| bmi - facts at a glance |
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Frequent Flyer Star Alliance Fleet: 33, 1 longhaul Seat Pitch: Economy 32" Business: 40" (A330 80") Food Pay for/no frills in Economy Drink Pay for/no frills in Economy Website flybmi.com Latest News from bmi |
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NEWS: bmi is currently undergoing a massive period of change, following its takeover by Lufthansa. Many older routes have been axed, and new routes such as Berlin and Vienna that it would never have touched before have opened up. The airline has also announced that it is to begin using the British Midland branding for the first time since 2001, although the airline will continue to be known as Bmi.
Now, bmi is in a state of flux as it never was before. bmi is currently undergoing a massive period of change following it's takeover by Lufthansa, and the list of axed routes is almost longer than the routes it still operates: no longer are there well worn routes it operated for decades: Amsterdam, Brussels, Tel Aviv, Palma and Venice have all gone. Even the mainline route from Dublin to London Heathrow has been cut back. Come to that so have two of the three long haul aircraft, giving bmi a long haul fleet of, err, one.
The airline is also in the middle of a rebranding exercise, with the trendy lower case "bmi" logo (with the i meaning international) gradually giving way to British Midland again, except in the Diamond Club, where the bmi has almost totally been erased. Come to that, there is considerable speculation that the Diamond Club frequent flier scheme will shortly be axed, sold on, or moved over to Lufthansa's Miles&More scheme.
Most of the routes from East Midlands airport have become low cost routes, under the flag of bmi's low-cost offshoot, bmibaby. However some routes are still there, and tickets can be a bit cheaper. A further hub at Cardiff has been added to revamp the Welsh version of bmi baby.
So why fly bmi? Well, the airline does now have some decent intercontinental routes, because bmi has pulled off a bit of a coup, acquiring control of BMED (which used to fly in BA colours). It operates to 17 medium-haul destinations in 16 countries around the Med. This means that bmi has been able to reposition as a "mid-haul" airline - something it's done quite well, particularly by serving destinations that would be quite expensive on a competitor, such as Moscow or Cairo. It's revamped some of it's A320 planes with a much better business class. British Airways has also bought 102 weekly take-off and landing slots from bmi for £30m, which means that there are not so many flights to destinations that you'd expect bmi to fly to.
And, err, that's about it really. The Frequent Flyer scheme is now only really any good so long as you never fly bmi (but just put other airline's miles onto the card, and redeem them in the Star Alliance). Lounges are being closed, and access to them restricted, mileage frills are being cut - all in all it's a sorry sight.
It will be all change again over the next few years with an airline that can never really make it's mind up what it's going to be. As always with bmi, you're never really sure what you're going to get until you get to the airport - or in some cases, onboard.
bmi A319 at Amsterdam |
bmi have cancelled all of the business class service on the domestic mainline routes. However, the economy cabin will be divided into two sections - "Economy" and "Economy Flexible" "Economy Flexible" will offer double miles, lounge access and free meals and drinks. Gold members of the diamond club will not be able to use their upgrade vouchers to upgrade from "Economy" to "Economy Flexible".
There are now three types of business class remaining: on most A320s you just get the normal airbus seat with moveable arms. On three A320s (the "specials") there are much larger leather seats with a 40" seat pitch, mainly used to Cairo and Moscow. Finally, on the sole remaining A330, there is a full 80" flat bed with 180 degrees of recline.
bmi's economy seats have a seat pitch at 32 inches - an inch bigger than British Airways, but lack the adjustable headrest wings.
bmi has a distinctly small fleet, and tends to stick with two main types. In order to develop and enhance its entire fleet, bmi's long term strategy is to consolidate its fleet on Airbus and Embraer aircraft, to reduce maintainance costs.
The international stuff is done with Airbus 18 A320s, and the longhaul flights with one sole Airbus A330. There are also 9 Embraers, for the tiddly flights.
All seats have a 3+3 in business and economy, however there is a true variable sized business class cabin, which is changed in size by moving a curtain. The seats on the left have variable armrests in the middle. When the row is used for business class, the armrests are moved together for the middle seat, meaning that seats A and C become two large business class seats. Seats on the right do not have this - for this reason if you are travelling in business, always ask to be seated on the left.
bmi A321 business class seats |
There are nine A320 which seat 156, with the variable business class seats extending back to row 8, although in normal configuration they are only used with the first 3 rows as business class. Row 10 and row 11 are overwing emergency exits - if you ask to sit here, you will get 2 inches more legroom.
