bmibaby is a goner :(

tobiascurious

http://www.bmibaby.com/bmibaby/faqs/important_information.aspx

From Monday 11th June 2012, a number of routes will no longer operate. Please see table A

· It is proposed that all flights departing from Monday September 10, 2012 onwards will no longer operate and those flights are not available to book at this stage.

· We will continue to operate bmibaby flights to the majority of our summer destinations from East Midlands and Birmingham Airports until Sunday 9th September 2012. Please see Table B.

redmalc

I only received a email this afternoon offering cheap flights from BMI Baby.
The local news as just advised Monarch and Fly Be will be operating out of East Midlands later this year

bagand96

Sad news and thoughts to all the staff. A good bunch of people who didn't deserve it. It is a good brand and with the right leadership and vision could have gone far.

Unfortunately it was wrapped up in the basket case that was the bmi group. Another load of airline staff down the job centre, and less competition for the public which is never a good thing.

balletshoes

Aaarrrgghhhhhhh!!!!!!

I feel better now for that. My travel plans are well and truly messed up now, I had flights booked with bmi baby from East Mids in mid-June - outgoing flight is still there (its on Sunday 10th June) but no more flights back from CDG with bmi baby after that date. So I really need both parts refunded, and I'll be off to Luton (again).

Sorry bmibaby has gone under, until a couple of years ago we always used them from East Mids as they were competitive, local and you got a good service from them. However the last 3 times I've booked well in advance with bmibaby they have changed/withdrawn their flights afterwards, causing me travel/accommodation problems.

sunshine

Think I'll join you in that scream balletshoes. Had flights booked from Belfast to Malaga in August - frantically trying to get other flights. Choices from Belfast to anywhere are getting less and less these days.

JezR

bagand96 wrote: »

Unfortunately it was wrapped up in the basket case that was the bmi group.

bmibaby itself has lost over £100M in the last 4 years according to the announcement today so the outcome maybe isn't surprising unfortunately.

tobiascurious

redmalc wrote: »

The local news as just advised Monarch and Fly Be will be operating out of East Midlands later this year

Hopefully this will be a way forward for many of the bmibaby staff based at East Midlands

bagand96

bmibaby itself has lost over £100M in the last 4 years according to the announcement today so the outcome maybe isn't surprising unfortunately.

Very true and the future of baby has been in question for a long while, even before the IAG buyout. However baby could have been something. It was strangled by bmi, and had it been set free from that group a couple of years back it could well have flourished.

Hopefully this will be a way forward for many of the bmibaby staff based at East Midlands

Hopefully it will be but they'll still be a lot of people out of a job. Donnington Hall will close as IAG have their own head office. Also the new Monarch and flybe bases are likely using existing aircraft in those airlines fleets, so will probably already have their own crews. Both also have large operations down the road at Birmingham so I doubt crew location will even be a problem for monarch/flybe.

All the best to the baby staff though. Horrible time and they've been sh*t upon from a great height by fat cats.

Centipede100

Quote from BMIBaby website:

Will you come to an arrangement with other carriers to transfer our tickets?
We are unable to transfer customers on to alternative airlines including bmi and British Airways.

To rebook elsewhere now is too expensive - will you come to an arrangement with other carriers so they will offer us reduced rate tickets?
We are unable to offer customers preferential rates with alternative airlines, including bmi and British Airways.

EC 261/2004 Article 8 comes into play here, despite what BMIBaby have stated above:

Article 8

Right to reimbursement or re-routing

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:

(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,

- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;

(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or

(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.

2. Paragraph 1(a) shall also apply to passengers whose flights form part of a package, except for the right to reimbursement where such right arises under Directive 90/314/EEC.

3. When, in the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports, an operating air carrier offers a passenger a flight to an airport alternative to that for which the booking was made, the operating air carrier shall bear the cost of transferring the passenger from that alternative airport either to that for which the booking was made, or to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.

Passengers are entitled to a re-route on either the original carrier or if that is impossible (due to withdrawal of a route for example) on an alternative carrier.

If passengers do not wish to take the refund but be re-routed as is their right, they should write to BMIBaby in the first instance and give the airline 48 hours notice that unless a suitable re-route is offered, the passenger will book elsewhere and expect the airline to reimburse them for the differential in the fare. I say this because fares with alternative carriers may rise quickly and you will need to mitigate yours and BMIbaby's potential exposure. You should also categorically state that you do not wish to be refunded but re-routed.

There are a couple of examples below where passengers stood their ground and insisted on their rights under the Regulation and both received recompense by the airline (one of which was BMIbaby).

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3070460

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2287415

dzug1

So if BMI Baby are bust, where is the money to refund tickets coming from?

And where would the extra to reroute come from? Same pot? Or an unsecured debt?

mynameistallulah

dzug1 wrote: »

So if BMI Baby are bust, where is the money to refund tickets coming from?

And where would the extra to reroute come from? Same pot? Or an unsecured debt?

They are not "bust", they are ceasing trading. They do still have assets.