British Midland Airways Ltd (BD / BMA)

29.10.2008, G-DBCK la AMS

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Titlu: BMI Cuts Fleet, Staff, Network [EN]
Sursa: airliners.net
Autor: ****
Data: 25.11.2009

Citat :

Lufthansa-owned carrier will cut around 600 of 4,470 jobs and take out nine of the 39 aircraft in its fleet

BMI last week announced sharp cuts to its network, the fleet and staff in a dramatic effort to return the airline to profitability.

The carrier, now fully owned by Lufthansa, will cut around 600 of the 4,470 jobs as it downsizes its operations. BMI is also taking out nine of the 39 aircraft in its fleet and discontinues several loss-making routes. With the return of two Airbus A330-200s to the lessor, the airline effectively ceases offering long-haul flights with the exception of some medium- to long-haul segments in the Middle East.

BMI says it focuses on "maintaining within BMI mainline and BMI regional a core network of services in the UK and Ireland, Europe, the CIS, the Middle East and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The company believes that "once stabilised the business can then be grown again in the years ahead when the economic environment improves and market demand justifies it."

The fleet reduction of nine aircraft is to be completed in the first half of 2010. Amongst others, BMI plans to sell three Embraer ERJ-145s and will return two of its three A330s to the lessor. The medium-haul services will be operated by one A330, one Boeing 757 and the A321 fleet.

BMI will stop flying from Heathrow to Brussels, Tel Aviv, Kiev and Aleppo in January of 2010 while services to Amsterdam are suspended at the end of March 2010. Seasonal services to Palma and Venice will not be reinstated next summer.

The carrier has posted a huge GBP155 million loss on GBP1.05 billion in sales in 2008 and Lufthansa agreed to provide a shareholder loan to keep BMI flying longer term. Lufthansa is looking at offers to sell the unit, but is believed to be waiting for the market to recover hoping for a higher price.

Alex

BMI britis midlands airbus-319 hop si eu

Titlu: BMI admits the 'I' stands for something, after all...
Sursa: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/03/12/339420/bmi-admits-the-i-stands-for-something-after-all.html
Autor: David Kaminski-Morrow
Data: 12/03/2010

Citat :

UK carrier BMI has quietly adopted a modified branding, giving the airline's full name as British Midland International.

When the brand was first unveiled in February 2001, the airline formally became known as 'BMI British Midland' and notably insisted that the final 'I' did not stand for anything.

But the airline - which has become a Lufthansa subsidiary - appears to have climbed down from that position on recent publicity material. It has also started referring to itself as 'British Midland International' in formal statements.

"Our marketing branding people were looking for something to reinforce the brand in overseas markets," says a spokesman for the UK carrier. "They were finding that BMI didn't mean an awful lot, particularly in the former BMed markets."

BMed was the former British Mediterranean Airways, the franchise which served Middle Eastern and Central Asian destinations for British Airways before being acquired by BMI in 2007.

Lufthansa vrea sa vanda BMI

Titlu: IAG Mulls BMI Move As Lufthansa Kicks Off Sale
Sursa: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1315830181.html
Autor: Reuters
Data: 12/09/2011

Citat :

International Airlines Group, formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, is still interested in buying its smaller rival bmi from German carrier Lufthansa to take advantage of its valuable take off and landing slots at London's Heathrow airport.

"We have made no secret of our interest in bmi's Heathrow slots," an IAG spokeswoman told reporters on Monday. "Lufthansa said a few weeks ago that they were looking at their options regarding bmi so the ball is firmly in Lufthansa's court, but there's nothing imminent happening from our side."

A source familiar with the matter said on Sunday Lufthansa had mandated banks to sound out a potential sale of loss-making bmi, though the process was at an early stage.

Lufthansa was unavailable for comment.

Bmi controls about 11 percent of the take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, making it second there only to British Airways, which has around 42 percent of the slots. Bmi's slots were valued at GBP£616 million (USD$977 million) at the end of 2008, down from GBP£770 million a year earlier.

A source close to the transaction said selling bmi would be a "mammoth task" for Lufthansa because there was no obvious buyer for the airline.

The source also said completion of any sale was unlikely until next year, but that Lufthansa's priority was to sell bmi as a whole, including the slots. The UK carrier will be sold in parts if Lufthansa does not find a full buyer, added the source.

BREAKUP MOVE

When Lufthansa bought half of bmi from Sir Michael Bishop in 2009, the deal drew criticism from analysts because the British carrier was seen dragging down the Germany company's earnings without offering hope for a speedy turnaround.

Bmi's GBP£124.5 million 2010 net loss compared with a profit of EUR€1.1 billion (USD$1.5 billion) at Lufthansa.

