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bmi ends longhaul services from MAN
bmi ends longhaul services from MAN
Changes to bmi operations at Manchester and London Heathrow
Following a review of long haul flying out of London Heathrow and Manchester, the following changes are being made:
- From January 2009, our Heathrow-Riyadh service becomes six times a week on an A330, with three services continuing onward to Jeddah and three services continuing onward to Dammam.
- From Spring 2009, our Heathrow-Cairo and Heathrow-Amman services will be upgraded to A330 aircraft, bringing our fully-flat bed Business Class, and the biggest Premium Economy in the world (at 50” seat pitch) to our Heathrow hub
- On 14 January 2009, unfortunately our Manchester-Chicago service will end
- In April 2009, unfortunately our Manchester-Caribbean and Manchester-Las Vegas services will end
The decision to withdraw long haul services from Manchester was a very tough one, since we have operated these routes since 2001. However, sadly, the routes have never performed to the revenue levels we hoped to achieve, which combined with 2008 fuel price increases mean there is still little prospect of improvement. In sharp contrast, our Middle Eastern long haul routes from Heathrow are performing exceptionally well and have lots of potential for growth in customer numbers and revenues, especially in the new premium cabins.
Our immediate priority is to secure alternatives for you to rebook your clients with the minimum of disruption. We intend to start re-accommodating from 11 November 2008, focusing on Chicago services first and we will notify you of the various options available. If the options for re-accommodation are not suitable for your clients, they can be offered a full refund.
Our re-accommodation policy has been set up to cover all passengers that have been issued with tickets before 10 November 2008. All passengers that have not been ticketed by this deadline will have to make alternative arrangements.
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. For further information contact the travel trade helpline on 0870 606 1000 (UK) or 01 407 3036 (Ireland).