Although Bmi dropped two of its Heathrow domestic services last March, the carrier confirms there are no immediate plans for further [domestic] route cuts at London’s main airport.
Speaking to Business Traveller, Katherine Gershon, the carrier’s sales and marketing director said, “Everything is subject to change but right now we are fully committed to our existing services to Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Belfast.”
Leeds and Teeside were dropped because “of higher airport and fuel charges,” claims Gershon, “and there was not enough connecting traffic onto Bmi.”
“Yes, there were passengers connecting to Star alliance carriers like SIA, Air Canada and Air New Zealand but that meant Bmi only received the revenue for the domestic leg [rather than our more lucrative international sectors]. At the end of the day you need to focus on what feeds yourself.
“It’s a different scenario with the other domestic routes. In the case of Aberdeen we get a lot of oil-related feeder traffic which transits Heathrow for destinations on Bmi’s Middle Eastern network.”
Bmi is holding on to its share of the market claims Gershon, “Although passenger numbers are constant, revenue is down. Executives are shifting out of business into economy while some corporate clients are not travelling at all.”
More good news concerns the fact that Gershon confirmed to Business Traveller that, following passenger feedback, it will amend its website next month to display the types of plane operating a particular flight.
It might seem a small point but a number of readers taking short flights have complained to Business Traveller because they cannot ascertain (except when checking-in online which may be too late) whether their flight will be operated by small Embraer jet (which has issues of cabin space) or a larger Airbus.
For more information visit flybmi.com.
Report by Alex McWhirter