"The idea could well be to break it (bmi) up but Lufthansa really needs to find an exit from bmi one way or another, because it's hitting profits and dragging the group down," said Stephen Furlong, an analyst at Davy Stockbrokers. "Apart from IAG, other possible buyers would be Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus and one of the Gulf carriers."

Lufthansa could still decide to sell some of the slots internally to sister units such as Swiss or Austrian Airlines, flushing cash into bmi's coffers and giving other company units access to Heathrow slots.

Failing that, Lufthansa may seek to offload bmi's regional and low-cost carrier bmibaby, which does not fit its core business plan of using new additions to the group to feed into its premium long-haul route network.

"I don't expect anything to happen imminently but Lufthansa has an investor day in two weeks where I expect the bmi issue to be debated," said Furlong.

Titlu: Lufthansa appoints Morgan Stanley for potential BMI sale
Sursa: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/09/12/361883/lufthansa-appoints-morgan-stanley-for-potential-bmi.html
Autor: Michael Gubisch
Data: 12/09/2011

Citat :

Lufthansa has engaged Morgan Stanley to look into a potential sale of its loss-making subsidiary British Midland International.

Sources close to the negotiations confirmed to ATI and Flightglobal that the German carrier has appointed the New York-headquartered financial services firm as an advisor regarding BMI.

Lufthansa had previously only said that it was open to "any option" to resolve the poor financial performance of the UK airline. These options include a partial or outright sale, finding a partner or returning BMI to profitability under the current ownership status.

Indicating an arrangement with financial advisors, the German airline stated today that it is "generally open for outside support".

The carrier declined to comment on the timescale for a possible sale.

Sources close to the airline said that while any deal would depend on the market feedback from potential buyers, Lufthansa is interested in finding a solution sooner rather than later.

Last week, BMI appointed Vagn Ove Sørensen, the former deputy chief executive of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), to succeed Lufthansa executive Stephan Lauer as director board chairman. Sørensen's "experience with corporate restructuring is of particular importance and value to the company in this crucial period", Lauer said then.

Due to its numerous routes to Middle Eastern destinations, BMI has been significantly affected by the political upheaval across the region. Revenue seat kilometres in August fell 9% compared with the same month last year.

A key asset for BMI is that it holds about 10% of London Heathrow's highly sought-after slots.

Titlu: Virgin Atlantic Keen On Combining With bmi
Sursa: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1315914987.html
Autor: Reuters
Data: 13/09/2011

Citat :

British airline Virgin Atlantic is keen on combining with bmi, the UK carrier which Lufthansa may be looking to sell.

"We continue to have a close interest in a combination with bmi," Virgin said in a statement sent to reporters on Tuesday.

International Airlines Group, formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, on Monday said it was still keen to get hold of bmi's coveted slots at London's Heathrow airport.

Bmi controls about 11 percent of the take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, making it second there only to BA, which has around 42 percent of the slots.

Lufthansa has said that it is considering finding a partner for the loss-making bmi, and a source said on Sunday that it had mandated bankers to sound out a potential sale.

Titlu: Virgin Atlantic refuses to rule out BMI bid
Sursa: www.flightglobal.com
Autor: Kerry Reals
Data: 02/10/2011

Citat :

Virgin Atlantic Airways refuses to rule out a possible bid for British Midland International, should Lufthansa decide to sell its loss-making subsidiary.

In September, Lufthansa announced it had appointed global financial services company Morgan Stanley to look into a potential sale of BMI.

Edmond Rose, director commercial and revenue planning at Virgin Atlantic, told Flightglobal's Airline Business Daily at the World Route Development Forum in Berlin that the carrier has "a close interest in the future of BMI", a phrase he repeated when pressed on whether this could extend to a potential bid.

International Airlines Group, the parent company of Virgin's arch rival British Airways, has also reiterated its interest in BMI.

IAG has made no secret of its desire to obtain BMI's more than 10% share of London Heathrow's highly sought-after slots.

Titlu: Lufthansa, IAG in bmi Takeover Talks
Sursa: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1318617961.html
Autor: Reuters
Data: 14/10/2011

Citat :

British Airways parent International Airlines Group is holding early-stage talks with Lufthansa over bmi, the loss-making unit of the German airline, two people familiar with the situation said.

"IAG has not been shy about its interest in bmi, and the two sides have been in contact, discussing options, but I'm not sure it has got to the offer stage yet," said one of the sources on Friday.

Another source said Lufthansa was also in talks with other suitors, but did not give any names.

Virgin Atlantic is one of those involved in the bmi sale process, chief executive Steve Ridgway said on Tuesday.

Lufthansa has said finding a partner for bmi is one of the options it is exploring as it tries to turn around the airline, and has mandated bankers to sound out a potential sale.

Bmi's biggest assets are its slots at London Heathrow. Citigroup analyst Andrew Light last month estimated these to be worth around EUR€460 million (USD$630 million).

