The new owner of Bmi Regional has secured the exclusive rights to the Bmi brand, and admits that it is considering dropping the Regional suffix in the future.
Bmi Regional has been busy establishing itself as an independent airline since the sale of Bmi to IAG last year.
This has involved establishing new European routes, including the recent Bristol to Frankfurt, securing full GDS participation and setting up a new corporate headquarters at East Midlands airport.
Bmi Regional secured full ownership of the Bmi brand, including various web domains, earlier this month.
Chief executive Cathal O’Connell said, “It’s something we’re assessing - the option is available to us. If we wish to drop Regional and rebrand as Bmi we can do that.”
However Bmi Regional does not have the rights to the Diamond Club frequent flyer brand after it ceased to exist in October last year.
O’Connell said that the airline was instead looking to make a fresh start when it comes to loyalty. He added : “We’re evaluating a new frequent flyer programme. We’re looking at the reward aspects and the recognition aspects of what we do.”
Bmi Regional will maintain a full-service business model on its all-Embraer jet fleet, offering both business and economy fares. O’Connell said that the airline was currently looking at the onboard product it offers.
The airline is also launching new branding and marketing campaigns as the airline looks to adapt from its old model of feeding traffic for Bmi to filling the plane as an independent airline. This means a greater focus on leisure traffic with competitive European fares from an airline with a traditionally business travel focus.
The carrier appointed advertising firm M&C Saatchi to lead its first marketing push back in September last year.
- Read BBT’s interview with Cathal O’Connell, click here
bmiregional.com