The Hindu : Business : bmi introduces flight services from India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 18, 2005

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Business

bmi introduces flight services from India

Staff Correspondent

To ply Heathrow-Mumbai route 4 times a week

MUMBAI: The U.K.'s second largest full service airline, bmi, on Tuesday launched its services from Mumbai to London Heathrow airport and said it was determined to explore opportunities to develop further services to Indian destinations. bmi will be operating on the Heathrow-Mumbai route on a four-flights per week basis.

Sir Michael Bishop, Chairman of bmi, said the airline's priority would be to increase the Mumbai service to a daily frequency as part of the winter 2005-06 programme.

Passengers on the airline will have a choice of three classes of service — business, premium economy and economy — on its Airbus A-330 aircraft. With its extensive domestic and European short-haul network and a choice of onward travel with its Star Alliance partner, travellers will be able to choose from a wider choice of destinations.

bmi released figures showing the fall in fares as a result of it entering the Mumbai-London route.

While ruling out a fare war with the other British airlines, Sir Michael said, "We can certainly pass on the benefits [of competition] to the customer because this route is possibly the most profitable for [rival] British Airways."

Limited regulation of air travel between the U.K. and India was agreed in September 2004 and bmi was granted rights to fly from Heathrow to Mumbai in December 2004.

Sir Michael said, "Allowing greater direct capacity between India and the U.K. will now benefit both British and Indian carriers.

"Earlier, more than 53 per cent of the market between the two has been forced to travel via connecting airports in the Middle East to the disadvantage of home carriers. For too long, our competitors have been able to get away with promising to deliver greater choice and value on long-haul routes such as those to India.

But they have not delivered on their promises. National carriers getting a larger percentage of passengers would help both economies."

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