Bmi bids for flights to India - TravelMole


Bmi bids for flights to India

Monday, 07 Oct, 2004 0

Bmi plans flights to Mumbai and Bangalore after an agreement between the UK and Indian governments to allow extra flights between the two countries.

The airline wants to run a daily service to Mumbai and a six-times-a-week flights to Bangalore from next March. It would be bmi’s first long-haul services from London.

The carrier has confirmed its plans to the Department for Transport, which is expected to require the Civil Aviation Authority to hold a hearing to allocate the 21 extra flights per week granted to UK airlines. 

But bmi faces a fight with British Airways, which holds all the rights for UK airlines to serve India, and Virgin Atlantic, which serve New Dehli three times a week in a commercial pact with Air India.

If the Indian flights are approved, bmi’s long-haul network would rise from currently existing Manchester flights to Chicago, Washington and Toronto.  Later this month, it starts serving Las Vegas from Manchester as well as Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia in November and December.

Bmi chairman Sir Michael Bishop said: “We have long campaigned for greater access to long-haul markets. bmi has actively sought to bring about changes to the bilateral agreements in existence between the UK and India.  We are now able to demonstrate our commitment to serving this important market.

“Our short-haul network at Heathrow means we can offer onward connections throughout the UK and Europe, bringing the benefits of these connections with India to even more customers.

“Our attempts to introduce greater customer choice to other long-haul services from Heathrow, such as to the USA, continue to be frustrated through restrictive bilateral agreements.  The opportunity for an increase to the number of services in the UK to India market should provide bmi with the opportunity to meet that demand.

“We are ready, willing and able to provide these extra services and with it vigorous new competition – and we would expect to receive a fair disposition of all the available frequencies.”

Report by Phil Davies 

 

 

 

 



 

profileimage

Phil Davies



Most Read

Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns

James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel

Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination

Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics

Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy

Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene

Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee

Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail

Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats

Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence

Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy

Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
TRAINING & COMPETITION

Our emails to you has bounced travelmole.com Or You can change your email from your profile Setting Section

Your region selection will be saved in your cookie for future visits. Please enable your cookie for TravelMole.com so this dialog box will not come up again.

Price Based Country test mode enabled for testing United States (US). You should do tests on private browsing mode. Browse in private with Firefox, Chrome and Safari