Final hurdle to clear before bmi’s transatlantic takeoff

Analysis

Final hurdle to clear before bmi’s transatlantic takeoff

In less than two weeks, bmi british midland will make its first appearance in the US. Louise Longman reports on the carrier’s long-awaited move into the long-haul market

IT BOASTS an £11 million face-lift, a new name and two new routes, but it doesn’t have enough aircraft – yet.

Bmi british midland can’t be over the moon with the current situation – flights were due to take off for Washington from Manchester Airport today but late aircraft delivery has delayed the launch date. Nor can it be pleased with the current US economic climate that shows business travellers are now opting for cheaper seats.

Despite this, bmi british midland chief operating officer James Hogan is optimistic and quietly confident the airline’s first-ever foray into the scheduled transatlantic market will reap healthy rewards.

“This is a whole new era for us in the long-haul market and I’m very excited,” he said. “Our codeshare agreement with United Airlines has helped bring in the economy passengers, but business class is much slower. Potential customers are waiting to see the aircraft in the air.

“There’s a huge trial factor involved and the key is getting people on board,” added Hogan, who is particularly impressed with bmi’s in-flight chefs.

“This is generating a huge amount of interest in the US, with fresh food on-board, and a grill in the galley.”

Hogan admitted the current economic slowdown in the US would be a challenge for its transatlantic entry, but was confident United Airlines’ “enormous distribution network” would help bolster sales.

At the time of Travel Weekly going to press, the carrier had sold slightly more than half of its 244 available seats for the inaugural Washington service on May 12.

The £11 million rebrand was unveiled in February to coincide with the launch of transatlantic routes.

With the industry talking about the rebrand for two years, the new name – bmi british midland – was finally decided in September last year, according to Hogan.

“We were not told to be British by Lufthansa,” he said, referring to speculation surrounding the rebrand. “The design consultancy, Landor, was appointed within my first 60 days at bmi, and the name was decided around September last year. Being seen as British is key to us, and we couldn’t throw that out. It’s the mid-ground between Virgin and British Airways,” he added.

While passengers flying from Manchester will benefit from the new long-haul routes, Hogan is keen to stress bmi has not lost sight of its ambitions to gain a trans-atlantic foothold at London Heathrow.

Chairman Sir Michael Bishop is energetically pursuing his campaign for the Government to liberalise the Bermuda II agreement, which allows just four carriers to operate between the US and Heathrow – British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines and American Airlines.

“We are not asking for anything special,” said Hogan. “We want to work with the other airlines. We can take the slots from our own portfolio, but we’re not asking for others to give up theirs.

“It is frustrating. We’ve cleared the various hurdles and we’ve ordered the aircraft – four wide-bodied Airbus A330-200s.”

Despite the deadlock of the Heathrow situation, Hogan is confident the airport will be one of bmi’s two UK hubs in the next five years, helping it to strengthen its European network and continue supporting its Star Alliance partners.

Hogan added that without the help of the 14 Star Alliance partners, the airline group it joined in June last year, it could never have launched services to Rome, Milan, Madrid and Barcelona. Working alongside Star Alliance partner Lufthansa, bmi british midland aims to introduce electronic paperless tickets next year.

“People are getting used to going straight through check-in without a paper ticket,” said Hogan. “We will be investing a considerable amount of money in paperless tickets. We’ll continue to work with the trade, because it drives 85% of our business, but we are also responding to what the customer wants.”

But for now, all eyes are on the US.

“The focus is transatlantic at the moment. After the US, we’ll explore other parts of the world,” said Hogan.

And if transatlantic from Heathrow doesn’t materialise? “There’s always plan B,” adds Hogan. “There’s always got to be a plan B in business.”

Flying high: bmi is confident its new transatlantic route will generate passenger interest