Business class special seats for the mid-haul A320s |
There are also three A320s known as the "specials". These have been totally revamped for the mid-haul service. There are five rows of full business class seats up the front in a 2+2 layout. They don't lie flat, but they come close, they don't have TV screens (but portable video players are handed out) but if you ignore the terrible colour scheme, it's way better than the unconverted A320 seats. These planes are used to Cairo, Moscow, and on occasional rotations to Scotland - where the unusual seating can wreck your plans.
There are also nine A321 (with three on order) which seat 195 and are comfortable and modern, however bmi is in the process of disposing of this fleet, and exchanging them for the far smaller A319s (probably because the downward spiral in service means a downward spiral in customers). Service can be a bit slow, with only a single isle for service. There is a 40" seat pitch. There are no overwing emergency exits, but there is a proper door at row 22, so you can as much legroom as you want if you sit in the row beind it.
There are eleven A319. This variant is smaller, and has only one overwing ejectable windows - sit here, in row 8, and you'll get 2 inches extra legroom.
If you fly on bmi's airbus' you'll get to enjoy bmi's safety video on the overhead video screens before takeoff. It does the job professionally, but again adds little in the way of fun.
A long haul twin isle twin engined Airbus, with 2 classes. bmi recently updated this aircraft, removing the premium economy section and adding full-flat business seats. This aircraft is used for flights from Heathrow to Saudi Arabia.
There are now only two classes of service: The Business has sleeper seats offering 80 inches of legroom and 180 degrees of recline, with 12-inch seat mounted video screens. There are two separate business class cabins: the foremost, with row 1 one to 3 and the quieter rear cabin, in rows 4 to 7.
Economy comes in at 32 inches pitch, however all seats have a TV screen. Row 20 is a bulkhead, while row 26 is an emergency exit.
bmi has two Boeing 757-200, which pop up occasionally. They were leased from Icelandair, but are now owned by Aestraeus and leased back. They are ripe for retirement.
bmi has gone for a rather wacky seatback table design, which will slide left and right to marry up with seats on the left or right - a nice touch if the seat next to you is empty.
Economy has a 3+3 layout, but business is a true 2+2. All saftey announcements on bmi's 757 are done manually.
Fokker 100 at London Heathrow |
Cairo bmi A320 in mid-haul configuration |
In economy copies of the Express are left on the airbridge to the aircraft at most airports. On the early morning shuttles to Scotland a selection of newspapers is brought round, and you may also get lucky enough to get a selection of other papers brought round if it's late in the day, and business passengers don't want them.
In business on domestic and international flights from the UK, newspapers are brought round in a small plastic tray, normally with lots of copies of the Express, two Guardians, two Times, an FT, and a Mirror. On flights to the UK, a pile of Daily Express is left by the door for business (although often economy can help themselves too). Spot the Richard Desmond connection here. He owns the Express... and there are frequently interviews with him in bmi's Inflight Magazine, written in glowing terms.
Bluebox in business class |
Hot towels are brought around the business cabin on late afternoon and evening flights before takeoff. You will get two offers of drinks, once just after takeoff, and once with your food. You may also get offered a third drink if there is time after you have finished your food. Real glasses are normally used, except in the Fokkers.
bmi are also now refusing to interline luggage - if you have two separate tickets that interconnect at a location, you must pick up your luggage, and then check it in again for the next destination.
Bluebox screen |
Longhaul on the A330s, there is the usual seatback video, although there is no AVOD.
Mid-haul to Cairo and Moscow there are handheld video players in business class, called the Bluebox. There are really annoying, as there is no way to neatly prop them up on your table while you are eating, and you have to put them on your knees. They come with a detachable battery pack which will keep it upright on your table - and you need this pack, as the batteries in the main units don't last for the whole flight. Quite often the crew forget to charge the units, so you'll end up with it dieing just ebfore the end of a film. To avoid this, its often wise to start watching a film as soon as you get the unit, rather than running through the options. You do however get decent Sennheiser noise reducing headphones.
