BMI is a British airline based close to East Midlands Airport. Its hubs are Manchester Airport and London Heathrow Airport. The airline flies to around 40 destinations in Europe, America and Arabia. Destinations in Africa and the Middle East will follow soon. The fleet with an average age of 4.9 years consists of more than 40 Airbuses and Embraers.
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BMI was founded on February 16, 1949, as Derby Aviation Limited. Its main purpose back then was to provide charter and freight flights as well as aircraft maintenance to support the parent company Air Schools Limited, which trained RAF pilots.
When flight training for the RAF ceased in 1953, the first scheduled service was started. In 1955, the DC-3 was introduced and in 1956 Burnaston Airport became the company’s new sole base. Three years later, holiday flights to the continent were added to the route network. Also, a contract with Rolls-Royce was signed, allowing Derby to deliver aero engines to customers world-wide.
In 1959, the airline changed its name to Derby Airways, many new destinations in Great Britain were added. The new name, however, did not last long, as in 1964, the airline was renamed British Midland Airways. The company colours blue and white were introduced. Only one year later, the headquarters were moved to the newly-opened East Midlands Airport.
The airline continued expansion, also after the takeover by Minster Assets investment group.
In 1970, the jet-age began for BMA, the BAC 1-11 was introduced, followed by the Boeing 707 one year later. The airline, however, concentrated on turboprops like the Vickers Viscount and leased the jet planes to other operators. The Douglas DC-9 changed this with its arrival in 1976.
In 1978, the company directors bought the airline back from its investors. In the same year, BMA agreed on a route swapping with British Airways, BA received the routes Birmingham – Brussels and Birmingham – Frankfurt and gave BMA several inner-British destinations instead. In the following year, BMA carried more than one million passengers for the first time.
In 1982, the headquarters were moved to Donington Hall, close to East Midlands Airport. In the same year, BMA, with other investors, formed Manx airlines. 75 % of Loganair were acquired in the following year. A new record of 1.8 million passengers was transported in 1984. One year later, BMA became British Midland. In 1987, the holding company Airlines of Britain Holdings (ABH) was formed to get the new British Midland and British Midland Aviation Services under one roof. In 1997 ABH was renamed British Midland as well.
During the 80s, a frequent flyer program, the Diamond Club, was introduced. Also, all DC-9s were named after famous diamonds and the business class was renamed diamond service. The airline announced record profits of more than £14 million before tax.
In 1989, SAS acquired 25 % of BM, later increasing their stake up to 40 %.
BM switched to Airbus and Embraer during a fleet renewal program of the 90s. In 1993, a non-smoking policy was introduced on all flights.
In 1999, Lufthansa purchased 20 % of BM from the 40 % owned by SAS. In return, BM joined the Star Alliance in July 2000. In 2001, a new corporate design was implemented, featuring a bright blue and white and the name was changed to bmi British midland, the British midland being dropped two years later. The official name now is bmi (for British Midland International, although bmi officially does not mean anything).
In 2002, bmiBaby was launched, bmi’s own low-cost subsidiary. After two years of operations it was already carrying more than three million passengers per year.
In August 2004, bmi carried one million passengers in a single month for the first time. In 2005, bmi changed its business model towards a single-class model, except for some core business routes where separate classes still exist.
In June 2007, rumours came up that Lufthansa might want to take over SAS’ remaining 20 % and thus take over bmi.
The route network is still expanding, Cairo being added in October 2007. All in all, bmi operated flights to around 40 destinations in Africa, Asia, America and Europe. The fleet with an average age of 4.9 years consists of more than 40 Airbuses and Embraers.
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