Fly BMI

[TheLocalYokel]

I know BRS and CWL airports are at the opposite end of the country to LBA but as they're similar sized regional airports so it's probably worth comparing them in this instance.

At LBA Jet2.com flies to DUS six times weekly and during March of this year a total of 4310 passengers were carried. I make that an average of 80 passengers per flight based on a Monday to Friday and a Sunday service. (The figure total was derived by dividing the passenger total by the 54 flights which included both the inbound and outbound passengers.)

Jet2 isn't the cheapest of operators but they're significantly cheaper than BMI Regional so perhaps more comparable with Flybe. A possible indication of how the Flybe route might perform at CWL once they are established there?

bmi regional is not a cheap airline for passengers, especially when compared with the major locos and even with Flybe. It will be interesting to see how Flybe performs on its CWL routes. It will be using two E 195s I believe with nearly 120 seats which seems a big aircraft for some of the new routes.

Munich will be 5 x weekly and Dusseldorf 4 x weekly from late summer. If Flybe can get decent loads on such aircraft to these destinations then they will be doing exceptionally well. If they can get a code share with LH then that will be different but it's still a lot of seats to fill. I'm amazed that Q 400s aren't operating the CWL flights. They seem a much better fit.

Airlines do make a difference. When Ryanair operated a daily Bristol-Shannon they carried nearly 100,000 passengers a year. Aer Lingus Regional managed just over 20,000 with their daily service.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Giveaway Tickets

Had an email from Bristol Airport (that I've only just looked at) saying that bmi regional representatives were at a number of locations around Bristol today giving away a total of 50 'Golden tickets' for two people to travel to a destination of their choice on any of the airline's BRS routes.

It was necessary to visit the bmi regional website to discover the clues that gave the locations and times of the giveaway.

It's always a concern when airlines resort to this sort of thing as there is always the thought that routes are not doing as well as was hoped and it's necessary to try to find ways of boosting them.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Flying high: Bristol Airport and bmi regional look to the future

Airline celebrates rapid growth and eighth route from South West as airport prepares to open terminal extension.

As Bristol Airport prepares to cut the ribbon on its £8.6 million terminal extension early next month, bmi regional is also celebrating a milestone from its South West hub, with the launch of its eighth route, Nantes in France.

The new bmi regional Nantes service takes off on 4 July, flying twice-weekly to the Loire region gateway. The same month, Bristol Airport opens its extension, offering more departure lounge seating alongside new retail and catering outlets, further enhancing the passenger experience and reinforcing Bristol’s position as the South West’s airport of choice.

Fares to Nantes with bmi regional start from £79 one way and the launch is the latest milestone in the successful partnership between bmi regional and Bristol Airport. It follows the introduction in April of services to Paris and Dusseldorf and the re-introduction of Milan at the beginning of the year. These routes, in addition to existing services (to Aberdeen, Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt), bring the number of destinations currently serviced by bmi regional from the South West to eight.

Following the success of bmi regional’s first route out of Bristol to Aberdeen - launched 29 October 2012 - expansion followed, with Hamburg launching in February 2013; Frankfurt in April 2013; and Munich and Milan a month later.

The airline now has 110 staff based at Bristol Airport: 63 pilots, 36 cabin crew and 11 engineers. Each week, 3,200 people fly with bmi regional from Bristol, taking advantage of its reputation for consistent punctuality and customer service. In addition, bmi regional staff check in about 2,000 bags each week.

Bristol Airport is the fifth largest outside of London handling 6.3 million passengers in 2014 and planning approvals in place for up to 10 million passengers per annum. A new Hampton by Hilton hotel is due to open next spring and a £1.3 million road improvement scheme is nearing completion on the A38.

Paul Sies, Chief Operating Officer at bmi regional, said: “In the South West, 5,000 companies are interested in or are already exporting to France and Germany. Nantes is the gateway to the Loire region, perfect for a weekend break. Meanwhile flying twice a day to Paris means that our passengers can have a full day of business in the French capital, rather than having to overnight there. Dusseldorf is an international business and financial centre and bmi regional is the only airline to directly connect the hub with businesses in the South West.”

Shaun Browne, Aviation Director at Bristol Airport, said: “We are delighted with the addition of the Nantes route to the bmi regional network. With large Airbus aerospace manufacturing sites in both Nantes and Saint Nazaire, the route will provide enhanced connectivity which is a key business focus for us. This region of France, with Nantes as the gateway provides easy access to both the Atlantic coast and the French countryside.”[/textarea]

This a BRS press release at http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-u ... /06/nantes

I make 3,200 passengers a week an average of around 24 per flight across the board. This would give a load factor of about 49%. bmi regional generally charges high fares so this sort of loading might well provide an acceptable return.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Dusseldorf

First full month of the service with the CAA showing 784 passengers which gives an average load of 15, load factor just under 31%, on the 49-seat, 6 x weekly service.

On the face of it this doesn't make good reading, even for a new route. However, as with most of its routes at BRS bmi regional charges eye-watering fares. it's not possible to get a return next week at much under £500 and even on towards the end of July typical return fares are well into the £300s, sometimes more.

The same sort of fares apply to Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg, with some showing £700 return for next week, albeit the first two are code shares with Lufthansa with connectivity onto LH's worldwide network.

A rough estimate of the other German routes in May suggests load factors around 50%.

Milan Malpensa was variable in numbers of rotations through May and as I'm not sure how many were flown I'll leave these stats until next month.

Paris Cdg competes with easyJet so it's not possible to calculate loads/load factors.

 

[jfy1999]

Does bmi regional's service live up to the prices? You can fly Air Transat to Canada for cheaper than that!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Does bmi regional's service live up to the prices? You can fly Air Transat to Canada for cheaper than that!

I've never used bmi regional but it seems to get very good reports on Skytrax (although we recently discussed the subjectivity of such reports generally).

Some of its BRS routes seem underpinned by business links at both ends, eg Hamburg with Airbus and Imperial Tobacco; Milan Malpensa with Augusta Westland. Perhaps in such cases these businesses accept that last-minute extremely high fares still make good sense to them.

However, I would think that most people raise their eyebrows at the fares even when they are booking for a month or more ahead. I'm fortunate in that the cost of a fight is not so problematical to me but I do insist on value for money. My wife and I thought of visiting Hamburg (just a whim really) but drew the line at paying over £300 return (over£600 for the two of us) as we decided it would not be value for money. We went somewhere else with somebody else instead.

bmi regional must be aware that they are highly unlikely to fill their aircraft on a regular basis with their fare structure but presumably determine that the high fares can work with smaller loads. The next 12 months ought to see whether this concept succeeds.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

June 2015 Passenger Numbers

The German routes were as follows:

Frankfurt 4,210 passengers
Hamburg 1,523 passengers
Munich 2,836 passengers
Dusseldorf 1,029 passengers

The first three saw average loads of 29/30 giving load factors in the region of 60%. The new route, DUS, was not as prolific with an average load just under 20 giving a load factor of around 40%.

Milan MXP carried 934 passengers which is an average load of 27.5, load factor 56%.

Aberdeen was down 13% on June 2014 to 2,466 which is an average load of 25.7, load factor 52.5%. ABZ as an airport has had a challenging few months following the oil price slump and many UK routes to the Granite City saw substantial passenger falls in June.

Paris CDG was up against easyJet so it was not possible to ascertain bmi regional's share. However, the route itself increased from 9,020 in June 2014 to 12,076 this June. easyJet had the same number of rotations as last year except that this year they used more A 320s.

Nevertheless, it seems likely the bmi regional saw a load factor at least approaching 50%.

Nantes didn't begin until July.

None of these are huge load factors but, given the very high fares that bmi regional usually charges, it must be hoped that most of the routes are sustainable.

 

[superking]

caught tail end on radio today that loganair has been bought by the same group that owns bmir.
anyone heard anything.
if true wonder if it will make any changes to the brs operation.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

caught tail end on radio today that loganair has been bought by the same group that owns bmir.
anyone heard anything.
if true wonder if it will make any changes to the brs operation.

In the Logan Air (Flybe) thread there is a post this afternoon concerning this with a link to an article.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

caught tail end on radio today that loganair has been bought by the same group that owns bmir.
anyone heard anything.
if true wonder if it will make any changes to the brs operation.

It looks as though the two airlines will continue under their own brands, at least for the time being.

The linked article speaks of creating a new regional UK airline force not a new regional airline.

The head man at Airline Investments Limited (AIL) said,

The two airlines operate in clear niche markets in vital roles such as feeding traffic to mainline carrier networks like Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines and British Airways, with Loganair operating a successful franchise with major regional carrier Flybe.