LHR Terminal 1 checkin machines |
Voyager - bmi Inflight Magazine |
It is not often stocked in the business class lounges, and when copies disappear from the planes they are not replaced, so you'll be lucky to find a copy.
It normally contains a couple of syndicated interviews, a review of cities around the bmi flightpath, plus a look at the fleet, and a map showing the few places the airline still flies too. Still, when you can get hold of it, it's ok.
Amenity bag in business class |
It comes in a small bmi-logoed bag. There is a toothbrush, with a minute tube of Colgate toothpaste, some bmi "Silence is Golden" earplugs, and tubes of Temple Spa shower gel, moisturiser, and lip balm. There is also a Temple Spa facewipe. With this comes bmi logoed socks and an eyeshade.
| Airline schedules change regularly. |
| And bmi schedules change much more regularly than most! This information is intended as a guide, but for up to the minutes timetables, please consult bmi. |
bmi's excentricity comes to the fore with its routes. With most airlines you can pretty much lay bets on the flights it has one summer being the same the next summer. Not so at bmi, where routes arise, are promoted, and then vanish with startling rapidity - and repetitiveness. You'd have thought that having tried out a route once, and then scrapped it three months later, the airline would abandon it forever. Not so at bmi, where the airline will sometimes try out a route again, after having scrapped it several years previously.
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Under "new" bmi, with Lufthansa's management, things are hopefully less flakey - but nothing at bmi can be taken for certainty.
It fact, looking at the route network, it is easier to compile a list of closed and abandoned routes. Part of this is because of bmi's desire to become a long-haul transatlantic airline. It tried from the mid 1980s to fly from London Heathrow to New York, and finally when it got permission in 2005 thanks to the axing of the "Bemuda II" agreement, it promptly scrapped all these plans. Perhaps because in the meantime, it had started flying longhaul routes from Manchester. These included Washington (which was axed, twice) and Chicago (also axed, twice). There was a new summer service to Toronto, along with flights to Las Vegas three times a week for several years - a longer stayer than most bmi routes. To the Caribbean from Manchester there were flights to Barbados (axed and then reinstated with a great frequency), St Lucia and even Antigua. These lasted until 2007/9.
bmi have also tried to fly the other way around the world from London LHR, and with a great fanfair launched flights to Bombay. It axed them three months later, using the not unreasonable excuse that the aircraft - one of the three it had longhaul - had developed a huge crack. In truth it seems that while the loads on this flight were very high, the fares were low, and instead bmi cast its eyes down south.
Around Europe there were other destinations that were the mainstay of bmi operations for many years, but have now gone, including Paris (5 times a day for two decades), Amsterdam (8 times a day for 15 years, now axed) Brussels (was 7 times a day) Alicante, Hanover, Milan, Naples, Madrid, Nice, Palma Mallorca, and the long served route to Venice. There has also been intermittent service to Tenerife, Geneva and even Lyon.
From LHR, bmi has just started flying longhaul to Doha and Riyadh on Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday, also leaving at 0935 (arrives 1845) returning 0040 (arrives 0550). These two lonely long-haul flights require their own vast dedicated checkin at LHR (zone P) which is deserted at other times, a strange use of resourses.
Around the British Isles from LHR there are 11 daily flights to Belfast, 9 to Edinburgh, 8 to Glasgow, 8 to Manchester, 8 to Dublin, 4 to Leeds (2 on a Saturday), and 3 to Teeside.
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Most of the old European network has been moved to
bmibaby
the bmi low cost variant, which like bmi has no food, or drinks. It offers routes from the Midlands to Ibiza, or Barcelona, or Nice or Malaga, plus other dodgy European resorts.
The Diamond Club is bmi's frequent flier programme, and is part of the Star Alliance.
The Diamond Club used to be brilliant, now it's just moderately acceptable. After several changes, the scheme now doesn't hand out as many benefits as it did a few years ago, and with some flights it can take up to 6 times as many flights to earn miles for the same free flight.
However bmi's Diamond Club allows you to get up the tier levels far faster than most other airlines in the Star Alliance. In particular it is possible to get to a tier level status which gives access to the lounges for far fewer miles than on any airline appart from Air Canada.
