Fly BMI

[TheLocalYokel]

Flightradar24 have removed all the flybmi flights, but had no response from them. On the other hand Bristol Airport continue to carry BMI Regional flights on their online flight info screens.

Furthermore still seeing posts on social media about the lack of flight info at departure gates. The big departure board in Check-in still not operating or any screens showing the airline above each check-in desk.

Not to play down the cyber attack on its systems, but this occurred back in September 2018, a few more weeks and it will be 6 months. I find it a little strange that it couldn’t have been resolved by now.

I saw one of the A4 Air Deckers (Airport-Bath route) on Friday and on the back of the double-decker was a large advert for the flybmi routes from BRS. I suppose flybmi paid for the advert (I presume they've already paid - if not the bus company might not be happy) and it will remain until the termination date of the advert contract with the bus company.

 

[superking]

Monday 4th feb. I see no arrival/departure flights listed on the flight boards today for flybmi.

 

[alphagolf]

Monday 4th feb. I see no arrival/departure flights listed on the flight boards today for flybmi.

Maybe they heard me

 

[superking]

looks like the Flybmi flights are on the arrival/departure boards every other day.

 

[Kernow Bravo]

Some info about the FlyBMI situation bringing about their demise : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48071724

Interestingly the article suggests that airport slots were transferred to Logan Air before BM went under, so presumably this includes those at BRS?

 

[Marko1]

I wonder why they haven’t used the slots?

 

[Jerry]

I wonder why they haven’t used the slots?

Maybe because they are for services they don't want to operate?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Some info about the FlyBMI situation bringing about their demise : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48071724
Interestingly the article suggests that airport slots were transferred to Logan Air before BM went under, so presumably this includes those at BRS?

Further to the linked BBC report, a regular poster to the Dried Plum on BRS matters who used flybmi a lot for business flights says that over £3 million is also owed under the EU compensation scheme.

No surprise to us on F4A as we used to record the daily flybmi cancellations. In July 2018 for example 22 rotations (44 flights) were cancelled from BRS, and July was typical of that period of the year. Later in 2018 there were fewer cancellations each month but still too many when compared with the number of flights flybmi operated.

I wonder why they haven’t used the slots?

It seems the ones they haven't used have been passed to Loganair who want to sell them. I presume they relate to major airports such as Frankfurt and Paris CDG, which it seems Loganair won't fly to from anywhere.

The DP poster I mentioned wonders if BRS would welcome Loganair anyway given the money flybmi is reported to owe the airport.

Whilst there is no suggestion that AIL did anything illegal, the fact that at the beginning of 2019 AIL's de facto owners pulled the plug on further funding flybmi following worse than forecast trading must have led to serious doubts within the organisation about flybmi's future visability. Would-be passengers who have lost money will understandably question the morality of the situation given that seats continued to be sold right up to the day flybmi suddenly ceased trading. Furthermore, the fact that another airline in the same group can then be given some of flybmi's 'assets' before administrators were called in will also leave a bad tsate in the mouth of some who have lost money through the flybmi collapse.

 

[superking]

I read some where that Lufthansa do not get on with Loganair for what ever reason. That would explain the reason why the German routes not taken up from BRS. Perhaps the German routes are only viable with a Lufty code share.

 

[Jerry]

I wouldn't be surprised if eventually Easyjet launch Munich but Frankfurt would probably need Lufthansa.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I read some where that Lufthansa do not get on with Loganair for what ever reason. That would explain the reason why the German routes not taken up from BRS. Perhaps the German routes are only viable with a Lufty code share.

FRA and MUC might only be viable with a LH codeshare or by LH itself, although it's been suggested elsewhere that part of the problem with the flybmi/LH code share from BRS was the likelihood that LH got more out of it than flybmi in terms of yield.

History tells us that there is a market for FRA, especially when it's part of a hub service there. Unfortunately, the market might not be big enough for something of, say, A319 size at the frequency needed to make a service realistic for passengers, many of whom would want to use the route to access FRA for onward co-ordinated travel.

About once a year the management of bmir/flybmi would announce that they were looking at sourcing larger aircraft for some of their routes with BRS-FRA quoted as an example.

70-80 seat aircraft might be the optimum size for the market for a 3 x daily BRS-FRA linked to LH onward connectivity, but how viable that would be in terms of yield and whether such aircraft would be available might be different matters.

I imagine that the BRS management is still trying to get some form of LH return to their airport, at least to FRA, but only time will tell if they succeed.

I wouldn't be surprised if eventually Easyjet launch Munich but Frankfurt would probably need Lufthansa.

easyJet only seems to operate from Frankfurt to Berlin Tegel which no doubt is one of the routes they picked up when they took on Air Berlin's services from Tegel. easyJet does have a larger presence at Munich, with their UK routes being LGW. LTN, STN, MAN and EDI.

Whether a p2p easyJet route from BRS to MUC would be viable remains to be seen. In recent years easyJet has surprised me with some of the routes they've started at BRS, most of which seem to be working out for them, if loads and commitment from the airline are guides. Who would have thought, for example, that Catania would become a year-round route?

 

[David_itl]

I'd guess for LH to start FRA-BRS it would mean a cascading of services. That is they take delivery of an A320NEO but don't retire an A319. That A320NEO replaces an A319 on a route, the A319 replaces an Emb190, the Emb190 replaces a CRJ900 and hey presto we've got a spare CRJ900 that could be used for BRS. Not sure how many spare slots there are at FRA for peak times that would be of most use for business travel though.