The Proud History
Key Facts
Date formed
Name
1938
Air Schools Limited
1949
Derby Aviation Ltd
1959
Derby Airways Ltd
1964
British Midland Airways Ltd
1986
British Midland
2001
bmi british midland
2002
Our History
From humble beginnings almost 75 years ago, the bmi group grew to operate over 2,000 flights per week to destinations across the UK and Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, USA and Caribbean.
The Early Years
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
1970s
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
1980s
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
1990s
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
2000s
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 and bmi Regional was sold from IAG to Sector Aviation Holdings Ltd (SAH).