Tier level means the level at which you've flown enough to get the perks of flying bmi. Or rather (Since this is what you want) flying the Star Alliance. And those perks are access to the lounges, extra luggage, and upgrades. You also get the normal miles, which go towards free flights. Tier level starts at blue, blue plus, then silver, and finally gold.
Tier level is determined by the number of membership status miles flown over the preceeding 12 months, while free flights are determined by the number of destination miles. Normally an equal number will be awarded on each flight, but some promotions or airlines only qualify for destination miles.
Silver and gold card members get an extra 20kg additional free baggage allowance - so that means in business you can have up to 50kgs of baggage free.
There is one other perk of the scheme: if you are at anything other than a basic tier level, you get free food on bmi operated flights. This may not be as much of a perk as you may think when you see the food - and you feel a bit of a cheapskate handing over your card rather than cash when the trolley comes around.
Recent changes to the Diamond Club means that it's now become harder to earn miles, particularly on discounted tickets. Perhaps for this reason the Diamond Club only boasts 175,000 members, and this number went through a decline a few years back as many frequent passengers decamped to British Airways when bmi became a one class only airline, and airlined like Singapore dropped their codeshares. However the bmi Diamond Club is now on the rise again, thanks to it's low threshold for Gold, and the beauty of its Miles & Cash business class redemptions.
Miles are given according to distance flown, and miles never expire. If you are a silver or gold member, you also get an extra 25% bonus miles. This is added up at the end of the month, and appears on your statement as a "Monthly-Mileage bonus". At this point bmi will also audit your account, and corrections, such as for the wrong booking class, will be made.
To work out how many miles you will earn, look at the ticket class - this is not the same as the class of travel, but the code letter (such as W) on your ticket, which establishes for the airline what you've paid for the ticket.
For bmi flights Business class (c,d,j tickets) earns twice as many miles, as does full fare economy, Transatlantic and to India Premium Economy, plus full economy around Europe (y,a,p). Mid economy (s,u,l,y,o) earns 1.5 times, while standard economy (b,k fares) earns base mileage. Discounted Economy (m,h,q,v,g,o,w,t,n,e) gets half as many, while lower fares (and g,t,n,e around the world) earn 0.25. A recent change is that tiny or baby fares (t,n,e) now at least earn some miles. There is a stardard UK and Europe base mileage rate of 600 miles, and all bmi non UK domestic flights earn at least 800 miles.
bmi baby flights earn miles according to the cost of the flight. To £40, its 150 miles, to £70 its 300 miles, to £100 its 600 miles, and over that level 900 miles.
For Lufthansa flights, and LH's partner Austrian, there is one mile per mile full economy (y,b) while discouted tickets (m,h,q,v,w,s,g,k) earn 50% miles. Business class (c,d,z) earns 2x miles. Lufthansa's lowest fares (o,i,r,x,n,e,t,l) earn nothing, so it can be worth booking on Expedia (which normally books in Q class) to earn some miles.
For SAS flights, there is one mile per mile, on normal economy (y,s,b,m,h,q,v,e) however discounted economy (w,u,k,l,t,g) earn only 0.25 miles, and Snowflake fares (n,r,o,i,x) earn nothing. Business (c,a,d,j,z) is 2x miles. Some domestic scandinavian routes earn no miles.
Singapore Airlines offer good mileage earning, with full miles on even cheap economy fares (s,y,b,e,m,h,w,l,k,u) - even it's cheapest promo fares to Australia at £680 a go - but nothing for Travel Agent promo fares (q,v,g,n,t,o,i,x) which includes Expedia "special" Fares. Business class (j,c,d) fares get just x1.5 miles, and First class (f,p,a,r) are at 2x miles.
Air NewZealand offer full miles on economy tickets (u,e,o,y,b,m,h,q,v,w,t) but nothing at all on Trans-Tasman specials (l,g,s,k,r,n,i,x). This "falling of a cliff" mile earning ability is quite odd, as there can sometimes only be a difference of a few NZ$ in the fares - book carefully. If you book a Trans-Tasman special and a connecting domestic NZ flight, you will earn 600 miles on the Domestic leg, but oddly nothing for the longer flight if it is in this class. Business class (c,d,z,j) earns x2 miles.
