bmi diamond club - stupid person needs help with bmi website booking engine

OK guys, I admit on occasion I am too stupid to travel unassisted, so I've come seeking help from the gurus :)

Trying to sort out Christmas travel and can't face the drive up the A19/A1. So looking at flying since I found out BD serve MME. Unsurprisingly, there is no direct flight MME-EDI, (although there is LBA-EDI as a fall back), but I could connect via LHR (yes, the drive is that bad). But although website will let me book MME-YYC and various other foreign points, it won't let me book MME-EDI - I don't think! Am I missing something?

I could book as two seperate tickets, but then when it all goes horribly wrong through LHR, so far as I know, I'd be stuffed as they'd be on seperate PNRs.....

Hey Jen,

I find that when the booking engine on the BMI home page doesn't offer the connection I am after, using the 'Plan & Book' link usually does the trick.

Good luck

See, I hadn't noticed the booking engine on the front page, and had gone straight to the Plan and Book section :( (Too stupid to travel!)

But I've now found LH will sell me the ticket... so why won't BD? :confused:

I've got to assume that BD assumes nobody wants to make that connection... The website tries to be clever, and only offers what it thinks are decent connections.

Is there a particular reason you don't want to take the train? It would be my first choice for that route (assuming it's not all booked up for Christmas already, which is far from beyond the realms of possibility...)

None of the cheap gner fares were available when I checked today, its going to be hideously crowded and I'd be in standard since none of the cheap gner fares are available, I will pay £30 in taxi fares getting to and from where I park my car in York to the station, the transfer at Edinburgh and possibly Stirling and Falkirk are hideous with Christmas luggage, and the rail journey Edinburgh-Perth takes 3 times as long as it does to drive, because of the stupid route, whereas if I fly I can make someone collect me from the airport and be home in 40 minutes, instead of over two hours :rolleyes:

No, not really :) ;)

I'd a feeling there'd be a good reason :)

By the way, when did MME become 'Durham Tees Valley'?

AFAIK, the booking engine will not show connections where BD has no fares between the pair of cities, as would be the case between EDI and MME. If you really want to book on flybmi.com, you would have to do it on separate tickets, MME-LHR and then LHR-EDI. Alternatively, go to a TA or use an online booking engine with multi-city capacity (expedia, travelocity, etc...)

Thanks Nick - (but Opodo and LH both price it as a complete trip without needing to do the multicity thing) - I think I'll mark it down as one of lifes great mysteries.

Sometime this summer - it was still Teesside when I flew out of it in May - I presume they changed it to try and move it upmarket - shame about most of the clientele (although I could have just gone through at a very unfortunate time with a KLM and Ryanair departure at the same time, to DUB and AMS, both crammed full of stag and hen parties :eek: )

I'd a feeling there'd be a good reason :)

By the way, when did MME become 'Durham Tees Valley'?

Around a month ago, apparently. Looks like they even had a bit of a junket to celebrate :D



First flight arrives at new Durham Tees Valley Airport

New jobs and increased passenger numbers set to follow.

The latest era in North East aviation takes off today (Tuesday September 21) with the launch of a new name and logo for Teesside International Airport.

Over a hundred passengers will depart on the last flight from Teesside International Airport in a specially chartered jet aircraft this morning - returning to land at a VIP ceremony to mark the birth of the new Durham Tees Valley Airport.

The new name is part of an ambitious three year, multi-million pound redevelopment plan by the airport and its strategic regional partners to build on past successes and reinforce its position as one of the UK’s fastest-growing regional airports.

During 2004 alone, some £4 million has already been invested in the first phase of the redevelopment programme, including additional car parking, upgraded terminal traffic infrastructure, terminal building improvements and a new access road to the airport site.

Several hundred new jobs will be created in the wake of the airport’s re-branding and expansion, notably in areas such as passenger check-in, baggage handling and airport services.

Re-naming the airport Durham Tees Valley will help to locate it on the international travel map and provide a modern and convenient gateway to the region for visitors coming to see places like Durham and other historic attractions - further cementing the airport’s commitment to regional tourism.

Hugh Lang, managing director of Durham Tees Valley Airport, said: “We are looking confidently to an exciting future. This new chapter in our history brings a wealth of opportunities on a regional, national and international scale.

By next year, the airport predicts that passenger numbers will break through the one million per year mark – an increase of more than 30% on current passenger numbers.