Our History

From humble beginnings over 70 years ago, the bmi group today operates almost 2,000 flights per week to a network of 69 airports in the UK and Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

• bmi began life in 1938 as Air Schools Ltd, specialising in RAF pilot training
• In 1949, the company became known as Derby Aviation, diversifying operations to include passenger and cargo charter services
• In 1959, the company became known as Derby Airways, changing to British Midland Airways in 1964, when it moved to the newly opened East Midlands Airport in 1965

• Throughout the 1970s, British Midland Airways further expanded domestic and international passenger services, including longhaul destinations
• The company celebrated a landmark in 1979, when over one million passengers were carried for the first time in a single year

• bmi's growth continued during the 1980s and passenger carryings were recorded at 1.8M
• The company established its headquarters at Castle Donington near East Midlands Airport in 1982, and in 1986 the airline changed its name to British Midland
• In 1989, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) purchased a 24.9% stake in the airline at a cost of £25M

• By the end of the 1990s, British Midland enjoyed passenger carryings of over 6.5M a year
• In 1992, Scandinavian Airlines increased its share to 40%
• In 1993, it became the first European carrier to offer a separate Business Class cabin for business travellers and in 1995, it became the first airline to offer a booking service with payment over the internet
• In 1999, Lufthansa acquired a 20% stake in British Midland from the 40% owned by Scandinavian Airlines

• British Midland joined Star Alliance on 1 July 2000
• The turn of the century saw an expansion of routes and the beginning of longhaul operations to the USA, India and Saudi Arabia
• The airline's new global ambition was accompanied by a rebranding to bmi British Midland in 2001, subsequently shortened to bmi two years later
• In 2002, bmibaby, a low-cost subsidiary with its own unique brand, was launched
• Following the acquisition of BMED in 2007, bmi enjoyed rapid expansion to 17 midhaul destinations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa
• The route network was strengthened further with the addition of more midhaul destinations including the launch of services to Russia
• On 1 July 2009, bmi became a member of the Lufthansa group
• In 2012, International Airlines Group (IAG) became the new owner of British Midland Limited.