In one of its biggest strategic moves ever made,
In one of its biggest strategic moves ever made,
>From 14 June 2002 onwards, bmi will move away from what travellers often perceive to be complicated return fare structures and offer all passengers fares that can be booked on a one way basis. This move will enable passengers to choose from the lowest available fare on each leg of their journey without being inhibited by minimum stay requirements, such as the restrictive Saturday night stopover.
Further relaxation of existing booking terms and conditions also means that passengers will be able to change the original flight they are booked on subject to a small administration fee and any applicable difference in the available fare price.
Austin Reid, chief executive officer, bmi british midland said: We began an exhaustive review of our business model last year and this major strategic change is an aspect of it.
What we had found was that one of the main areas where our no frills competitors had an advantage over us was our fare restrictions, specifically on our very low fares which nearly always had to be booked as part of a return journey. What we have done, is wipe the slate clean and start again with this complete rethink of our ticket prices.
We have seen first hand with our own low cost airline,
Over the years, bmi has gained its reputation by bringing much needed competition to travellers who often only had one choice and that was the national flag carrier airlines. We intend to continue being competitive and strongly believe that this new fare structure will appeal to our customers and will help us to continue moving forward in the ever changing and challenging market in which we operate.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
