Virgin vil kjøpe BMI!

[Someone]

Virgin vil kjøpe BMI!

I følge ett radio intervju på BBC hvor Branson mest sannsynlig sa litt mer enn han burde har ryktene begynt å gå at VS vil kjøpe opp BMI.

Blir spennende å se hva som skjer, men det avhenger vel hva Michael Bishop (stor eieren i BMI) vil.



SAS har vel neppe noe imot å få inn litt cash for de 20% de fortsat sitter med!

 

[Blubird]

Re: Virgin vil kjøpe BMI!

Sir Branson vil ha flere slot's på Heathrow altså.

 

[EB]

Re: Virgin vil kjøpe BMI!

Det har vel vært snakket om Virgin og bmi i alle år... En bedre match skal man vel lete lenge etter. Da blir vel Virgin også medlem av Star Alliance - med både "mamma" Singapore og "datter" bmi i alliansen...

 

[LN-KGL]

Re: Virgin vil kjøpe BMI!

Det er nå et ledig slot ledig på LHR

G-WWBM har stått i nesten en måned på MAN med et sykt landingsunderstell og her er en pressemelding fra sist torsdag

bmi forced to suspend Mumbai operation

release date: 19/10/2006

- prolonged technical problem of Airbus A330 aircraft

bmi can confirm that a long term technical problem on one of its Airbus A330 aircraft has forced it to suspend its daily Heathrow to Mumbai service indefinitely. The airline continues to have discussions with the manufacturer Airbus about the reasons for the technical failure, as well as the length of time to achieve its repair.

The airline has been actively seeking an alternative unit as cover during the prolonged absence of the Airbus A330, which is now into a fourth week and could extend to mid December. However, exhaustive searches have been unable to locate a suitable aircraft that would satisfactorily meet the operational requirements and the award winning service delivery standards of bmi.

Nigel Turner, bmi chief executive officer, said: “It is with great sadness and of personal disappointment to me that we have been forced to make this very difficult decision. We have tried without success to locate a suitable replacement unit, but the uncertainty of the length of time we will be without the aircraft has also not helped the situation.

“This uncertainty is also impacting upon our ability confidently to sell seats from Heathrow to Mumbai. The marketplace is intensely competitive and we have serious concerns about a prolonged period of over three month’s absence. A sustained absence will place us at a considerable disadvantage against the competition that we face on services to Mumbai when we are able to recommence operations.

“This is only a temporary setback to our long haul route network growth and we remain committed to the development of that part of our business. That is why we have made no reductions in operating crew levels including the 66 cabin staff positions involved in the Mumbai operation. Any job losses will be minimal and all confined to India based positions.”

The priority of bmi will now be re accommodating passengers already holding reservations onto alternative services with the minimum of disruption.

ends

notes to editors

• Airbus A330 G-WWBM was manufactured in 2001 and was introduced into service at bmi in April of 2001.

• The technical problem is a cracked wing main landing gear rib 6 aft bearing lug, discovered during a routine maintenance inspection. The aircraft was immediately withdrawn from service.

• bmi operates two further Airbus A330 aircraft which were checked immediately they were on the ground. There was no evidence of the technical problem affecting aircraft registration G-WWBM.

• Repair work will commence on G-WWBM on 30 October 2006.

• Services to Mumbai have been suspended since 2 October 2006.

• bmi launched services from Heathrow to Mumbai in May 2005.

Her er et par bilder som viser problemet