It seems that fortune is smiling on BMI Baby with the announcement that someone is actually interested in buying the little airline.
The low cost carrier operating a fleeting Classic Boeing 737-300’s and 737-500’s, has been sold to a new potential owner who has not disclosed who they are. Financial terms have not been disclosed either.
However, the talks are non-exclusive, so if you want a cheap airline that looses money hand over fist, this is your chance to buy who lost 120 million euros last year!
The sale will consist everything that BMI Baby has – Plane’s staff, the works. The new owner is planning to retain the bases at Birmingham Airport, East Midlands Airport and Belfast
BMI say:
“The new potential owner would continue to use the existing brand name for an interim period.”
and
(it is) “pleased with the opportunity that this transaction gives to the bmibaby business enabling it to be an independent airline.”
Intro Aviation who were mooted as a group who are interested in buying BMI Baby seem NOT to be the buyer in this case, so it will be interesting to find out who brought it in the end.
For Lufthansa, there will be a sigh of relief. With a big discount payable if BMI Baby was NOT sold, it means, it can try and extract the full remaining value out of British Midlands Airways in its sale to International Consolidated Airlines Group.
More importantly, the BMI Baby staff have a future now – which is a darn good thing.