bmibaby opens for business

bmibaby, the award winning airline with tiny fares and the Midlands’ largest carrier has announced that it is ‘Open for Business’ with the launch of a radical new set of services specifically tailored for the demanding needs of today’s business traveller.

Recognising that each business traveller has different requirements, the airline has introduced the concept of ‘only choose what you need’ to business air travel and expects this to transform the way people in the Midlands choose to travel on business. Passengers can now select from a range of services which they require for each specific trip, many of these are being offered complimentary and for other services there is a small charge.

In addition, the airline is also offering business passengers the opportunity to join one of the world’s most generous airline reward scheme, Diamond Club and earn miles every time they book a flight on bmibaby which can then be redeemed on over 800 destinations worldwide through Diamond Club’s membership of the Star Alliance network.

The range of services that bmibaby will now offer include:

Flexible flights. Business passengers on the day of travel, can choose to catch an earlier return flight than the one they originally booked providing there is seat availability for no extra cost. Travellers can also on the day of travel, choose to catch a later return flight than the one they originally booked providing there is seat availability for a one off total fee of £35.00.

On line check in. All business passengers, for no extra cost, can avoid the need to queue up at check in and speed through to departures by using bmibaby’s new on line check in facility.

Access to a number of executive lounges. Business passengers booking a flight on bmibaby will have the option to access executive lounges at airports throughout the UK and Europe for a fee of £15 per visit.

Guaranteed seat being reserved at time of booking. All business passengers can travel safe in the knowledge that a seat will be reserved for them at the time of booking for a fee of £3.50 per flight.

No restriction on cabin baggage weight. All business passengers will benefit from unlimited weight restriction on their one allowed item of hand baggage providing they can lift it, unaided, into the overhead lockers on board.

Lead in fares on all of bmibaby’s key domestic business routes continue to start from just £18.99 one way, including taxes and charges. A business passenger choosing to travel from Birmingham to Edinburgh and only requiring early return flight flexibility and lounge access now has the choice of paying £33.99 on bmibaby (£18.99 fare +£15 lounge access, early flexibility is free) or choose to spend over £176.99 per one way trip with an alternative carrier from Birmingham for a range of services that they are unlikely to use; a massive £143.00 difference.

Launching the initiative at Millennium Point in Birmingham, Crawford Rix, managing director, bmibaby, said:

“The launch of bmibaby’s new business initiative will transform the way people in the Midlands choose to conduct business trips by air. Our new ‘only choose what you need’ approach allows business travellers to select only the services they want to use and avoids the ‘inflexibility’ of business products offered by existing carriers at Birmingham International Airport as well as their exorbitant cost.

“From the 1st March all passengers booking a flight on bmibaby will be able to benefit from flexible flights, on line check in, executive lounge access, unlimited cabin baggage allowance and the reassurance of knowing that a seat will be reserved for them.

“In addition, passengers will also be able to earn miles on bmi Diamond Club and redeem these worldwide across over 800 destinations through Diamond Clubs membership of the Star Alliance network.

“We continue to invest in our network at Birmingham and announced earlier this month that we were increasing the number of daily flights to Edinburgh from four to five and increasing the number of daily flights to Glasgow International from three to four. Fares continue to be priced aggressively starting from just £18.99 one way, including taxes.”

Responding to the announcement from bmibaby, Neil Rami, Chief Executive, Marketing Birmingham, said:

“bmibaby has made a significant impact on the airline industry in Birmingham and we welcome this new business package which will offer savings to business travellers and help to encourage more visitors into the city from Scotland and further a field.

“Birmingham is one of Europe’s busiest meeting points and one of its major strengths is its accessibility by road, rail and air. Improvements to these transport offerings can only help to reinforce this position further.”

bmibaby only started operations at Birmingham in January 2005 but has grown rapidly to become the major carrier at the airport now operating to 21 European destinations. In the last six months the airline has launched 9 new routes to Aberdeen, Barcelona, Faro, Glasgow International, Jersey, Lisbon, Marseille Provence, Murcia and Rome (Fiumicino).