IAG boss Willie Walsh has made no secret of his interest in bmi, and BA last month acquired six daily take-off and landing slots at London's Heathrow airport from bmi for an undisclosed sum.

The sources said it was unclear whether the talks between IAG and Lufthansa would be successful.

"Virgin Atlantic could yet throw a spanner in the works," one of the people said.

Lufthansa and IAG declined to comment.

Titlu: Etihad Eyes bmi, Virgin Atlantic, Aer Lingus Stakes
Sursa: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1318852737.html
Autor: Reuters
Data: 17/10/2011

Citat :

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways is in talks with Britain's Virgin Atlantic to join the UK carrier in its bid for bmi, the loss-making unit of Lufthansa, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The fast-growing Middle East carrier is also discussing a possible stake in Virgin Atlantic, said one source. The Financial Times reported that Etihad is also looking at buying a stake in Irish carrier Aer Lingus.

"Discussions have been ongoing on this (partnering for bmi bid) and a possible stake in Virgin," said an Abu Dhabi source close to the deal who asked not to be named.

Etihad and Virgin Atlantic declined to comment.

Etihad was earlier reported to have expressed interest in Virgin Atlantic, which hired Deutsche Bank to assess the market for a possible alliance with rival carriers or a sale.

Etihad cannot pursue a bid alone due to foreign ownership issues, the FT reported, stating that the Abu Dhabi-based carrier and Virgin Atlantic had held talks for a partnership if the UK carrier were to bid for bmi.

"The news is credible, I wouldn't question it," another Abu Dhabi source told reporters.

Lufthansa has said it is considering finding a partner for bmi and has mandated bankers to sound out a potential sale. Airlines are keen to get hold of bmi's coveted takeoff and landing slots at London's Heathrow airport.

Asked if Etihad would take a stake in bmi, the first source said: "It depends on the outcome of the bid."

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway said last week the group is still keen on buying bmi despite waning growth across the aviation industry.

Bmi controls about 10 percent of the take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, making it second there only to IAG-owned British Airways, which has around 45 percent of the slots.

Meanwhile, Etihad has approached the Irish government to buy its 25 percent stake in national carrier Aer Lingus, the FT reported. Etihad declined to comment on the report.

Titlu: Lufthansa Group close to selling BMI Regional
Sursa: flightglobal
Autor: David Kaminski-Morrow
Data: 28/10/2011

Citat :

UK-based investors are near to an agreement to acquire UK carrier BMI Regional, a division of the mainline airline owned by Lufthansa Group.

If a deal is closed it would mark the first move in the break-up of BMI which has burdened Lufthansa since it took over the loss-making operation in 2009.

BMI Regional operates a fleet of Embraer jets and is based in the Scottish city of Aberdeen.

The mainline carrier said it "envisaged" that a transaction document for the sale "will be signed shortly" with a view to completing the divestment by the end of the year.

It said the sale would be in the form of shares of BMI Regional, the airline's fleet and route network, and the continued employment of personnel.

While the proposed buyer has not been identified, BMI said it was an investor group "previously associated with the regional business" and that discussions were "advanced".

BMI Regional would continue to fly, for a period, under its current brand and IATA designator code and the current winter 2011-12 schedule "will continue as planned" with "no major network changes" expected for summer 2012.

"The intended sale of BMI Regional is part of the strategic review of BMI," said BMI chief Wolfgang Prock-Schauer.

"It is our goal to find sustainable solutions for all parts of the BMI business and we, as well as the shareholder, continue to assess options."

No financial details have been disclosed. BMI said the potential investor is "keen to consult with staff" and that this would begin soon, in order to complete the transaction as soon as possible.

"The new owner plans to continue the airline as an independent entity based in Aberdeen and to further develop the regional network in both the UK and Europe," it added.

"Employment prospects will be enhanced through a planned growth strategy."

Titlu: IAG Seen As Frontrunner As bmi Deal Nears
Sursa: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1320164902.html
Autor: Reuters
Data: 01.11.2011

Citat :

Lufthansa is set to enter exclusive talks to sell loss-making carrier bmi by the end of the month, with arch rival IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, seen as the front-runner, sources said on Tuesday.

"The price won't be substantial, it's mainly about cleaning Lufthansa's balance sheet and getting rid of the debt," one source close to the sales process said.

Bmi has been a millstone around Lufthansa's neck and by putting it up for sale, the company has admitted efforts have stalled to turn around the unit, which reported losses of EUR€154 million (USD$214.8 million) for the first nine months of 2011.

Lufthansa finance chief Stephan Gemkow said at the group's third-quarter results last week talks were going on with several interested parties and that a binding deal could be reached this year.

The source added there were a handful of bidders, including IAG and Virgin Atlantic.

While Lufthansa is seeking to sell bmi as a whole, another source close to the deal said the most likely outcome would be Lufthansa selling bmi's coveted slots at Heathrow, Europe's largest airport, to IAG.

