Well it seems the break up of BMI is beginning, with news from Donnington Hall that BMI Regional (the ERJ operation BMI has, serving regional destinations within the UK, as well as abroad) is now in the process of being broken away and sold to a UK based investor group.
The memo is below (copied from FlyerTalk and Business Traveller):
You are already aware that the management of Lufthansa and bmi are jointly assessing strategic options for the future of our company. One of the options being considered by our shareholder is a partial or total sale of bmi.
As part of a continuous dialogue I want to inform you that we are now in advanced discussions to sell bmi Regional to a UK based investor group previously associated with the regional business. The sale would be in the form of shares of bmi Regional, all assets used in the bmi Regional business including the aircraft fleet, the existing regional route network and the continued employment of the existing staff. It is envisaged that transaction documents will be signed shortly and subject to achieving all regulatory approvals, and after having conducted staff consultations, the target completion date will be before the end of this calendar year.
The intended buyer plans to continue the airline as an independent entity and will operate from the current head office in Aberdeen and its bases already established in the UK. For an interim period, bmi Regional will continue to fly under its existing brand name and operate under the BD flight code. The currently published winter 2011/2012 schedule will continue as planned and no major network changes are envisaged for summer 2012. The new owner will further develop the regional network in both the UK and Europe.
Following the proposed sale, customers will continue to benefit from bmi Regional’s convenient schedules, a wide choice of destinations within the UK and Europe and a high level of service. Customers will also be able to book flights via flybmi.com and the bmi call centre for an agreed period of time and tickets already booked will be fully honoured on existing terms.
We will fully cooperate with the intended buyer and give them our full support including commercial co-operation. It is intended that support functions such as IT and sales will be provided by bmi on a commercial basis to bmi Regional during the transitional period.We have today commenced the initial consultation meetings with the recognised Trade Unions of bmi Regional along with management, employee and engineering representatives. It is our intention to provide regular updates to all employees throughout the consultation process. The intended buyer has also indicated that it is keen to consult with staff and this process will start shortly to enable the transaction to complete as soon as possible. Once the consultation is under way a further announcement will be made.
bmi Regional will be an independent airline with management dedicated to developing the regional business and employment prospects will be enhanced through a planned growth strategy.
It is our goal to find sustainable solutions for all parts of the bmi business and we as well as the shareholder continue to assess options for bmi. At this stage it is important to say that all the different options are still being explored and assessed and that no decision has been taken.
If there is one unit of BMI pulling in money, and operating effectively, it’s been BMI Regional (who in some cases have hired back aircraft to BMI Mainline to operate services). With an end of year sale, it’s an ambitious target.
Good luck to everyone at BMI Regional and involved in the transition.
Meanwhile, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the situation – and how it changes over the next few weeks
