BMI SOARS ABOVE THE REST (bmi British Midland in general)

Member Name: kellylouj

Product:	bmi British Midland in general
Date:	31/12/05 (1541 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Online check-in, self check-in at the airport, low fares, modern aircraft

Disadvantages: None so far

Don't ask me why but I have always been put off travelling with British Airways maybe it is the influence of opinions or maybe being a travel agent listening to the opinions of fellow members of the industry either way I have always gone for the bmi option every time.

www.flybmi.com is a simple, modern website that guides you through the booking process step by step, the website is jam packed with helpful information and should you not be able to find the answer you need simply email or telephone a customer services agent who will no doubt be happy to help.

Despite having a few hiccups with bmi (am sure I am jinxed) I always choose them for my regular trips from Manchester to Heathrow, they offer self check-in which is great simply insert the credit card used to make the booking or your frequent flyer card and you can access your reservation and select your seat then if you have luggage simply drop in the fast bag drop located in most regional airports now. Simple!!

My first flight was an experience they lost my bag on arrival at Heathrow and as I was only there for 48 hours this was a major grievance I had paid for a ticket costing me no less that 64pounds and only had a 2 day stay in London and the reason for the visit was to attend a Red Letter Day makeover session which required a change of outfits not much good without the luggage, however they promised the bag would be delivered ot the hotel asap, (it had been left in manchester) it arrived later that evening approx 8 hours later not too bad you may say except I couldnt change to go out that evening so spent it in the hotel bar not a great first experience in London.
The flight back was not much better we were delayed by an hour so we propped up the bar in the airport.

I had yet to receive any more problems on this commute with bmi and enrolled as a diamond club member (frequent flyer programme) with this I received an luggage tag personalised with my name and membership number and a credit sized card with my account details on. Points can be accrued with any member of the Star Alliance and you can redeem your points against flights but also against offers they advertise on their site which ranges from Red Letter Days to Wine Cases so you don't have to collect too many points to benefit from being a member of the scheme.

My best trip ever on bmi was on the non stop flight to Toronto from Manchester, my first trip in Business class and this was by far an educating experience, priority check-in at Manchester and fast track security and free access to the VIP lounge located in Departures in Terminal 1 this provided unlimited alcohol (yippee) and snacks which included muffins, crackers, cheeses, crisps and nuts. Complimentary newspapers and magazines located airside.

The announcement was then made to board the Aircraft and a member of the bmi customer service team escorted us directly from the lounge to the aircraft where we were the first to board the aircraft and receive a welcoming glass of champagne and a member of the cabin crew took my coat and hung it in the wardrobe with the captains!! I was extremely impressed.
Whilst waiting for remaing passengers to board the cabin crew took an order for our drinks once we were airbourne this could be a soft drink or an alcoholic beverage all complimentary. The cabin is currently set out to be 2-2-2 and the seats are extremely wide and comfortable with 60" of legroom and an adjustable legroom and the seats even come with electronic lumbar support it is out of this world, I can safely say that I had the best sleep ever on a plane in the seat onboard, although bmi do not as yet have a flatbed seat on their aircrafts the 160 degree recline is more than acceptable. A 9" monitor is present in the arm rest and has both touch screen and a remote controls. Noise cancelling headsets are provided which are great although you do feel that you should be on the ground with the airport staff taxi-ing the aircraft as they look just like that!!

A luxury amenity kit is provided in luxurious material containing mins, eye shade, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, note pad in a luxurious cover and a pocket chrome bmi pen, toiletries and lip balm.

Once we were airbourne the onboard chef came to take our orders we had a choice of starter, main course and desert and also a choice of wine the chef then prepared all the food freshly. The food was amazing and of the standard you receive in 5* restaurants it was delicious. The cabin crew also individually laid your food tray for you with a tablecloth, cutlery, wine glass and individual teapot and cups.

Later in the flight the cabin crew present you with mini cake selection served on a glass cake stand which is too cute too eat but boy do they taste good and again it is served with a pot of tea to yourself and a cup.

It is really hard to fault the service on this flight and for business class you would not expect there to be any faults, I have had a few hiccups with bmi with delays but ultimately that can happen with any airline.

I recently travelled with bmi to Heathrow once more and how the service has changed from when I last travelled all passengers travelling on the tiny or standard fars MUST use the self check-in and you notice in Heathrow that there is a definate reduction in the check-in staff at the desks, there are so many machines and you cannot access the bag drop until you have your boarding pass.
The self-check in is very easy to use just enter your credit card used to make the booking or if you are a bmi frequent flyer just insert your card and your booking details will appear on screen and you just proceed to check yourself in.
Select which seat you would like free of charge and answer the security questions normally asked by a member of staff and hey presto out pops your boarding pass.
Then you proceed through to the bag drop and there you are greeted with a member of staff who checks your boarding pass and checks your bags in. Here I have to admit I did hit a snag as I was carrying over my luggage allowance, as I had come from an international flight, this therefore caused a problem on the return flight as I had booked the flights separately therefore I was not entitled to the international luggage allowance, however we got around this as we were not carrying any hand luggage so we simply said we would take out hand luggage out the member of staff said no need to as long as we were within our limits.
I was very happy with this service and made me more determined to continue to travel with bmi as their domestic service was just as good as the international service.

I will face my demons and compare bmi to BA and I would like to say that they do come out better than the UK's 2nd largest airline with BA being the UK's 1st.

Summary: Cheap, cheerful airline, polite and friendly staff.