BMI sold to British Airways

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

BBC news

Lufthansa has said it is selling British Midland (BMI) to International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns British Airways and Iberia.

Geoff van Klaveren from Deutsche Bank said the deal would make a big difference for IAG.

"It boosts their slots at Heathrow to 54% share from 45%. Given that no new runways are likely to be built in the South East of England in next 10 years, this is a crucial strategic move," he said.

 

[AstroLounge]

Well, according to reports out of the UK the DEAL is complete. It is obvious that that Luft Wasse realized that that could no longer STOP the bleeding that bmi brought to the equation. What is surprising is that Virgin wasn't more aggressive (either on their own or with the influence of major shareholder Singapore Airlines) to try and keep bmi in their portfolio. With bmi sold off, the STAR Alliance doesn't have a representaive in the UK. One has to wonder if Virgin will eventually join or could they be looking at possibly Aer Linguis? (It isn't often that a German Corporation concedes defeat but something about bmi wasn't worth the Cash Bleed).

 

[BoeingBoy]

The only remaining hurdle is the regulatory bodies. This will give BA an even bigger share of LHR slots so might raise some eyebrows. I assume that BA management is smart enough to include some language in the agreement giving them an out if they are required to relinquish too many LHR slots.

Jim

 

[damajagua]

I believe there are other carriers in Europe that have a higher percentage of slots at their
main hubs.

 

[BoeingBoy]

You're absolutely right. However, it'll be the UK regulatory authorities that decide whether BA+BMI's slots is too much or not, NOT the EU. Whatever the result is, we'll find out in due time...

Jim

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

Virgin lodges complaint: It said passengers would be left with a "choice of one" on flights between Aberdeen and Edinburgh and Heathrow. Sir Richard said the takeover would "take British flying back to the dark ages".
BBC news