Bmi, London Heathrow”s second largest airline, says it will offer improved service for its diamond club frequent travellers.
From 2 April, existing diamond club members, who accumulate 3,000 status miles in a 12-month period, will qualify for a new tier ” blue plus ” entitling them to complimentary food and drink onboard, as well as priority seating towards the front of the aircraft.
”We know that our most important customers are frequent flyers, who often travel with us on business ”a group that makes up a considerable proportion of our total passengers,” said bmi CEO, Nigel Turner. ”They want to be recognised and rewarded and our new initiative delivers on these points.
”The airline industry has been through massive change during the past five years and by developing and evolving our products, we can continue to meet the expectations of our customers.”
The blue plus service only applies on bmi short-haul routes from Heathrow, but as the carrier operates a single-class service on these flights, crew will be aware of who holds which level of card, as the upper tier will be nearer the front, confirmed a spokesman from the airline”s press office.
In a separate move, bmi regional says it will start flights six days per week between Leeds Bradford and Lille, representing the first direct air route between the twinned cities. The news may be of interest to Manchester United supporters, should their team meet Lille again in the Champions League, as a significant number of fans recently travelled to the northern French city using Eurostar via London.
The 1h15m hop featuring Embraer 135 or 145 aircraft, should prove invaluable as previous air routings from Leeds Bradford involved a transfer via Paris.
”With strong business links in the Yorkshire region, Lille will prove popular with the textile and mail order sectors,” said Leeds Bradford chair, board of directors, Cllr Stewart Golton. ”As we are also twinned cities, this news will strengthen connections.”