bmi diamond club - New bmi partnership with SN - and a lunch with Tim Bye of BD

Just spotted this post (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10461243&postcount=15)over in the Other European forum where the posters says:

Through the grapevine:

On 14 October bmi will be announcing some new partnerships with Brussels Airlines due to the planned acquisition of Brussels airlines by Lufthansa.

This will be announced at a press briefing that will be attended by Peter Kenworthy, Commercial Director bmi regional, and a representative of Brussels Airlines.

As LH has its mitts on SN, I guess we'll see codeshares and a DC tie up. Any other thoughts? Regional?

Oooh goody, another * option from BHX.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the old BA terminal at BHX now.

No doubt SN will follow LX into terminal 1, and now we have TK coming in December, it only leaves KLM/AF and FlyBe in the old Eurohub.

I presume it'll be to announce that bmi will be the codeshare partner for SN ex. LHR instead of BA. They don't serve LHR in their own right, just LGW.

And as long as there's a decent amount of miles in it and not LH style miles :rolleyes:

Still, as Tiger_lily said, more options out of BHX. Heck, we might even get an mini *A hub out of it! :D

Still, as Tiger_lily said, more options out of BHX. Heck, we might even get an mini *A hub out of it! :D

I hope that they get a proper *A lounge now instead of that god awful Aviance one

We wish :( Living a grand total of 20 minutes away from BHX makes me want to stay away from that place as it is.

However, with the update to the international pier and some of the other work that's planned, maybe BHX will turn into a reasonable airport. However, a lot of the traffic is charter/LCC so firstly we need to clear some space and then get some real airlines in the airport...

I presume it'll be to announce that bmi will be the codeshare partner for SN ex. LHR instead of BA.Interesting question is what will happen to the LHR-BRU frequency of both BD and SN after that. They've got quite a few flights going every day combined.

Interesting question is what will happen to the LHR-BRU frequency of both BD and SN after that. They've got quite a few flights going every day combined.

Nothing. As I noted SN don't serve LHR, they just codeshared on BA. SN only serve LGW.

Nothing. As I noted SN don't serve LHR, they just codeshared on BA. SN only serve LGW.

I think BMI have a couple more heathrow Brussels flights than BA don't they? There will be a hell of a lot of flights from London as a whole in the new code share if they retain the same number as both currently have. Is it too much to hope for BMI to drop a couple of the heathrow flights and use the slots to fly somewhere more interesting?

:confused:

Maybe I'm not making myself clear. All I'm expecting from the announcement is that the current codeshare agreement that SN has with BA for flights to/from LHR will move over to BD. No new flights, no flights cuts....in short, no real changes. SN will continue to serve LGW and we may see a BD codeshare on those too.

:confused:

Maybe I'm not making myself clear. All I'm expecting from the announcement is that the current codeshare agreement that SN has with BA for flights to/from LHR will move over to BD. No new flights, no flights cuts....in short, no real changes. SN will continue to serve LGW and we may see a BD codeshare on those too.

And probably codeshares on SN's BHX-BRU and maybe the BRS, SOU and NCL flights too.

Although I bet BD cede EMA-BRU to them to free up an aircraft :rolleyes:

Nothing. As I noted SN don't serve LHR, they just codeshared on BA. SN only serve LGW.Ok, right, thought my interpretation of your previous post wasn't what it should have been :o Still they will have a lot of flights in between London and Brussels combined.

And probably codeshares on SN's BHX-BRU and maybe the BRS, SOU and NCL flights too.

I would imagine that's a strong possibility.

There was a time we on this side of the Irish Sea had many a flight to BRU. Sabena had up to three a day from BFS, and they also flew from DUB along with EI. Now we have, at most, two a day on EI from DUB and just one on a Saturday.

Still they will have a lot of flights in between London and Brussels combined.

That was my point as well, maybe not in the short term but in the longer term I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two flights cut. I guess it may depend on if BA add any more flights at LGW or LHW to make up for the loss of their code share.

But what about the prospect for BD codeshares on other SN flights via Brussels, opening up possible onward connections on SN metal? And also, since SAS either already do or plan to carry some BD numbers on Scandinavian flights out of Brussels, what about the possibility of connecting to these from BHX using SN metal?

Last week I was invited by BMI to a LUNCH with Tim Bye - deputy CEO. The lunch was entitled "teh next 70 years of BMI" or something very similar

the main reason why Mr Bye came to BRU was a signature of a codeshare agreement with SN on destinations between BE and UK

We were about 25 persons and BMI made lots of efforts to make sure that the lunch is a good experience. They chose a decent 4 star property in Brussels, with nice service and good food.

Mr Bye made a very coherent and to the point speech (history of BMI, overview of destinations, market place and no real details on future plans)

all in all I had good time:)

Thanks ambrogz ^

In addition, after a bit of digging, I found this:
https://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/about-bmi/information-centre/press-releases/20081013.aspx


bmi codeshare deal is better for business in Brussels

- New deal with Brussels Airlines extends bmi flights to Brussels from four new airports in the UK: Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol
- Flights available from just £47 one way at flybmi.com

bmi has announced a extensive codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines to extend services between a range of UK airports and the Belgian capital. The agreement, which will begin operation on 26 October, will enhance bmi’s commitment to being better for business, offering passengers the opportunity to book bmi flights to Brussels through flybmi.com and the travel trade from Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol airports. These services, operated by Brussels Airlines are additional to flights currently operated by bmi from Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands and London Heathrow.

The new agreement with Brussels Airlines will see flights to Brussels with a bmi flight number operate daily from Newcastle, four times a day from Manchester, five times a day from Birmingham, and twice daily from Bristol. bmi currently operates three services a day from Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands airports and seven services a day from London Heathrow.

bmi managing director, Peter Spencer said: “This agreement with Brussels Airlines gives UK passengers travelling to Brussels a great deal more flexibility when planning their journey. Business is booming in the European capital and bmi passengers will now have the opportunity to fly to Brussels from regional airports across the UK.”

Members of bmi’s Diamond Club, the UK’s most generous frequent flyer programme, are also able to benefit from the new agreement, with the opportunity to earn destination miles on the additional services operated by Brussels Airlines.

The new connections will provide bmi passengers with increased services to Brussels, offering an unrivalled 28 non-stop flights each weekday from eight cities in the UK and more than 160 flights to the Belgian capital each week. Flights are available from just £47 one way including taxes fees and charges, and can be booked online at flybmi.com.
ends


Emphasis mine. For those of us in the regions (except EMA, LBA, and EDI) this means anohter mileage earning option has opened up on destination miles only.

Now someone kindly update that earning chart please? :rolleyes:

For those of us in the regions (except EMA, LBA, and EDI) this means another mileage earning option has opened up on destination miles only.

Only until LH drag them into *A, and then we'll get our status miles too.

That's two BD-coded destinations out of Bristol now (FRA and BRU). Which is pretty good going when you consider that London Heathrow Airways (BA) have absolutely diddly-squat.

In my experience, if you think dealing with BD's ticketsales is frustrating, just wait until you try SNs...

For those of us in the regions (except EMA, LBA, and EDI) this means another mileage earning option has opened up on destination miles only.

Only until LH drag them into *A, and then we'll get our status miles too.

That's two BD-coded destinations out of Bristol now (FRA and BRU). Which is pretty good going when you consider that London Heathrow Airways (BA) have absolutely diddly-squat.

In my experience, if you think dealing with BD's ticketsales is frustrating, just wait until you try SNs...

(edit) Surprise surprise - it's not showing Bristol - Brussels on the website....

Last week I was invited by BMI to a LUNCH with Tony Bye - deputy CEO

Did Tim Bye send his twin brother then ?

...and once LH takes over, perhaps Bye Tim ! ;)

Any mention of whe earn & burn starts?