Economy Class & Beyond

Airlines band together to fight Air Passenger Duty rises

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What do British Airways (IAG), EasyJet, RyanAir and Virgin Atlantic all have in common? It seems  they all have a genuine hatred of Air Passenger Duty (APD), and have called for the UK Government and want it scrapped. APD was originally a "Green" Tax, that strangely by the government of the day - not ring-fenced. Since then, further administrations have tried to greenwash … [Read more...]

BMI… A bucketful of losses….

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The Telegraph has been eyeing what state BMI is in and what it could be worth.. and the losses it could be stemming. And the numbers don't make good reading.... BMI is on target to loose £145 million this year, with the liabilities that remain at a staggering £362 million. It seems that Morgan Stanley did the numbers, and it didn't turn out what they expected with the … [Read more...]

Analysis: BMI… Next Steps.

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Well now we sort of know what is happening to BMI, it's time to get to the nitty gritty for what could happen next. And I'll preface this with the following: THIS IS PURE CONJECTURE AND SPECULATION based on what's happening at this moment of time. What we know: BMI is being sold to IAG BMI Regional is being sold to a 3rd Party. Target Closing date of 30th March … [Read more...]

Virgin muscles in to the IAG/BMI Takeover… a little late kids?

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Well according to Flight ( http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/virgin-still-aims-for-bmi-despite-preliminary-lhiag-deal-364318/), Virgin and the Bearded one are up to their ususal shenanigans. Way after the initial agreement between International Airlines Group (IAG) and Lufthansa have agreed in principle to take over  British Midland International (BMI), Virgin … [Read more...]

Credit Cards in the UK – Airlines

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There is a lot of writing about Credit Cards in the USA with megapoints. However, over on this side of the pond, things are... a little more muted. This is Kevin's guide to Airline Credit Cards for the UK Market I'll attempt to keep this up-to-date, but the market is shifting as one of the major issuer of Credit Cards is up for sale at the moment. This is also the first … [Read more...]

Dear Sir Richard Branson. Buy It or Put up and Shut Up… (the sale of BMI)

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I'm probably going to win no supporters over at London Heathrow Terminal 3, but really the whining from Virgin Atlantic over the sale of BMI is getting intolerable from over there. As we all known, Lufthansa is trying to get shot of it's BMI subsidiary, and of course as I reported earlier this month, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic fame is after BMI as usual, and … [Read more...]

VS/BA/BD: Branson to IAG – Stop Slicing of bits of BMI

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Well it's taken long enough for the Bearded One to get involved, but Richard Branson is calling on regulators to examine the purchase of slots at London’s Heathrow by IAG from Lufthansa.. and it's British Midland International subsidiary according to Bloomberg Virgin Say: “Branson is concerned that BA could be attempting to salami slice BMI’s key assets, … [Read more...]

BD: Prock-Schauer confirms BMI is up for sale.

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Well spectulation and rumors are one thing. But it seems British Midlands International's CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer has pretty much sums it up From Flyertalk Many of you will be aware of press reports mentioning that Lufthansa is considering a possible sale of bmi. You will also recall that during our previous meetings regarding the Lufthansa half year results, I spoke … [Read more...]

VS: Strike threat lifted.

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Good news for those of you travelling on Virgin Atlantic, with BALPA lifting the threat of strike action for now.It seems a new offer has been received from the management at Virgin Atlantic, and BALPA will need time to present it to its members. However, some commercial confidentiality is in place with no details of the offer being made public. Will this quell the threat? I … [Read more...]