Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa) and International Airlines Group (IAG) have today signed a binding purchase agreement for the sale of British Midland Ltd. (bmi) to IAG.

The gross purchase price is 172.5 m GBP (approx. 207 m EUR) in cash. After agreed price reductions the net purchase price is expected to be significantly negative. With the transaction Lufthansa is disassociating from a sustainably loss-making subsidiary. As part of the agreement, a British holding company of Lufthansa will take on bmi’s defined pension benefit scheme. The closing of the transaction is planned for the first quarter of 2012 and remains in particular subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG 22.12.11

bmi Regional celebrates ten years to Brussels bmi Regional, the UK’s most punctual airline, is today celebrating the tenth anniversary of its services from Leeds Bradford to Brussels.

Since the launch of the route on 12 November 2001, over 280,000 customers have enjoyed the service and, ten years on, the route continues to grow in popularity.

To help celebrate the anniversary, all bmi Regional passengers flying from Leeds Bradford to Brussels this week will receive a tasty Belgian chocolate gift to enjoy with the airline’s compliments.

Customers flying between Leeds Bradford and Brussels benefit from conveniently timed schedules, ideal for business or leisure travel as well as onward connections to key cities in Europe with partner airline Brussels Airlines.

Steven Griffiths, Business Director, bmi Regional, said:“I am very proud that we have served Brussels with our unique and stylish service for ten years. These two great cities are both important business and tourism centres and following our recent events held in both Leeds and Brussels it is great to see that the route is still as popular as ever.”

Tony Hallwood, Leeds Bradford Airport’s Commercial Director, said:“We are delighted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this route which follows last month's visit of Leeds City Region (LCR) stakeholders to Brussels.

'The events in Belgium, organised by Marketing Leeds, provided an opportunity to discuss potential inward investment and drive international trade. Belgium is our region's sixth largest trading partner and the route is a vital link to this important political and economic hub."

bmi Regional customers benefit from the speed and comfort of an all jet aircraft fleet and bmi Regional’s unrivalled punctuality record; the airline has been officially recognised as the UK’s most punctual airline by the CAA for six consecutive years.

Competitive business or economy fares are available, with complimentary catering on board for all customers regardless of ticket type plus no charges for baggage or seat selection. Leeds Bradford Airport's Yorkshire Premier Lounge is available to bmi Diamond Club frequent flyer members with Gold and Silver status and at Brussels airport to customers travelling on Business fares.

bmi Regional flights are direct between Leeds Bradford and Brussels, with two flights per day offered Monday to Friday and one on Sundays. Fares start from £56 one way including taxes and charges and are available to book at flybmi.com.

LBA 14 November 2011

Lufthansa and IAG reach agreement in principle on the sale of British Midland Ltd.

Sale and closing remain subject to a binding purchase agreement, further due diligence and clearance by antitrust authorities

Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa) and International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (IAG) have today reached an agreement in principle on the sale of British Midland Ltd (BMI) to IAG.

The sale and closing of the deal remain subject to conditions including a binding purchase agreement, further due diligence and regulatory clearances. It is envisaged that the purchase agreement will be signed in the coming weeks and the aim is for the transaction to be completed in the first quarter of 2012.

Lufthansa press release 04.11.11

SWISS has introduced an extensively-expanded range of services between EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg and the United Kingdom, in collaboration with its partner airline British Midland International (bmi). The new joint services are one of the highlights of the 2011 SWISS summer schedules, which came into effect yesterday. Under the new timetable, SWISS and bmi now provide multiple daily services – thrice on weekdays and twice on Saturdays and Sundays – between Basel and London (Heathrow), together with a daily Basel-Manchester flight. All these services are operated by bmi using Airbus A319 equipment, more than doubling the previous seat capacity between Basel and the UK.

The start of the new joint SWISS/bmi services was marked today at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony co-hosted by Rudolf Schumacher, SWISS Head of Sales & Marketing and David Rousham, Head of Sales at bmi. “We are delighted to welcome Basel to our network,” said David Rousham, “not only will it boost tourism between the UK and the tri-national Basel region, but will also provide excellent business connections to and from the UK.”

“Our partnership with bmi makes excellent sense for both carriers and their customers,” added Rudolf Schumacher. “It will enable us both to grow at the EuroAirport and offer travellers even more attractive air links to Northern and Southern Europe.” All bmi-operated services between Switzerland and the UK are provided as bmi/SWISS codeshare flights.

