A breath of fresh airline (bmibaby)

Member Name: doyoureally

Product:	bmibaby
Date:	18/03/03 (415 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Price, Fun & frugal, Quieter hubs

Disadvantages: Limited hubs, Little backup if it goes wrong

BMIbaby may be an odd name for an airline - but if they fly from near you to where you want to go - then you should give them a try!


Who are they?
____________

BMIbaby are a relatively new airline, but are also a subsidiary of BMI (the UK?s second largest "full service" airline)

They have been created in January 2002 in similar vein to the other existing budget airlines - and like them strive to set out their particular brand and ethos of giving great value flights. They currently fly to 12 countries and serve 26 destinations. Weekly flights total 313 give or take.

Being a young company - their staff are genuinely enthusiastic and seem eager to please.


Where do the Fly to & from?
_______________________

BMIbaby operate out of East Midlands and Cardiff Airport hubs - so if you live some way from these they may not be an option. But both airports are reasonably well connected to the motorways and strategically placed to attract those who are fed up with struggling to the major UK hub airports.

Neither airport is in the truly huge league of mega shopping and eating complexes - but then they do offer a little of what busy Gatwick tries to call the "hub without the hubbub".

They fly exclusively to European destinations -

Alicante Spain
Amsterdam The Netherlands
Barcelona Spain
Belfast International
Edinburgh UK
Glasgow UK
Brussels Belgium
Cork Republic Of Ireland
Dublin Republic Of Ireland
Faro Portugal
Geneva Switzerland
Jersey Channel Islands
Malaga Spain
Milan (Bergamo) Italy
Munich Germany
Murcia Spain
Nice France
Palma Spain
Paris Charles de Gaulle France
Pisa Portugal
Prague Czech Republic
Salzburg Austria,
Toulouse France

They use a mixed fleet of aircraft allowing them to manage varying levels of demand. The operate five B737 300 (148 seats), two

B737 - 500 (131 seats) and four Fokker 100 (106 seats). These are all reliable and much used aircraft - but the Fokker does feel quite small and can unsettle more nervous passenger who like "a nice big smooth plane". If you are on board with a school trip, the word "Fokker" does extract some giggles form those kids during the safety briefing.


How to Book?
____________

Offline you can call their call centres - I have always booked on line so cannot comment. I assume they will be competent enough but prefer the flexibility and choice you get online to find the best deal for you. Call them on 0870 264 2229 for UK passengers from 08:00 to 21:00 7 days a week.

Better still then - www.BMIbaby.com is their online facility offering a very simple well presented menu of information and fully integrated online ticket buying. The site is graphically kept very simple and this means it loads and flows quite quickly without endless annoying adverts and pop-ups. Well done!

To find a flight you plug in you preferred dates - but once through to the flights available -you can jump ahead or backwards a day to see if that changes the fare in your favour. Usefully quoted fares include taxes but not airline failure insurance that is added later. But, it is easier to see what it will cost you than with some competitors.

Be sure to read the terms and conditions - they do allow some changes at a small costs - but think carefully if you need ultimate business class style dependability or flexibility. Low costs airlines run by being full and having now admin costs.

The site offers useful features including:-

- destination guides
- a very useful live flight arrivals board if you are to pick someone up.
- well though out timetables

They make regular press annoucement via their spokesperson "Tiny" (get it) - and as with Ryanair - offer many seats at bargain rates during
quie
ter travel periods. Check the Sunday press - that's where I spot them usually.

They also have a special offer section online - good if money is tight and you need a break.

They have also tied up with a range of partners to offer hotels, car hire and travel insurance. Brief research suggest that they offers are far from unreasonable but as ever it is worth searching around the popular travel portals to see if anything better is on offer.


How much?
__________

Flight costs do vary as you might expect - but you will usually save as compared to the standard fares of the major airlines. It is worth checking though as the last 6 months has seen much more competitive pricing by all concerned -good news for us.

As ever avoiding peak business times are good ways to save.

Typical low costs are £20-40 each way.

Once on board - food and beverages are up to you. Nothing is included in the price -but then I don't always wan to eat on ashort flight - especially when a nice continental restaurant sits waiting at the other end.


What are they like?
________________

I think overall most passengers I have seen / spoken with on my travel are more than happy if not delighted with the service. The gripes tend to be the expected one's when a flight is cancelled and the support or service offered struggles to cope or doesn't even try.

I am not sure how best to review that as it depends so much on what you expect. I have some sympathy for the open honesty that if you pay a few pounds to travel internationally - you cannot really complain too much if just sometimes it goes wrong. But it can be hard to feel that way when stuck hundred of miles from home.

Me- if low costs mean I have more money to spend at the other end - I am happy to enjoy it when it works and be a little philosophical and realistic when it does not.


Budget Airlines Curr
ent Atmosp
here
______________________________

It has not been a good last quarter for some budget airlines. buzz have been folded into Ryanair - from losing around £1 million a week and now 400 job - they are part of Mr O'leary's huge emotionless mammoth. Easyjet swallowed up Go - but they say that the integration isn't going so well.

BMIbaby seems to be successful, happy and going from strength to strength.


In summary
--------------

So where do BMIbaby fit in all of this? I think they have a certain style which perhaps only buzz has achieved elsewhere - fun, frugal and worth a try is my vote.

Summary: