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| Founded | 2002 | |||
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| Bases | Birmingham Cardiff East Midlands Manchester |
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| Focus cities | Belfast Intl | |||
| Frequent flyer program | BMI Diamond Club | |||
| Fleet size | 17 | |||
| Destinations | 32 | |||
| Company slogan | The airline with tiny fares | |||
| Parent company | BMI | |||
| Headquarters | Castle Donington, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Key people | Nigel Tuner (CEO) Sir Michael Bishop (Chairman) Crawford Rix (MD) |
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| Website | www.bmibaby.com | |||
Bmibaby (styled as bmibaby) is a British low-cost airline and a subsidiary of BMI. It flies to destinations in Europe from its 4 bases at Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, and Manchester. Bmibaby is a member of the Bmi Diamond Club frequent flyer program, however it is not a member of the Star Alliance, so other Star Alliance airlines' passengers cannot earn points on Bmibaby flights.
Bmibaby Ltd holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, and is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[1]
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History
The airline was established on 24 January, 2002[2] and started operations on 22 March, 2002 with a flight between East Midlands and Málaga.
Continued expansion saw the airline open further bases at Cardiff in October 2002,[3] Manchester in May 2003,[4] Durham Tees Valley in October 2003[5] and Birmingham in January 2005.[6] Insufficient passenger numbers led to the closure of the Durham Tees Valley base in 2006.[7]
On 1 March, 2007, the airline announced an initiative for business travellers with an 'only choose what you need' approach, allowing passengers the option to choose from a range of services such as ticket flexibility, executive lounge access and on-line check in, and only pay for the services they used. The company also announced that BMI's frequent flyers could now gain Diamond Club miles.[8]
By 2007, Bmibaby had nine Boeing 737 aircraft based at Birmingham Airport, making it their biggest base, however in December 2008 the airline announced that it would be suspending five routes from the airport as a result of a reduction in the number of customers booking city-breaks.[9]
Further cuts were announced in November 2009 when it was announced that the fleet would be reduced from 17 to 12 aircraft in 2010, with up to 158 jobs at risk of redundancy.[10] The airline said the action was necessary to stem record losses and that it would focus on growth routes best fit for the business.[11]
Destinations
Fleet
The Bmibaby fleet consists of the following aircraft (at July 2009):[12]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 14 | 148 |
| Boeing 737-500 | 3 | 131 |
| Total | 17 |
At July 2009, the average age of Bmibaby's fleet was 13.7 years.[13] Several aircraft have names with the word Baby in the title.[14]
Inflight services
Bmibaby offers a buy on board programme with scratch-cards, toys and gifts, drinks, snacks, and sandwiches for purchase.[15]
Sponsorship
Bmibaby sponsors:
- Weather broadcasts on ITV1 regions Central, Granada, Wales, UTV and Border
- Cardiff's Winter Wonderland
- Elite Ice Hockey League in the UK
References
- ^ Operating Licence
- ^ UK Companies House Company #03259921
- ^ bmibaby to serve nine destinations from Cardiff Airport
- ^ Passenger numbers soar 400% at bmibaby
- ^ Bmibaby chooses Teesside for new low-cost base
- ^ bmibaby confirms first nine European routes from Birmingham International Airport
- ^ bmibaby to end Durham Tees Valley operations
- ^ bmibaby joins Diamond Club : Birmingham Airport News Stories
- ^ Sixty five jobs go at bmibaby
- ^ Low-cost airline cutting 158 jobs
- ^ Bmibaby to focus on growth routes
- ^ CAA databse - Bmibaby Fleet
- ^ Bmibaby Fleet Age Details
- ^ Bmibaby Fleet Names
- ^ "FAQs." Bmibaby. Retrieved on 30 January 2009.
External links
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