This post is an update of my earlier post: Bye Bye BMI. Sector Aviation (previously known as Granite Aviation) successfully bought Scottish based bmi British Midland Regional Limited for £8 million cash from International Airlines Group (British Airways/Iberia). Handover was completed June 1. IAG inherited bmi Regional when it bought British Midland from Lufthansa earlier in 2012. This sale included all of bmi Regional’s fixed assets and long-term liabilities, including owned and operating lease aircraft. The carrier has 19 Embraers. Sector Aviation is led by Ian Woodley who is now Chair of bmi Regional. In 1987, Woodley founded Business Air. It became…
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Riding the Big Trains: Sensational Rail Journeys Through Wales/ Cymru
I have now completed travel across (almost) the entire Welsh mainline railway network. Every line through almost every station! Now I am working my way through the nation’s Heritage trains! Even as a dedicated train enthusiast, I find navigating Wales/Cymru’s railway network more confusing and frustrating than it should be. But through all the challenges and surprises, I’ve learnt to untangle the mysteries of Welsh rail travel. Here’s what I’ve learned: Major Welsh Train Routes You can essentially divide the railway system of Wales/Cymru into nine distinct routes. Here is a summary with more detailed…
Don’t Waste that Safety Briefing-Save a Life
The aviation year has started with a bang — literally. We saw the first Airbus 350 destroyed in a ball of fire. The pictures of the burnt-out shell are chilling. Then the USA grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9s after a brand-new Alaska airlines plane had part of its fuselage ripped out violently. Tragically, Japan saw five lives lost in the smaller plane on the runway that was hit by the JAL A350. People going to start others impacted by the recent Japanese quake. After 1580 flights with just one scary landing (plus three memorably…
The airlines that vanished in 2015
Over 50 carriers failed in 2015. Many of them, frankly won’t be missed. I have flown none of them (and in some cases it seems no one else flew them either!). There were some very long standing airlines that went under and a couple that lasted just a short time including one that had planes in the air for under month. Man dream of being a Richard Branson but for every successful startup there are hundreds of shuttered dreams. To survive, I believe an airline needs to have seven things: A demonstrated diversified real market. “build it…
How I use plane safety briefings
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. If you haven’t already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin. Please take your seat and fasten your seat belt. And also make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position. For many passengers the start of the safety briefing is a sign they can start dozing, reading or texting. Are safety announcements an anachronism? Accounts of US Air Flight 1549‘s evacuation indicate that one of the key reasons many passengers were able to…
Where you will find the 787
The 787 grounding seems a while ago. There will soon be 14 airlines utilising the 787. As of 10th August, LOT Polish will be the first carrier to have Boeing 787 aircraft as its sole long-haul fleet type. By 31st August 2013, Norwegian will be the second carrier to have Boeing 787 aircraft as its sole long-haul fleet type. The carriers are: AeroMexico (from October) Mexico City to Monterrey, Tijuana, JFK Air India Delhi –to Sydney, Melbourne, Birmingham, Bangalore, Chennai, Dubai, Frankfurt, Kolkata, London Heathrow, Paris All Nippon Airlines ANA Tokyo Narita to Beijing,…
The Airlines that Vanished in 2012
Twenty six airline names disappeared in 2012 – an average of two per month. Some “biggish” name carriers sadly vanished including Malev and Spanair. One of the airlines “died” and came back (Air Zimbabwe) and two more have promised a return. Some of the victims were amongst the oldest airlines in the world. An extraordinary 13 of the carriers that went were Europe based. Four African carriers went, Australia, Asia, the USA South America/Caribbean all lost two. One of my burning questions from the year’s bankruptcies is: Why do consumers get dumped? Most of the airlines gave absolutely no…
Thomson 787
Thomson airlines, the European launch customer for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, have been running a competition to name their first plane using the hashtag: #nameourplane This is a clever way to get publicity for their first 787 which will arrive in early 2013 with services starting 1st May, 2013. Another three are expected to be delivered in 2013, three more in 2014 and one in 2015. This will give the carrier eight of these planes. The ‘Thomson 787 will carry 291 passengers, which is more cozier than any other carrier so far. This compares with Ethiopian’s 270, United’s 219…
Bye BMI Baby
Last flight last Sunday for BMI Baby. As part of the sale of BMI to British, BMI’s lower fare subsidiary has now gone from the skies. Related Posts British Midland Regional Future??? Bye bye BMI Who gets BMI?
Bye bye BMI
I have always been a huge fan of British Midland. Yet, sadly, they are yet another example of “A great airline but a lousy business”. British Midland Airways were born the year I was: 1964. They operated out of Manchester. In 2001 they became BMIBritish Midland and then just BMI in 2003. Ownership of the airline has always been vexed. SAS, BMI Chairman Michael Bishop and Lufthansa have all had involvements. Lufthansa has been full owner since November, 2009 and has lost a chunk of money on BMI (eg 285m euros of losses and disposal fees in 2011). In…
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