Bmi is to operate flights to Basel from Heathrow and Manchester for its Star Alliance partner Swiss from March 27.
Three services a day will operate on weekdays from Heathrow, plus two a day at weekends. A daily service will also operate from Manchester on weekdays.
The Heathrow route will replace the current three daily services operated by Swiss from London City airport. Using Bmi’s fleet will facilitate a 135 per cent jump in capacity, as it will use Airbus A319 aircraft, which are much larger than the Avro RJ100 which Swiss uses from London City. At Manchester, Swiss’s two flights a day will be replaced by a single departure, but the use of larger aircraft means capacity rises 84%.
Flights from Heathrow will compete against British Airways, which operates three times a day. EasyJet also flies to Basel from Gatwick. The city, Switzerland’s third-largest, is a big chemical and pharmaceutical industry centre.
Bmi will offer a full business cabin on its flights and economy passengers will get a full food and drink service throughout the day. The use of Bmi’s A319 aircraft confirms that the airline is cutting capacity on the Heathrow-Manchester route. From March 28, it will remove the A319 from the domestic route, switching to 50-seat Embraer 145 aircraft.
Swiss’s UK and Ireland country manager Felix Rodel said: “This latest co-operation with our partner Bmi is just another example of how we can further enhance the offer to our customers by working closely together within the Lufthansa Group.”