BMI Regional is expending the reach of its network from Bristol through a codeshare with Lufthansa.
The airline is to place the German airline’s flight code on services from Bristol airport to Lufthansa’s mains hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.
The arrangement comes into operation from next week – after a three-day pilots’ strike which has forced Lufthansa to cancel almost 4,000 flights from today (Wednesday).
BMI Regional chief executive Cathal O’Connell said the codeshare would enable business travellers from the southwest region to connect to 235 worldwide destinations via Frankfurt and more than 100 via Munich.
It would also enable passengers to avoid congested London airports when looking to fly to a range of long-haul destinations from Bristol.
BMI Regional runs 11 flights a week to Frankfurt and six a week to Munich from Bristol as well as services to Hamburg, Milan and Aberdeen.
The UK carrier, which operates a fleet of 18 mainly 50-seat Embraer jets, started flying its first codeshare this week in conjunction with Brussels Airlines between Newcastle and the Belgian capital.
The airline has been reshaping its network after being acquired by owner Sector Aviation Holdings from British Airways parent International Airlines Group following its takeover of the main BMI business in 2012.
O’Connell said the majority of sales came through travel agents and travel management companies which he described as a “valuable distribution channel”.