Gold will not be honoured when I reach 10 years?)
Travellator – 15/11/2010 14:55 GMT

Yes you can add LHR/BHD to that !

Timetable has been vastly reduced with inconsistent frequencies.
This on top of the demise of business to flexible economy with much reduced service and baggage allowance at the same price !

EI from BFS now looking VERY attractive !

My silver card isnt worth that much !

[Turkman]

Please ask why BMI persists with its Indian call centre as a means of interacting with customers. It is truly awful and is (in my experience) recognised as such by passengers and crew alike. Together with a poor web site, it makes contacting them absurdly difficult. This is a shame since the in-flight business class product on mid-haul is generally excellent.

You could also try asking why not one of my three flights for star alliance carrlers over the last 3 weeks has yet been credited to my Diamond Club account – I haven’t the will to do battle with the call centre !

[Senator]

Dear BT,

I think I would want to know some of the more basic points regarding the future of BMI.

1. What is the vision for BMI moving forward?

2. Will BMI continue to be scaled down, and LHR slots sold off to other LH Group airlines of Star partners?

3. What is the path to profitability?

4. What is the core business and what are the core markets for BMI?

5. How much more integration is expected within the LH Group?

I suspect LH wants to scale back BMI to a level where it can show sustainable profit. Once this is accomplished, a new path forward can be made

[VintageKrug]

I have heard of many others’ frustrations with the Indian Call Centre.

But I deal with them relatively regularly and I find that they now speak very clearly, and as long as you provide all the required information succinctly, and when making redemption bookings do a little research off your own bat first, they are more than helpful.

The point about the website is spot on; it’s shoddy and clunky. It also looks dreadful with all those daft photographs; the old bmi white and blue site was much crisper from a design/interface perspective.

Of course it would cost a huge amount to update the website and have a European Call Centre; but luckily bmi already has one of those ready and waiting in the wings in the form of Lufthansa’s own website and customer support.

I would imagine that Diamond Club will wind up towards the end of this year/early next and though my previous advice was to continue earning and burning miles in Diamond Club, my advice now would be only to burn miles, and as fast as you can.

[cityprofessional]

Well, I’d rather not “imagine” anything. Given that Wolfie announced it in the last Lufthansa investor presentation, he must know the date.

I am planning my travel arrangements for next year, and want to know whether to earn or burn. Why won’t he tell loyal fare-paying customers what his diamond club plans are? If the transition period is two months (as per e.g. the wind up of DC in the Netherlands), then will he refund all my paid travel plans for 2011?

It’s just this kind of behaviour and, frankly, lack of respect for previously loyal customers that is driving us away from not just bmi, but also other star alliance carriers, including its parent

[starflyer]

Couple of questions:

1. Now that the DUB-LHR route has been reduced to a skeleton, why is it that none of the flights enable seamless connections to BD or *A services? Does BD see any future in this route or is it actively trying to run it into the ground?

2. Given the continuous erosion of BD*G perks: meal deal on UK/Ireland routes, abysmal electronic upgrade voucher system etc. why would frequent travelers stay loyal to BD? Is BD aware that it has alienated large parts of its customer base?

3. What are BD’s views on the increased cooperation between fellow *A member United and Aer Lingus? Could BD see EI joining *A?

That’s it so far, might think of more later.

[TGLynch]

I think the BD product has fallen off a cliff in the last twelve months: premium economy is a joke and the Dublin schedule is a joke: the lounges are poor and there is no clear strategy except cut,cut and more cuts.

The cabin crew are completely demoralised and as someone who flew twice a week at least for ten years with BMI, I now avoid the airline and only fly with it if all other alternatives have been exhausted.

[JeffGoldberg]

In addition to everything mentioned here, why did they withdraw the LHR-TLV flights when they were making a profit and were very popular? There’s now no easy *A connection into LHR from TLV meaning my business is now going to BA.

[Travellator]

Concur with TGLynch except substitute DUB with BHD.

[PatJordan]

I agree with TGLynch that the Dublin schedule needs to be looked at. A bit more frequency would be great. In fairness, BMI have done a great job with their “London Room” lounge at Heathrow.

Now if only they could be persuaded to reinstate Business Class on the DUB-LHR route…..

[Travellator]

Also concur with you PJ !

Travelled yesterday in flex economy and the service is so fussy and time consuming just to hand out a sandwich pour a coffee , serve a drink or ask do you want crisps or a brownie !

The old business class meal would be out in no time

[seasonedtraveller]

Some of the questions I would like answering have been covered above but,

1- BMI Gold for 8 years (soon to be 9) will you honour the ‘Gold for Life’ status that was offered to us a couple of years ago?

2 – The changes over the past 3 years in destinations and schedules (withdrawl of Manchester transatlantic & LBA to LHR / COP etc) have been frustrating to say the least – what is left is essentially a Middle Eastern carrier / airline…..Any plans to re-instate some of the old routes to make BMI more of a ‘traditional’ British Airline?

3 – What will happen to the 500,000 miles I currently hold with BMI?

4 – What will you do to persuade disgruntled BMI users (which there almost certainly will be) defecting to BA? (myself included, as the changes to Diamond Club will in all likelyhood, be unfavourable)

[janrotterdam]

Hello Seasonedtraveller….your BMI miles should be safe…..but I recommend you to do what I did…..use these miles on Lufthansa..never had any problem to get BMI miles used for free flights with Lufthansa……that brings you a much wider choice of destinations…….

[Tom Otley]

Good afternoon.

In the London Lounge and about to fly to Beirut. Will address as many of these questions / concerns as possible to Wolfgang Prock-Schauer and get back to you with his replies.

I have a feeling the finer details of DC integration might be beyond the scope of the interview but will certainly look at time frame, status match and DC miles when compared to MM.

I will also post some photos of the new Yarwood brown leather seats in the business class cabin and review the flight.

Tom Otley

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