SWISS has also further enhanced its own services from EuroAirport Basel by adding new destinations and increasing frequencies on existing routes. Rome and Copenhagen have joined the network, served daily and six times weekly respectively. SWISS has also intensified service on the Basel-Hamburg route, raising weekday frequencies to two peripheral-hours connections; and Barcelona now has an eighth weekly flight.

In the 2011 summer schedules, SWISS and its Star Alliance codeshare partners Lufthansa, bmi, Austrian Airlines and Turkish Airlines provide non-stop service from Basel to 15 destinations: Rome, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Barcelona, Prague, Brussels, Zurich, Budapest, London (Heathrow), Manchester, Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Vienna and Istanbul. Between them, the Star Alliance partners offer 196 flights a week, i.e. most of the services to and from the EuroAirport.

bmi is the second-biggest airline at London Heathrow, one of the world’s leading international airport hubs. The bmi network currently extends to Aberdeen, Addis Ababa, Almaty, Amman, Baku, Basel, Beirut, Belfast, Bergen, Berlin, Bishkek, Cairo, Casablanca, Damascus, Dammam, Dublin, Edinburgh, Freetown, Glasgow, Hanover, Jeddah, Khartoum, London, Manchester, Moscow, Riyadh, Stavanger, Tbilisi, Tehran, Tripoli, Vienna and Yerevan. Its bmi Regional arm serves Aberdeen, Brussels, Copenhagen, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Esbjerg, Glasgow, Groningen, Leeds Bradford, Lyon, Manchester, Norwich and Zurich.

SWISS Corporate Communications 28.03.2011

SWISS will be expanding its range of services from and to EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg with the start of the 2011 summer schedules, in collaboration with its partner British Midland International (bmi). The new expanded network will see London (Heathrow) served thrice daily on weekdays with Airbus A319 equipment. SWISS will also be adding Copenhagen and Rome to its Basel destinations, and will be increasing the weekday service on its Basel-Hamburg route to two daily flights.

SWISS is to substantially expand its network of services from and to EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, in collaboration with its partner airline bmi. The new services will commence with the start of the 2011 summer schedules on 27 March. SWISS and bmi will be harmonising their Basel-UK services to take full advantage of market opportunities between the trinational Basel region and one of Europe’s biggest hubs: in collaboration with SWISS, bmi will operate three flights a day to London (Heathrow) on weekdays, using Airbus A319 equipment. Bmi will also be providing daily weekday Airbus A319 service on the Basel-Manchester route. The new arrangements will more than double Basel-UK capacity in seat numbers terms.

“We are delighted to be able to offer our customers in the Basel region a more extensive range of services to and from bmi’s London (Heathrow) hub and one of Europe’s most important airports,” says SWISS CEO Harry Hohmeister. “Being home to so many chemicals and pharmaceuticals companies, the trinational region around Basel is a highly attractive market for us,” adds bmi Chief Commercial Officer Jörg Hennemann. All the new bmi services between Switzerland and the UK will be operated as bmi/SWISS codeshare flights. The present SWISS services between Basel and London (City) will be withdrawn. But customers from the Basel region can continue to reach London (City) daily via Zurich.

SWISS is also enhancing its services from the EuroAirport by introducing a daily frequency to Rome and six flights a week to Copenhagen. And SWISS is enhancing its services on the Basel-Hamburg route, adding a second daily frequency on weekdays to provide convenient early-morning and evening connections. Barcelona will also receive an additional weekly frequency, raising service to eight flights a week. To provide the capacity required to operate the new frequencies, services between Basel and Warsaw will be withdrawn. Basel-based customers can still reach Warsaw from the EuroAirport thrice a day via Zurich.

Customers in Switzerland will also be able to sample the new SWISS and bmi/SWISS destinations from Basel at attractive introductory all-in round-trip fares: Rome for as little as CHF 99, for instance, and Copenhagen, London (Heathrow) or Manchester for as little as CHF 129. The special introductory fares are bookable online at www.swiss.com from 20 to 30 January for travel from 27 March.

In the 2011 summer schedules SWISS and its Star Alliance codeshare partners Lufthansa, bmi, Austrian Airlines and Turkish Airlines will provide non-stop service from Basel to 15 destinations: Rome, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Barcelona, Prague, Brussels, Zurich, Budapest, London (Heathrow), Manchester, Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Vienna and Istanbul. Between them, the Star Alliance partners will offer 196 flights a week, i.e. most of the services to and from the EuroAirport.

Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. & bmi group press office
press release 20.01.2011