Y. J. Foo 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2011 British Airways and Iberia's parent company IAG has agreed to buy BMI from Lufthansa. Reuters If this passes regulatory approval what will this mean to UK's aviation industry? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
H C Chai 4 Report post Posted November 4, 2011 Looks like the end is near for BMI... I will miss you sorely Diamond Club. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted November 4, 2011 Was always a fervent customer on their AMS-LHR-AMS flights and had endless great flights with them (till they stopped flying to AMS)... Bye-bye BD: you surely will be missed (as well as your great colourscheme)... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Johan Z 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2011 Does BD have to give up their Star Alliance? MH is codesharing with them on certain European routes, maybe they will keep this agreement when MH joins oneworld. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raymund Yeoh 1 Report post Posted November 4, 2011 Does this means we will see another member to OW soon ?..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted November 5, 2011 My guess BD will be dissolved into BA...so, yes less one for Star Alliance... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike P 0 Report post Posted November 6, 2011 I guess all the European destination would soon be transferred to BA by MH. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted November 8, 2011 Bmi takeover is good news for Ryanair, says Micahel O'Leary Ryanair will start flying 10 million extra passengers a year by next summer, thanks in part to the acquisition of bmi by British Airways, the budget airline's boss Michael O'Leary claimed today. After International Airlines Group - the owner of British Airways - announced on Friday that it would buy bmi from Lufthansa in a deal thought to be worth £300 million, O'Leary said that would help grow Ryanair's passenger numbers from 70 million to 80 million a year. "A lot of bmi's short-haul routes from Heathrow will be closed or cut back, leading to more growth opportunities for Ryanair from Stansted, Luton and Gatwick," the Irishman said. "[Low-fare arm] bmi baby will probably get sold, closed down, or go bust. It creates more demand for our routes," he added. Ryanair shrugged off the downturn in consumer spending during the six months to September, making a post-tax profit of €452 million (£397 million), a fifth higher than the same time last year. O'Leary said this was because more fliers were turning away from the likes of BA and Lufthansa and towards its planes. The airline also ramped up its 2011 profit expectation by 10%, pencilling in a pre-tax profit of €440 million for 2011, up from its previous forecast of €400 million. O'Leary predicted that Ryanair would cash in even more if Greece left the euro. "If it massively devalued its currency the one industry that would do well is tourism," he said. "You'd get masses of people heading there for their holidays. "We're ideally positioned to benefit from that." O'Leary added that Ryanair was talking to 30 new airports that it doesn't currently fly to and buying 30 more aircraft from Boeing this winter. He is also flying to China imminently to discuss a deal to buy single-aisle jets from Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. "The Chinese tell us they can stretch their aircraft to make a 199-seat plane," he said. "If they do, we'll buy it. "We need another 200 aircraft over the next five to 10 years." But the chief executive is standing by his decision to ground 80 planes this winter. "Our fuel bills are rising," O'Leary said. "In the first half we hedged at $83 a barrel, but for winter it's closer to 100. "Grounding 80 aircraft means we can hang on to higher fares." Source Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