South African Airways give full miles on most economy tickets (y,s,b,m,k,h,q), except for discount economy (t,v,w,g) which earns 0.5x.
Air Canada only gives double miles on some business class tickets (j), while other (c) are lumped in with economy where pretty much every fare earns 1x miles (y,b,h,i,l,m,q,u,v,o,s,a) which is actually marginally more generous than Air Canada itself.
 bmi A320 at London Heathrow terminal 1 |
Spanair & LOT also only give 25% of miles on discounted economy tickets (m,h,s,q,v,l,t,w,k,g), standard miles on economy (u,b) and 1.5 miles on it's strange Y class "book in economy but upgrade to business" Y-up tickets. If you're mad enough to book a full business class ticket on Spanair (c,d,j,z) it'll earn 2x miles.
TAP Air Portugal gives 1.5 miles on business class seats (C,D,Z), earned miles for economy (Y,B,M,H,Q,V) except for cheap economy tickets (O, U, W, S, K, L) where you earn x0.5 miles.
Most other Star Alliance airlines also earn one mile per mile flown (with full miles in cheap economy for US Airways and United), with business class earning twice as many (except for Singapore).
It's also possible to earn miles on Virgin, with 2x miles for Upper Class (j,d,z), 1.5x miles for PE (w,k,s,h) and 1x miles for economy (b,l,m,q,v,x,y) except for deep discount fares (n) which earn 0.5.
You can also earn miles on Qatar and Transaero airlines.
Mileage earning on BD is rather random - beware that on United expensive Z class fares only accrue x1.0 miles, It is also the case for Business class C fares on Air Canada - a J ticket (cheaper than C on BD codeshares) would be worth x2.0.
Another neat trick is to arrange a stopoff at another airport - even for a few hours - when flying several legs. You then get miles for each leg. But only if you're on bmi (who treat each leg as a new flight - some other airlines treat them as point to point).
Miles are normally credited to your account within 3 working days, however sometimes they appear as the wrong class - particularly if you get upgraded, or if you try the trick of booking a codeshare to get 100% not 25% miles. Missing miles from partner airlines are credited particularly fast.
Very unusually, Diamond Club miles accrue based on the operating carrier (the metal you fly on), not the ticketed carrier (who sells you the ticket), even in the case of bmi itself. The reason that it's particularly strange in the case of bmi, is that the airline's own route network is very limited. Important routes (Germany, Scandinavia, South Africa, Canada) are operated by partner airlines (not all of whom are in the Star Alliance). Given this, one would expect the company to reward our loyalty by sticking to their extensive (and often expensive) codeshare network. It doesn't.
Beware of flying
Virgin and putting your point on bmi - they are only a Star Alliance associate member, so you only get destination miles. You will not (despite all the PR gumf from Virgin) get tier miles to increase your status.
Diamond Club Gold Card welcome pack with upgrade vouchers |
Sweden, Spain, Turkey & Greece are Zone 2, for 12,000 miles (or 6000 + £40), or 18,000 business (or 9000 + £60).
Canada & the USA are Zone 3, for 45,000 miles (or 25,000 + £140), or 67,500 business (or 33,750 plus £215).
Singapore, Malasia, Bali, & Thailand are Zone 7, for 80,000 miles (or 40,000 + £270) or 120,000 in business (or 60,000 plus £405) or First for 160,000 (or 80,000 plus £540).
Japan, China, Korea & Hong Kong are in Zone 8, for 70,000 (or 35,000 + £240) or 105,000 in business (or 57,500 + £360) or First for 140,000 (or 70,000 + £480)
Australia & New Zealand are Zone 9, for 100,000 miles (or 50,000 + £340) or 150,000 business (or 75,000 plus £510).
And a Round the World ticket costs 200,000 miles (or 100,000 + £680) or 300,000 business class (or 150,000 plus £1020) with a maximum of 6 destinations (and 10 flights) in a 12 month period.
bmi award tickets are valid for three months from the date of outward travel and, if unused, may be returned to diamond club within this three-month period for the points to be redeposited to the member’s account. There is no fee to redeposit the points or to change award travel before the outward bound journey, but partly used tickets will not be redeposited. Point pooling is not allowed. Open Jaws are permitted in the same zone.