The opportunity now is to build on the synergies between the two sister airlines and deliver great benefits to our customers and partners alike. The AIL Group and its investors are committed to maximising the opportunities that we’re creating in new markets as well as strengthening our presence in established markets.

It will be interesting to see how all this works in practice going forward.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/ ... eated.html

 

[TheLocalYokel]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-s ... s-34131452

Airline Investments Limited (AIL), the company that owns bmi regional, has announced plans to move its engineering facilities from Aberdeen Airport to Bristol Airport.

Loganair, also owned by AIL, will move into the hangar at ABZ previously occupied by bmi regional.

The linked BBC report mentions a loss of 80 jobs at Aberdeen. There is no mention of how many will be created at BRS.

 

[Ray Finkle]

From a Bristol point of view that's very good news. Is there an existing facility they already have or could take over or is there to be something new built?

 

[superking]

From a Bristol point of view that's very good news. Is there an existing facility they already have or could take over or is there to be something new built?

at a guess i would think they will use the dyson hanger,or the bristol flying school hanger.
when brymon based at the airport they built a hanger for engineering,which was demolished about 3 years ago. so could be bmi will build a new one.
as time goes on all will become clear.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

bmi regional engineering facility

I thought it might be somewhere on the south side too. The plans for the eventual completed expansion on the north side don't seem to include any space for a hangar.

It might be taken that this is a vote of confidence in BRS from bmi regional's parent company and that they are satisfied with the way things are going commercially there. That's not to say of course that there won't be further tweaking of routes/frequencies.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

This press release appeared to day on the BRS website at http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-u ... ional-race

[textarea]Jet beats train in race to Paris

bmi regional showcases speed and convenience of twice-daily service from Bristol.

bmi regional has put its Bristol to Paris flight to the test by staging a race between passengers travelling by plane and train. The resulting short film – titled The Race to Paris - launched today showcases the speed and convenience of bmi regional’s twice-daily service to the French capital.

The Race to Paris captures key stages in the journeys of two travellers from Bristol using different modes of transport before rendezvousing in the centre of Paris to compare notes on journey times, comfort and costs. As well as beating the train by two and a half hours, the bmi regional service to Paris Charles de Gaulle also provides complimentary refreshments, online check-in, Fast Track security for frequent travellers and a free 20kg hold baggage allowance. Filming was completed on the same day and at the same time to provide a fair comparison of the journey time involved. Train and flight tickets were also booked on the same day to provide accurate prices.

bmi regional’s Paris service launched earlier this year and is one of seven destinations now served by the airline from Bristol. The flight operates six days a week, with two flights a day from Monday to Friday, and one flight on Sunday. Weekday flights are timed to enable business travellers to do a day’s business without the necessity of an overnight stay. One way fares start at £49 one way, including all taxes. As standard, all fares include an in-flight full bar and snack service and 20kg of checked baggage.

The Race to Paris will be used to demonstrate the benefits of flying direct from Bristol Airport to Paris with business travellers, agents and travel bookers.

Jochen Schnadt, Chief Commercial Officer for bmi regional commented: “This video perfectly demonstrates the speed, efficiency and most importantly convenience of travelling with bmi regional. We’ve worked very hard over the years to ensure we have optimised departure and arrival times in and out of our airports. Combine this with our speedy check-ins, value fares and in-flight catering and as you see from the video, our passengers arrive at their chosen destinations in a timely fashion having enjoyed a relaxing and fulfilling flight.”

Shaun Browne, Aviation Director at Bristol Airport, said:
“The film is a fun way of showing the serious time and cost savings businesses in the South West can make by choosing to fly from Bristol Airport. We recognise that business passengers in particular value speed and convenience, so we are continuing to invest in improvements to the terminal which will make the passenger experience even better. Put this together with the great service airlines like bmi regional provide and we have a product which stands comparison not just with other airports, but other modes of transport too.”[/textarea]

I found a copy of the film on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLI0bto ... freload=10

I can't think that anyone would believe that it's quicker to reach Paris by train from Bristol than by air given that the former requires a 100-minute journey from Bristol to London Paddington, a cross city journey to St Pancras, followed by a two and a half hour Eurostar journey.

