Being a member of the Star Alliance – the grouping of 27 of the biggest carriers in the world, BMI’s global reach has been extended further. The Star Alliance offers more than 21,200 daily flights to 1,185 airports in 185 countries.

A Brief history:

Though BMI has traditionally been a short-haul airline that pretty much concentrated on key domestic routes, during the 70s it started mid-haul operation and business reached a milestone in 1979, when total passengers ferried per annum reached the 1 million mark for the first time in history. In 1989, the Scandinavian Airlines SAS picked up a 24.9 per cent stake in BMI for £25.9 million, and later hiked its share to 40 per cent in 1992. BMI’s growth remained unabated throughout the 80s, and by the end of the 90s, the airline was carrying more than 6.8 million passengers annually.

BMI’s long-haul operations started at the turn of the century when the airline started expanding its routes and operations to the US, Saudi Arabia and India. On July 1 2000, BMI joined the Star Alliance as part of its expansion strategy.

The present scenario:

Recent evaluation of the economics of flying revealed that apart from continuing to build its key domestic operations, BMI needs to focus on medium haul operations as well. Developing the current network was the main-concern, and the company launched operations in six new routes in the mid-haul segment for the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) and Central Asia region, as part of the expansion plan. The airline is presently also developing some core themes in-terms of flying and the concept of ‘neighbourhood flying’ is being actively promoted. The other members of the Lufthansa family promote the concept in Europe for example Vienna is the hub for flying inside Austria.

The Russian connection:

Presently BMI flies four times a day between London and Moscow- two flights are operated by BMI and the other two by Transearo as part of a codeshare agreement since 2006, when the daily lone London-Moscow operations started. The frequency was subsequently doubled in 2008. Transaero also offers domestic connectivity to BMI passengers inside Russia, flying in from London to Moscow. A similar reciprocal arrangement exists for passengers flying in from Russia, using Heathrow as the stop-over for onward journey to the UK and other European destinations.

The airline has revamped its services on the Moscow route and has introduced chauffer driven services for business class passengers in both London and Moscow. The onboard menu has been redone and new chefs have been hired, keeping in mind changing preferences of fliers. Some great in-flight entertainment has been added as part of the ongoing development process. David Rousham, head of sales at BMI said: “Our in-flight product is second to none on the Moscow route, so we are very proud of that and certainly something that we want to continue to grow and develop”, when asked to comment on current state of affairs.

BMI would love to extend its services beyond Moscow said Mr. Rousham. However, difficulties still remain, since historic flying agreements create hurdles for developing new networks. St. Petersburg remains a desired destination for the UK outbound market and Russia’s growing economic stature makes it an extremely important market for the carrier.

When asked if BMI had plans to start flights to Sochi before the Winter Olympics in 2014, Mr. Rousham said that when considering any route it’s important there’s continuity in traffic moving in plus customers can fly to Sochi via London with BMI in partnership with Austrian Airlines from Vienna. BMI flights take off from Heathrow just after 6 in the morning for Vienna, and there are conveniently timed transfer services from Vienna for Sochi by Austrian Airlines. However, direct flights to Sochi from London depend on a host of issues, including the liberalness of air service agreements between Russia and the UK. BMI continually evaluates global destinations to see if a particular global city is lucrative enough to start scheduled services, said Mr. Rousham, adding global sporting events definitely increases attractiveness of a potential destination.

BMI’s sister companies fly to different locations in Russia – so what’s the scope for future cooperation? Well, BMI already flies into the European hubs of its sister carriers, offering transfer service to Russia from there, said Mr. Rousham. It flies to Vienna, the hub of Austrian Airlines; to Basel, for Swiss International Airlines; and to Belgium’s capital Brussels, headquarters for Brussels Airlines.

BMI started new daily flights to Bergen and Stavanger in Norway since February this year along with daily services to Morocco (Casablanca, Marrakech). A third destination in Morocco – Agadir will be connected to London Heathrow from 20 October 2011, with direct flights from Heathrow to operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Scheduled daily services to Nice in France is planned to start in the summer, with the frequency doubling to twice daily from 30 October 2011. A second service to Beirut has started, while a new daily service to Tripoli has been suspended untill October due to the current situation in Libya.

“Located on the south east coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, Nice has long been a favourite year-round destination and we are delighted that our customers now have the chance to discover this cosmopolitan city with convenient schedules,” said Joerg Hennemann, Chief Commercial Officer of BMI about the latest French offering.

When asked to comment on the rationale behind starting a third service destination in Morocco, he said: “The addition of Agadir will enable us to meet the increasing demand from both corporate and leisure customers. Agadir is a vibrant city on the Atlantic coast renowned for its year round climate, enjoying over 300 days of sunshine per year. Its unspoilt charm and location near the foot of the Atlas Mountains means whether you’re looking for a relaxing beach holiday or something more adventurous the area has something for everyone.”

The airline has decided to offer a full service economy and business class cabin with two conveniently timed departures for both holiday makers and business travellers. The carrier will also provide full business class service, such as hot meals and fully stocked bars on all the flights.

Economy class passengers will enjoy full service benefits that include 20 Kg free checked baggage, with complimentary food and beverage – including fully stocked bar, throughout the day.

In October the first direct flight from Heathrow to Amritsar in North-western India will take off. Incidentally BMI recently achieved the distinction of being the first British operator to develop applications that lets customers book and pay for their tickets on their smart phones.

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