BMI sees slip in passenger numbers
BMI today confirmed passenger numbers had fallen at Britain’s second largest full-service airline.
Chief executive Nigel Turner said the downturn was due to a change in policy, although a newspaper report suggested BMI had also been affected by stiff competition from rival low-cost airlines, train operators and European flag carriers.
Figures leaked to the Guardian show the privately owned airline’s flights from Heathrow carried 13% fewer people in February than they did a year ago.
Routes between London and Scotland suffered the most dramatic slump in popularity with passenger numbers on Glasgow flights down by 24% to 37,352 while travellers on Edinburgh flights fell by 17% to 44,760.
The company confirmed there had been a fall in passenger numbers today, but declined to give further details.
However, Mr Turner told the newspaper that the airline would produce encouraging results when it announces it annual profits next week.
“We’ve taken a different strategy since I became chief executive,” Mr Turner said. “We’ve specifically focused on getting smaller aircraft in.
“We’ve been concentrating on yield (price) and concentrating on business passengers. We’ve cut out a bunch of uneconomic fares. We were getting to be slightly busy fools.”
He added the drop was also partly explained by a renegotiation in fees for transfer passengers from BMI’s Star Alliance partners such as Lufthansa, SAS and United Airline.
The figures are expected to raise questions about BMI’s strategy, launched last May, which involved axing free food and business-class cabins on many of its flights. The airline also introduced a complex pricing structure with three types of ticket depending on the level of service required.
The data will also heighten speculation about BMI’s future as an independent entity. BMI’s chairman, Michael Bishop, has a controlling stake of just over 50% but the airline’s take-off and landing slots at Heathrow are attractive assets.
BMI’s capacity at London’s biggest airport has fallen by 7% over the past year, the Guardian reported. The number of people on its flights from London to Paris fell by 24%, on its Manchester flights by 22% and its Brussels route by 8%.
Airlines have been losing out on these routes to faster rail services by Eurostar and Virgin Trains.
