bmi adds mid haul flights from Heathrow
The second largest airline at Heathrow, bmi, is leasing two Boeing 757 aircraft to allow it to add more mid haul flights from London.
bmi is launching new flights from Heathrow to Tel Aviv on 13 March using an Airbus A320, and one of the 757s will be used to upgrade capacity on the route.
The 757s will also be used to increase capacity and improve schedules to Almaty in Kazakhstan and Freetown in Sierra Leone. Flight times to Freetown will be reduced by more than an hour and a half and an extra flight added, taking the total to four a week.
“We strongly believe that in order to continue the development of the mid haul network, now is the time to upgrade capacity and the aircraft range on certain routes that will clearly benefit from non-stop services. We also think it is important to make the timing improvements we have identified in order to maximise their convenience and competitiveness as well as extending the range of connections that are available at Heathrow,” explains bmi chief executive, Nigel Turner.
bmi currently uses Airbus A321s on some mid haul routes and is looking to upgrade to Airbus A330s. “The delivery of suitable Airbus A330 aircraft is a little way off and we do not want to delay the range of service enhancements unveiled today. By leasing the two Boeing 757s, pending the sourcing of suitable A330 aircraft, we are able to accelerate our Heathrow growth and ensure that we can maintain the momentum of our mid haul route strategy, laying strong foundations for future developments in this important market,” Turner adds.
The two Boeing 757 aircraft have been leased from Astraeus for an initial period of two years and will operate with an Astraeus flight crew and a bmi cabin crew. As a result of the changes to flights, bmi is suspending flights from Heathrow to Dakar.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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