Only one stopover is permitted for the entire journey, however you do get a "free" stopover if you don't stay more than 24 hours: as a result bmi members are experts at finding flights that leave the next day, a few hours before you landed, to get a "free" one day stopover. Equally, it is well worth while splitting your journey into two separate one way journeys, so you gain an extra stopover.
Be aware of the nasty rule that if you have to make a connection to a destination that is in zone 1 or 2, you have to pay an extra 7500 miles (or 4000 + £30). So if you want to go from LHR to a destination around Europe and link via the hubs at Copenhagen, or Frankfurt, a miles & cash trip in business will cost an extra 8000 miles and £60 (or in total, a business return from LHR to Spain is 21,000 miles plus £165).
Diamond Club Blue Card |
Blue level allows you to collect points for destinations and status. Beware than when first applying for your card, you'll initially be set a level of 3,000 joining miles, never mind how many miles, or flights, were on your first boarding card. Accordingly when joining just send bmi a very short flight, and add the rest of the flights later.
You'll also be sent one luggage label.
Diamond Club Blue Plus Card |
Blue Plus is a new level that offers no perks on the ground, but does give you free food on bmi operated flights.
After attaining blue plus, membership status miles then reset to zero, ready for the long climb to gold level.
Diamond Club Silver Card |
This gets you (but not a guest) access to the standard bmi lounges if you are on an economy ticket, business class checkin (at all locations except LHR), plus priority on airport standby. You'll also be sent two luggage labels.
The downside is that silver tier on bmi only gives you access to some lounges - technically its all the bmi ones, but in reality its only bmi flights from LHR T1 and T2. So if you fly bmi LHR to Stockholm (ARN) you'll go from T3 (because its a codeshare) and so you won't get access to any lounge. However you will get into the lounge if you take a bmi flight which is in reality a Lufthansa flight, and which flies from LHR T2.
After attaining silver, membership status miles then reset to zero, ready for the long climb to gold level.
 bmi Diamond Club new Gold Card, in black |
At LHR this card allows you to still checkin at the "real person" business class checkin desk, instead of the machines, or at other locations at the business class checkin, plus you plus anyone you are with can get access to all of bmi's lounges, even on an economy ticket. You also get two gold luggage labels.
This card give you full Gold Star Alliance benefits, so that means on Star Alliance flights you get business checkin and access to a lounge (the designated Star Alliance Gold lounge).
 Diamond Club new Gold Card welcome pack, in black |
On getting a Gold card there are also 4 complimentary upgrade vouchers, which can be used to upgrade to business with purchased tickets for a bmi operated scheduled flight which still has business class (that is the real problem). It used to be possible to buy more four more upgrade vouchers for 21000 destinations miles, but this option has been cut back. The vouchers should be handed over at checkin, however I have found at LHR, particularly at weekends, the checkin staff ask you to take them to the lounge to be delt with. At remote airports, particularly at locations bmi has only just started flying to, staff may get confused by them, and either (as at Nice) tell you you are already upgraded, or do not know what to do with them.
As a gold card member, you can also book your destinations free flights on bmi operated flights just three working days before departure, instead of the usual seven, plus where possible you and a companion will be upgraded to business (or new economy in transatlantic services) at no additional charge.
Old style Diamond Club Gold Card |
Fun can be had at checkin, if you use the checkin machines, as a Gold. You have priority over seats - so by selecting the seats of lower tier members, you can move then around the cabin, and select their seat. You can then select another seat. As a result you can, if you choose, move away everyone sitting close to you, and then watch the confused looks of other passengers when they board, although this is not recommended.
Compairing how easy it is to get to Gold level, United or Singapore Gold needs 50,000, and Lufthansa senator needs 100,000. However to get to Gold in one year on bmi needs in total 57,000 miles (3000 for Blue Plus, 19,000 for Silver, then the extra 38,000 for Gold).
LHR T1 bmi Diamond Club lounge |
Unusually even Silver level members (plus, of course Gold members, Gold Star Alliance and Business class customers) get access to bmi's lounges.