IAG would then pass on some of those slots to Virgin to relieve competition concerns.

"Lufthansa will likely sell bmi's slots for about GBP£300 million max and its stake in (air traffic manager) NATS and fetch about GBP£400 million in total, so just enough to recover from the losses accumulated since the bmi acquisition," the person said.

With the Heathrow slots sold, smaller players such as Flybe or Eastern could then look to pick up bmi regional.

While some have queried whether Lufthansa would sell bmi to arch rival British Airways, thus strengthening the latter's position at London's Heathrow, one of the sources close to the deal said Lufthansa's desire to be rid of bmi would come first.

"Lufthansa is losing patience and could finally surrender to selling to IAG. They really tried hard to avoid giving them such a strong presence at Heathrow."

One airline industry specialist, who did not want to be named, said Lufthansa would also be keen to avoid bmi falling into the clutches of Gulf airline Etihad, which sources say is teaming up with Virgin for a bid.

"Lufthansa is doing everything in its power to keep the fast growing Gulf airlines at bay - why should they allow a main competitor to gain a foothold on Europe's busiest airport in Heathrow," he said.

http://photoavia.net/photo/view//16526

Titlu: Virgin Atlantic Not Giving Up On bmi Deal
Sursa: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1323690218.html
Autor: Reuters
Data: 12.12.2011

Citat :

The battle for UK airline bmi is not over yet, as Lufthansa confirmed on Monday it was shopping around for the best deal to sell the loss-making carrier, with Virgin Atlantic still in the running.

British Airways owner IAG said in November it had reached an agreement in principle to buy bmi as it seeks to squeeze more growth from its capacity-constrained Heathrow hub, but admitted that the deal was not exclusive.

"We signed an agreement in principle with Virgin at the end of November," a Lufthansa spokeswoman said on Monday.

She added that Germany's biggest carrier hoped to sign a final deal in the next few weeks, with completion seen in the first quarter of 2012.

"We will look at the quality of the offers and which one gives the most attractive prospects for the future of bmi," she said, declining to provide further details of the bids.

The Times newspaper in London earlier cited banking sources as saying the Virgin offer was thought to be in the region of GBP£50 million (USD$78 million), while IAG's was about double that figure, excluding pension and restructuring costs.

Bmi comprises three under-performing businesses: a carrier serving Europe, the Middle East and Africa; bmi regional, serving the UK; and low-cost unit bmibaby.

Its key attraction is that it controls 9 percent of the valuable take-off and landing slots at London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, which is operating at full capacity after plans to build a third runway were scrapped

Virgin has maintained that a sale to IAG would lead to competition issues, as British Airways is already the dominant airline at Heathrow.

"British Airways' hold over Heathrow is already too dominant and we are very concerned, as the competition authorities should also be, that BA's purchase of bmi would be disastrous for consumer choice and competition," a spokeswoman said.

The Times said, without citing a source, that Virgin's bankers were arguing that Lufthansa would be better off doing a quick but lower-priced deal with the airline, as its offer would likely meet with less regulatory scrutiny.

Silvia Quandt analyst Stefan Kick said the Virgin bid was a good fallback for Lufthansa, should competition authorities reject the IAG deal.

He added a sale to Virgin could also be a smart strategic move for Lufthansa, as it would mean keeping bmi out of the hands of its strongest rival -- British Airways.

IAG said it was still negotiating. "Lufthansa has kept us appraised of other parties involved in the process," an IAG spokeswoman said.

Pana la urma BMI a fost vanduta lui IAG

We’d like to advise you that the EU Competition Authority has today approved the sale of bmi to IAG. We are very aware that Diamond Club members want to know what will happen to their accounts when bmi is acquired by British Airways.

The deal between bmi and British Airways is due to be completed around 20 April 2012. We would like to reassure you that we plan to operate our summer schedule as normal and you can continue to earn and redeem Diamond Club miles during this period.

We are working together to announce a Diamond Club partnership with British Airways. This will include the ability to earn and redeem Diamond Club destinations miles across the bmi and BA networks.

We will be communicating regularly with you as more information becomes available and flybmi.com will also be updated with the latest information.

Ciao tuturor,

Ca o consecinta a vanzarii, si probabil si datorita contextului actual, subsidiara lowcost bmiBaby va fi inchisa din septembrie.

IAG vinde BMI Regional (filiala BMI din Scotia - Aberdeen si care opereaza 19 Embraer) pentru 10 milioane euro catre Sector Aviation Holdings (SAH).

In ceea ce o priveste pe Bmibaby, asa cum se spunea si mai sus, Willie Walsh (patron IAG) intentioneaza sa o desfiinteze pur si simplu daca nu gaseste un cumparator pana pe 10 sept 2012.

Sursa info