Anyway, as Shaun Browne said, it's all really just a bit of fun and good publicity for bmi regional's BRS-CDG route.

Incidentally, the bmi regional Embraer didn't look very full. The 'racer' seemed to be the only passenger. I hope that they are doing much better than that in reality.

 

[alphagolf]

bmi regional have added Brno in the Czech Republic to the list of the destinations available from Bristol from February 2nd 2016.

The flights are indirect as Munich is used as the connecting airport.

Outbound
0630 BM1841 BRS to MUC 0930
1040 BM1733 MUC to BRQ 1145

Inbound
1215 BM1734 BRQ to MUC 1320
1610 BM1846 MUC to BRS 1710

Further to easyJet Nantes announcement today, Nantes is still showing as a bmi regional destination, however Nantes does not appear in the route timetables, so doubt we will see this return in Summer 16 as a bmi regional route from Bristol.

 

[Aviador]

How well does BMI Regional appear to be doing overall at Bristol?

In a way it's good that they can keep testing out new routes but is the airline finding it's feet with any of the original destinations it chose.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

How well does BMI Regional appear to be doing overall at Bristol?

In a way it's good that they can keep testing out new routes but is the airline finding it's feet with any of the original destinations it chose.

Broadly speaking monthly load factors are in the 50%-75% range. The FRA and MUC routes improved noticeably after the LH code share agreement commenced, with FRA operating at 3 x daily on weekdays, less at weekends, and MUC 2 x daily.

MXP gets decent load factors, helped by the Augusta Westland business links. HAM was reduced from 2 x daily to daily for the summer just ended and continues thus through the winter. DUS is one of the newest European routes (along with CDG) and seems to be struggling a bit with loads often in the 40% range. CDG competes with easyJet so it's not possible to establish the bmir share.

ABZ has fallen back a touch but that's pretty general with that airport following the collapse of oil prices, an industry so important to Aberdeen.

The point to point fares on all the BRS European routes are not cheap and are often extremely high, sometimes several hundred pounds for one sector. It might well be therefore that the fare prices don't need huge load factors for the routes to be successful.

bmi regional have added Brno in the Czech Republic to the list of the destinations available from Bristol from February 2nd 2016.

The flights are indirect as Munich is used as the connecting airport.

Outbound
0630 BM1841 BRS to MUC 0930
1040 BM1733 MUC to BRQ 1145

Inbound
1215 BM1734 BRQ to MUC 1320
1610 BM1846 MUC to BRS 1710

I note that Brno is a new bmir route from Munich itself commencing later this month.

Further to easyJet Nantes announcement today, Nantes is still showing as a bmi regional destination, however Nantes does not appear in the route timetables, so doubt we will see this return in Summer 16 as a bmi regional route from Bristol.

I agree. bmir just could not compete with the easyJet fare prices. It's a shame because much as I appreciate easyJet's massive contribution to BRS's fortunes I also like to see other airlines operating routes. Relying too much on a single customer can be a dangerous thing in any industry.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Airbus corporate shuttle

Talk on another forum is that bmi regional has lost the above contract with reports that Eastern Airways is advertising for crews for BRS. The supposition is that Eastern has won the contract.

Looking at the current framework it seems that two aircraft will be required to maintain the schedule to Toulouse and Hawarden, at least for part of each week.

Can anyone confirm or debunk the Eastern replacing bmir rumour?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Airbus corporate shuttle

Talk on another forum is that bmi regional has lost the above contract with reports that Eastern Airways is advertising for crews for BRS. The supposition is that Eastern has won the contract.

Looking at the current framework it seems that two aircraft will be required to maintain the schedule to Toulouse and Hawarden, at least for part of each week.

Can anyone confirm or debunk the Eastern replacing bmir rumour?

There is a post on another forum saying that all bmir flights from/to ABZ throw up an error message if an attempt is made to book them for dates after 24 March next year, including the BRS route. This has led to further speculation that Eastern might also be intending to operate BRS-ABZ, a route they gave up several years ago.

I've tried some test booking for next year's summer period and so far only CDG, MUC and FRA are bookable. DUS, MXP, HAM and ABZ all produce error messages.

Either bmir is intent on a mass cull of routes or the other routes have not yet been put into the airline's booking system for next summer. Incidentally, I notice that BRS-MXP has dropped to just 2 x weekly for this winter from summer's 4 x weekly.