International airlines group confirms bmi sale

International Airlines Group has signed a binding agreement to sell bmi Regional to Sector Aviation Holdings for a total consideration of £8 million in cash. The sale includes all bmi Regional’s fixed assets and long-term liabilities, including owned and operating lease aircraft. bmi Regional operates a fleet of 18 Embraer regional jets on scheduled services throughout the UK and Northern Europe. The sale is conditional upon CAA approval and it is anticipated that ownership will be transferred to SAH within two weeks. IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: “This deal provides a future for bmi Regional and should secure around 330 jobs.”    Sector Aviation is a consortium of businessmen with considerable aviation experience including the team previously referred to as Granite Aviation, led by Ian Woodley. The business is being funded by Stephen and Peter Bond who are also investors in Loganair. The sale of bmi Regional follows the acquisition of bmi by IAG from German flag-carrier Lufthansa earlier this year. Following the deal, British Airways earlier confirmed nine bmi destinations will change from a bmi (BD) to the BA code and flight number from May 23rd. The changes will affect bmi flights to and from Bergen, Basel, Nice, Vienna, Stavangar, Hanover, Agadir, Marrakech and Casablanca. The flight schedule, including time, date and terminal will remain the same; it is simply the code that is changing. British Airways plans to operate bmi’s summer schedule to and from Heathrow. British Airways policies, including those relating to check-in times, medical clearance, children travelling alone, customers travelling when pregnant will apply to any bookings moved from a BD to BA code irrespective of when they were booked. These changes are part of plans to integrate bmi into British Airways for the start of the winter season, with the gradual transition of flights during the summer. During this period, the exterior and interior design of bmi’s aircraft, as well as the onboard experience will gradually transform into British Airways’ style. From today all bmi flights will also only be available for sale through British Airways, via ba.com or the airline’s call centres. Customers who have already booked a bmi flight will still be able to service their booking via flybmi.com.