Low cost airline, bmibaby, is celebrating eight years of flying on 20 March 2010. bmibaby has lots to celebrate, including carrying over 25 million passengers since launch, expanding the route network from 18 to 31 routes and the airline’s massive impact on local tourism and on economic growth in the regions.
bmibaby was born in 2002 from East Midlands Airport and started with just eight routes. The airline now operates up to 612 flights a week in peak season to 31 European destinations.
Crawford Rix, managing director, bmibaby, said:
“We are proud to celebrate our eighth birthday as a company - it is a great achievement for everyone involved in bmibaby. Over the years bmibaby has gone from strength to strength and we have seen our route network expand and double, plus we have carried over 25 million passengers since launch.
“We have recently gone on sale with phase one of our winter flying programme, which saw the expansion of bmibaby into Germany from three of our UK bases. This year we also launched six new routes from East Midlands Airport to destinations such as Sardinia and Barcelona.
“We remain committed to providing our passengers with low cost fares to a great range of European destinations, from Malta to Majorca and from Glasgow to Geneva. We offer our passengers low fares with a high quality service, and an excellent record for on time performance. Plus we have many additional passenger benefits including allocated seating, free online check in and the opportunity to join bmi Diamond Club, the UK’s most generous frequent flyer programme.”
bmibaby now flies from four UK bases: East Midlands, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff Airport. The shortest flight the airline operates is from Bournemouth to Jersey and the longest is from East Midlands Airport to Malta.
bmibaby now employs around 552 people and has had a huge impact on the local economy around its bases, from creating local jobs to driving inbound tourism by working in partnership with local tourist boards to promote UK destinations.