LHR T1 bmi Diamond Club lounge |
There are Business Lounges which are big - very big - with very standard furniture that seems to come straight from Ikea. They are however very clean, new, and comfortable. Business class passengers, full fare economy, and Silver and Gold Diamond Club passengers can use the lounge. There are business lounges in the UK at Heathrow (T1 international and Domestic), Manchester T3, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, and Teeside.
At the top tier there are also Diamond Club lounges, which are in effect bmi's First Class lounges. These have the same furniture, but adds a bar, marginally better drinks and nibbles, and children are not permitted. These are available for business class and Gold Diamond Club passengers. Mostly they are also deserted, as fewer people pay for business class than they did when the diamond club was created, and there are very few people at the top tier of the bmi Diamond Club which also gives access. There are Diamond Club lounges at Heathrow T1, Manchester T3, Edinburgh, Glasgow (domestic) Belfast and Teeside.
LHR T1 bmi Diamond Club lounge |
bmi maintain Business lounges internationally at Paris, Dublin, and Brussels. At Amsterdam it shares the Globeground Lounge with Lufthansa - although oddly with a bmi dedicated and logoed ares. All other international locations get a generic lounge - and these range from ok to dreadful. Access to lounges can be a problem for guests, and for passengers with only a silver level Diamond Club card. In Hanover bmi use the Lufthansa Senator lounge for diamond club gold card members, and the Lufthansa Frequent Traveller lounge for silver. In Milan there is the Sala Leonardo Business lounge, while in Nice there is the salon cap danpide. The lounge is located after security on the first floor, and here full fare economy passengers can also use the lounge. In Madrid there is the Aena (Gold members are not allowed a guest). In Palma bmi use the Sala VIP facilities before security. In Venice there is the Sala VIP - Marco Polo lounge located on the 1st floor of departures after security.
LHR T1 bmi Diamond Club lounge food |
Note that at London LHR Terminal 1 International the first lounge you see - on the right - is the Business Class lounge. Walk down the side of the partition and on the left is the hidden Diamond Club lounge. If you enter the Business Class lounge you have to go back through security to get back into the terminal. If you go to the Diamond Club, you don't.
bmi run the Joint Star Alliance lounge for international flights at Heathrow Terminal one. It is not branded as bmi, but it is staffed by them, and replaces a number of separate lounges. If you are
 London LHR joint Star Alliance lounge |
It is used by United, Air New Zealand, South African Airways, US Airways, Asiana, Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, TAP and LOT. Thai, Turkish, and SAS will start using this lounge when they move from Terminal 3 in 2012, however Singapore Airlines will open their own lounge, on the site of the old SAA lounge.
This lounge is on the site of the old British Airways Terraces lounge: it can seem quite strange to be approaching it, but with a Star Alliance ticket. Business class is to the left of reception, while First is to the right.
Compared with some of the horrors that can lurk in Heathrow, both of the lounges are a haven of peace, quiet, and tranquilty. Trivia fans should know that when the business side was the British Airways First Class lounge, it was the scene of the infamous riot when a minor musician called Snoop turned up.
 London LHR joint Star Alliance lounge |
Once you are in the lounge, the first thing to notice is just how dull it is. Décor in the lounge takes blandness to a new extreme, with slate-coloured flooring, white walls and two-tone wood panelling. Seeing how some lounges make such an effort in their presentation (such as the Qantas First lounge at SYD, the Asiana lounge in Seoul, and even the new BA lounges) it is surprising to find a lounge that is so boring. There is no view of the planes: indeed, the only window is at the far end of the lounge, which overlooks the bins behind the Queen's building.
As you walk in you enter the self-service dining area with high chairs and tables immediately past the entrance. It resembles a pret-a-manger on a bad day. Further round there are two arms to the U, with a big empty room on the right, having a large flatscreen TV on the wall, and then several rather unaccomplished sets of chairs and tables. The other side of the U has some more comfortable arm chairs, and a couple of newspaper racks (with all of the UK daily papers, but other than the Mail and the Telegraph, there are just a few copies of each), and a children's area in one corner.
