bmibaby launches summer 2009 programme

bmibaby has launched stage one of its summer 2009 flight programme with exciting new routes from East Midlands Airport to Almeria, from Manchester to Toulouse and Amsterdam, and from Cardiff to Lisbon. Nine other European routes will also go on sale today to Malaga, Alicante, Bordeaux, Faro, Murcia, Palma, Nice, Perpignan and Rome Fiumicino.

Stage two of summer 2009 will be on sale in the next few weeks.

bmibaby will operate a double daily service from Manchester to Amsterdam during the week, plus there will be an additional service on Sunday. Flights from Manchester to Toulouse will operate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The new service from Cardiff to Lisbon will operate twice a week on Thursday and Sunday, and East Midlands to Almeria will operate three times a week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. All new services will commence on 29th March 2009.

To celebrate the launch of summer 2009 flights, the bmibaby ice cream van will be travelling around the UK visiting various cities and airports. The airline's cabin crew will be giving out free ice cream to local communities, come rain or shine!

Crawford Rix, managing director, bmibaby, said:

“Despite the challenging market conditions, bmibaby continues to go from strength to strength. We're proud to launch our summer 2009 schedule with even more new routes from the regions.

"We decided to launch our summer flying schedule earlier this year, not only to give people something to look forward too, but also to meet consumer demand. Customers have been contacting us asking when they can book next year's flights, this shows that the appetite for travel is still very much alive and kicking!

"I strongly believe that the combination of bmibaby's low fares and great service is fuelling the demand for our flights, and as result we will continue to offer new destinations. We not only offer benefits such as allocated seating for everyone, thus saving the chaotic scramble for seats, but customers can also join bmi diamond club, the UK's most generous frequent flier programme.

"We will shortly be launching stage two of our summer 2009 flying programme so advise people to visit bmibaby.com and book early to secure a great deal. bmibaby is here to stay and we have long term growth plans for the regions.”