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bmi british midland began life in 1938 operating as Air Schools ltd, who specialised in flying instruction for RAF pilots. By the 1940's the company began to see a decline in the demand for pilot training, because of this they started to offer ad hoc passenger and cargo services utilising eight-seater De Havilland Rapides. The company, began to operate scheduled services in July 1953 under the new name of Derby Aviation. There initial route was from Wolverhampton to Jersey in the channel Islands via Birmingham. By 1959 Marathon aircraft as well as Dakota DC-3's were flying for Derby Aviation. The airline also changed there name to Derby Airways the same year. In 1965 Derby Airways moved operations to the new East Midlands Airport which was to serve Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. Derby Airways also introduced a new blue and white livery for its aircraft and changed its name to British Midland Airways (BMA). The 1960's also saw the expansion of BMA's services into Europe operating charter flights to destinations such as Barcelona, Basle and Palma. In 1967 BMA took delivery of its first Vickers Viscount and retired its Argonauts and DC-3's. At the beginning of 1970 BMA launched its first jet aircraft, the BAC-1-11. At the same time the airline was also operating long haul using Boeing 707 aircraft. In 1979 the airline applied for licences to operate services from Heathrow to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast, going head to head with British Airways. After initial problems the licences were granted three years later and services from Heathrow to Glasgow began in 1982, with Edinburgh following in 1983 and Belfast in 1984. In October 1985 British Midland changed its colours to red, white and blue and the company became simply known as British Midland (BM). Throughout the 80's more routes were introduced and in-flight services were improved. In 1993 Diamond EuroClass in-flight service was launched initially on European routes but by 1996 the business class service proved so popular it was introduced onto BM's regional network. The airline has been updating its fleet since 1993 but in 1997 BM placed a US$1 billion order for 11 A320's and 8 A321's. Delivery of these aircraft began in 1998 and by 2001 BM plan to retire all 737 aircraft. The A318 is under consideration for replacing the Fokker fleet. In early 2001 British Midland re-branded its image and changed its name to bmi british midland (all lower case). The rebranding of the airline also coincides with the introduction of new international services to the USA. The new routes, initially to Washington and Chicago are operated by A330-200's ordered by the airline in February 2000. The new aircraft are arranged in a three class layout, Business Class, Economy plus and Economy. Each seat on the new aircraft features a personal television with a range of games, music, movies and TV programmes. Business class on the A330 features its very own chef, who is also a qualified member of the cabin crew. |
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UK Departure & Destination Airports |
International Destinations |
Heathrow, East Midlands, Leeds/Bradford, Jersey, Guernsey, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Teeside, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen & Belfast. |
Paris, Amsterdam, Bergen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Oslo, Palma, Prague, Malaga, Nice, Faro, Cologne, Dresden, Warsaw, Esbjerg, Washington, Chicago. |
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Your view on bmi british midland... |
Have you flown with bmi british midland before? If you have, why not leave some comments about your flight for others to read. You could mention things like the route, aircraft, comfort, service, punctuality etc. Please also give the airline and overall rating out of 5. To view your comments simply refresh this page and they'll appear under the form.
Name: colin martindale very professional team Name: jamie curry the bmi page is excellent and very well laid out - unlike the organisation of this company1 as an ex employee now with BA as a customer svc agt the people at bmi were the best and a real good cgowd in LHR as the number of staff was so small - a real family. service on the planes in economy is good as free drinks but the food is better here relative than in euroclass - food is a shambles and all you get is 5 seats abreast rather than 6, is it worth it for a 250% price increase?
www.jamiecurry.com Name: by the way G-MIDO isn't about as it was never delivered, the fokkers are sadly going as are the 73's for the new A3 series 20 as their replacements. MJ has already gone as im sure will more. The A3's offer more space and a newer more efficient plane from a operations POV Name: Jay Builder I've flown 75 sectors with bmi in the last 5 years. They've gone from being a reasonable company with time to deal with their customers, to thinking they're something special thanks to Star Alliance. Well they're not. A very disappointing 2 out of 5 nowadays. Oh yes, and their COO James Hogan is a complete idiot. Name: Scott Huson The following is a long letter which my girlfriend is sending to BMI after the poor service she received. Long, but worth the read! I am writing to register a complaint about the service or lack thereof which I received from your company during a recent visit to the United Kingdom. I am an American and my boyfriend lives in the UK. Planning visits and saving money to fly across the Atlantic is difficult at the best of times but the experience I have just endured with your airline has left me incredibly disappointed and upset.
