BRITISH Midland is to focus more attention on the leisure market after losing passengers to the low-cost carriers.
Chief executive officer James Hogan admitted the leisure sector, about 45% of British Midland’s business, had become very difficult.
“The no-frills airlines are a concern because they have taken our market,” he said.
“We are going to have to work more tactically as a business and that means being more creative and being more aggressive on the Internet because passengers are using the Web to book.”
Hogan pointed to the on-line 30-day seat sale offering 10,000 seats a day as an example of its tactical discounting.
He added that British Midland had stayed firm in the business cabin, which accounts for 55%of traffic.
In a wide-ranging interview with Travel Weekly editor Jeremy Skidmore, Hogan said the airline is to rebrand before the end of the year.
British Midland is looking for a new identity to strengthen its name ahead of launching transatlantic services.
The airline hopes to be able to launch a Manchester-US service next year, with routes from Heathrow added in April 2001.
“We could change our name or keep our name but take a new identity,” said Hogan. “We will have something to announce in 30 to 40 days.”
Hogan said he was confident British Midland could compete with British Airways and Virgin on transatlantic routes.
“It’s a crowded market but we’ll offer competitive prices and outstanding service in the business cabin,” he told the conference, which was sponsored by FSS, British Midland and Heathrow Express, in association with Travel Weekly.
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