The following is an account of the dealings between BMI British Midland and myself during and indeed after my trip to the UK:
June 22 – Arrived at Manchester after having missed my connection at Heathrow due to being delayed from Washington on Virgin Atlantic. I was informed that my bags did not get transferred to the BMI flight in London and that they had not arrived. I was informed that they would be delivered to my boyfriends address when they arrived.
11pm my bags arrived by courier as promised.
July 6 - Checked in with BMI at Manchester over two hours before takeoff time. Both bags were tagged and I was assured they would be checked all the way through to Washington.
Arrived at Dulles airport in Washington and was called to Virgin Atlantic desk. I was told my bags were not put on the plane in London and that they would be arriving the next day. I was told to leave the keys to my bags’ padlocks with Virgin Atlantic’s Sophie Ramsey.
July 7- I received a call saying that only one of my bags was sent. It arrived late that night.
July 8- I left two messages with Virgin Atlantic at Dulles inquiring about the location of the second and most important bag containing presents, photographs not to mention thousands of dollars worth of clothing) Both messages went unanswered.
July 9- I called Virgin Atlantic again and a woman named Sara called me back. She said she had been sending messages to BMI about my bag and would tag it “urgent.” She told me the airlines would look for it for 10 days and then I would need to make a claim. I listed several things I had in my bag in case it had been torn open or the address tags had been ripped off.
July 10- My boyfriend called Manchester and they said they had no trace of my bag and no record of any problem. However at midnight, my bag showed up at 28 Fairlea Road in Huddersfield, England. This is my boyfriend’s address, which I left with BMI two weeks earlier when I arrived in England and my bags were lost the first time.
July 11- My boyfriend called BMI the next day and told them I was in the US and BMI claimed they didn’t know I left the country. My boyfriend called BMI and was told that the bag would be collected by courier that afternoon and would be put on the direct BMI Manchester-Washington flight the next day. The courier arrived almost 6 hours later than promised by BMI staff, even after two more calls to Manchester by my boyfriend.
I called Sophie Ramsey at Virgin Atlantic to find out if BMI had been in touch since we at least now knew what was supposed to be happening…and she hadn’t heard anything back from BMI. She didn’t even know my bag had turned up where I had stayed in England. Sophie told me she would meet the BMI flight with my keys the next day if she received confirmation the next day from BMI in Manchester.
July12- I received no call confirming that my bag had been on BMI’s flight and I never received my bag. I left a message on Virgin Atlantic’s machine again.
Meanwhile my boyfriend called BMI in Manchester three more times speaking to several people among them Linda and Dorothy, none of whom seemed to have much control over the so called courier who had supposedly picked up my bag the previous day. All they could say is that to their knowledge my bag had NOT arrived at Manchester and to let them look into it. He calls back later speaks to a less than friendly woman who says he needs to call back the next day to speak to Dorothy or Linda. She looks in her computer and says that it says my bag was picked up on July 11 at the house I stayed at in England but that it doesn’t say my bag even got back to Manchester Airport. Not only were my bags lost both ways of my journey but they were also lost on the road between Huddersfield and Manchester. I was furious. My calls to Manchester went unanswered.
The BMI staff at Manchester told my boyfriend they would call to let him know if and when they found my bag. He asked that they do their utmost to get the bag, providing it showed up at the airport onto the Washington flight the next day (another 24 hours without my belongings, gifts and personal effects bringing the total to a week!)
July 13- Sophie Ramsey called back saying she still had heard nothing from BMI and as far as she knew, my bag was not on that plane. I called BMI Customer Service and spoke to a woman named Amanda. As she began to understand the situation, she looked for my file on the world trace report. Amanda told me Virgin Atlantic was doing as much as they could but she said, and I quote “BMI is incompetent and I’m saying this because it is true. Somebody is not doing their job.” Amanda said the last thing on the World Trace Report was Sophie Ramsey’s message asking about my bag being on the BMI direct flight. It went unanswered by BMI. Amanda told me she would be calling Manchester and leaving more urgent messages.
Late July 13- I return home to find a note on my door saying that my duffel bag was at my next-door neighbor’s. I collected my bag only to find that my keys were not delivered to me and as a result, I could not even open the bag I had been missing for a week. I left a message at Virgin Atlantic asking for my keys to be delivered the following day- a trip that would not be necessary if BMI had bothered to communicate with Virgin Atlantic at all.
July 17- Amanda, from BMI customer service, called and said that she finally got into contact with BMI in Manchester and my bag would be on a plane. I told her my bag had already arrived.
For the amount of money I paid for my ticket with BMI and Virgin, I am shocked and appalled at the baggage service I received or in this case, didn’t really receive at all. On the way there (June 21), my Virgin Atlantic flight was late leaving from Washington Dulles so I missed my connecting flight in London. When I got to Manchester I was told my bags would turn up. After a couple of calls, my bag turned up late that night. On the flight back (July 6), I was called to the Virgin Atlantic desk and told both my bags didn’t make the London-Dulles flight. And so began my nightmare with BMI’s baggage services.
What is most disturbing is that BMI checked me onto their Friday morning flight to London Heathrow and assured me that my bags were checked all the way through to Washington-Dulles yet they claimed they had no idea I left the country so they pulled an address off a baggage claim from weeks earlier and sent my bags back there. No one looked on their computers, no one responded to Virgin Atlantic’s messages; no one did their job. None of this would have happened if BMI had performed their duties in a competent manner from the beginning. The US Postal Service and Royal Mail could have delivered my bag more efficiently than BMI and to think we trust BMI to take people to their correct destinations.
Because of my boyfriend living in the UK, we both make frequent trips across the Atlantic and up until now, were both quite happy to fly with BMI and/or Virgin. Unfortunately, I am now weary of the services both airlines boast. I know that bags get lost every now and then and I can even accept the unlikely circumstances in which I found myself, my bags having been misplaced on both outward and return journeys. But what shocks me the most is the lack of communication between airline staff and to their customers that is essential to transport passengers and their belongings from country to country.
I find it ludicrous that a world-class airline can be so continuously inept when carrying out a duty that should be second nature…and the fact that even your own staff admit to customers that the company is “incompetent” does not say very much for the standing of your organization as a whole.
I would ask you to look into my complaint as a matter of utmost urgency. I feel that some form of compensation as a gesture of good will is the very least I can expect from you. I sincerely hope that you do your best to try to restore some of my faith in your airline. Until that time myself, my boyfriend and anyone else we warn will, I’m sure give BMI British Midland a wide berth. It’s not enough to repaint your planes and offer seat-back TVs…customer service should be number one priority; it is the grass roots of good business as I am confident I do not have to tell you.
I look forward with anticipation to your prompt attention to this matter and a reply.
Yours truly,
Caitlin E Marvin
Name: THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW THAT GOBMX HAS GONE. GMIDO NEVER ARRIVED. GWWBB ARRIVED IN MAY. GWWBD IS OPERATING CPH - EWR FOR SAS IN STAR ALLIANCE COLOURS. GMIDJ IS OPERATING IN CHARTER CONFIG FOR AIR2000 AT EMA. GMIDM ALSO BUT BASED AT MAN. GMIDC AND GMIDE IN CHARTER CONFIG BASED AT MAN/DUB. ALL TILL END OCT 01 Name: ALSO GOBMJ AND GOBMH HAVE GONE. GMIDS A320-232 HAS ARRIVED TOO Name: ALSO GOBMJ AND GOBMH HAVE GONE. GMIDS A320-232 HAS ARRIVED TOO. ALSO YOU DONT HAVE DETAILS OF THE EMBRAER ERJ-145s. G-RJXA - G-RJXG IN BRITISH MIDLAND COLOURS. G-RJXH IN STAR COLOURS. G-RJXI IN NEW BMI COLOURS. B737-500 GBVZH ALSO IN BMI COLOURS
Rating: 5 - Excellent
Date: 28 May 2001
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Rating: 4 - Good
Date: 01 June 2001
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Date: 01 June 2001
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Rating: 2 - Poor
Date: 13 June 2001
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Rating: 1 - Very Poor
Date: 01 August 2001
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Date: 04 August 2001
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Date: 04 August 2001
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Date: 04 August 2001
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Name: l amies
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Date: 06 May 2002
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i have travelled with bmi numerous times, the craft is comfortable, the service is great and the staff are always helpful and polite,would prefer to always travel with bmi when i can. 5!!