 London LHR joint Star Alliance lounge food |
Back in the centre of the lounge, on the right is raised area with (amazingly) some decoration, and another with wooden artwork on the walls, plus around the corner another food area (which is almost hidden, and which often has more food left, when there is none, and queues, in the main area. Finally, past this area, is the business centre. There are no computers here, just 8 work cubicles, however there is free Wifi (the password is displayed on a sheet of A4 above the cubicles). Indeed, the surprise is that there are no computers at all in the lounge. There are also 13 shower cubicles with hairdryers and Gilchrist and Soames amenities, which are the old BA showers, and which just have a sticker over the BA logo.
 London LHR joint Star Alliance lounge bar |
Food wise, the lounge is better than you might expect, with several options that are topped up by a hand appearing from behind the counter, replacing dishes, in either of the two food stations. There is always a hot option, which more often than not is a curry, with plenty of popadoms and bhajis. Salad is a variant on either Greek or Caesar. And there are also three trays of sandwiches (meat, fish & vege), plus fresh fruit and cakes. Breakfast cerial is stocked throughout the day, in small variety pack cartons.
 London LHR joint Star Alliance lounge |
The bar is disappointment. Spirits are free pour, but consist of just Gordon's Gin, Smirnoff Red Vodka, VSOP, Bacardi Rum, and Whisky with Jack Daniels, Famous Grouse, and Jamesons. There is just one type of white, two types of red, and a rose wine. Most of these are pretty cheap and nasty versions. There is a beer pump for Grolsh, and - rare for a lounge - Magners cider in bottles in the fridge, along with bottles of Becks and cans of Guinness. In the fridge there are also the usual mini cans of mixers and fruit juice, and a coffee machine. In the fridge there are also bottles of water, and cans of Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Britvic Tomato, Canada Dry, Tonic, and lemonade.
NEWS: The LHR International Diamond Club lounge is to be shut by the end of the year as a cost cutting measure.
LHR T1 bmi Diamond Club lounge bar |
It seems rather pointless bmi having this lounge, with near identical food, drinks, and papers as the business class lounge, but exist it does. It is normally very quiet. There is a sit up bar beside the model of the A320 (although the woman on the main desk often has to serve here, so service is slow), one food and bar table behind two pods, and a smoking area at the far end, where the TV is located. There is a photocopier and phones, but no computers. There is however Wifi Internet access if you bring a laptop.
LHR T1 bmi Diamond Club lounge |
Newspapers are piled on a large plastic rack by the door. There are all the UK dailies, with everything from the Guardian to FT, Independent to Telegraph. At weekends they even include all of the supliments. Late in the day only the Express may be left. You are invited to take a paper with you. Do take one onto the plane - often you won't get a free one on there.
Magazines are right on the far side of the lounge, facing the smoking area. Mostly they are fairly tame but there is often at least one Wallpaper and a GQ.
LHR T1 bmi Diamond Club lounge |
The snack counter is better than in bmi's other lounge, with an improved bar. There are two types of both white and red wine to chose from (but no champers), and 6 spirits (loose, not in optics) - Gin, Vodka, Bacardi, Reme, Glenlivet, Jameson, and Red Label. Miniture cans of soft drinks are under the counter (but no Bloody mary mix) and cans of Carlsberg and Guinness are in the fridge.
Food is disappointing. At breakfast time there are some pastries, while thoughout the day there is a tray of fruit cake slices, and packets of peanuts. There is a tray of cheese, with Cheddar, Double Gloucester, soft Cuntodou, and Camenbert) and some very nasty "Go" biscuits. Food is kept in the cupboards - occasionally it can be worth having a root through here to see if there is anything else left around.
LHR T1 bmi Business Class lounge |
The lounge is right by the gate - indeed, you have to "wiggle" round the queue of people boarding to get to the lounge. Theres a small desk with a couple of staff, and then you walk round the side of giant model of an A321... and then most people go "is that it?". No. Its not that small. The area upstairs is much bigger, but most passengers hang around downstairs.
LHR T1 bmi Business Class lounge |
Newspapers are in two places. Downstairs, under the ammusing BBC micro generated TV screens with departures, there's a trolley with a lot of newspapers and a few rather poor magazines, such as OK. Upstairs there is a much larger newspaper rack, and you are invited to take a paper with you.
Upstairs, theres much more room, a much better view, and a TV with cable.
LHR T1 bmi Business Class lounge |
The Bar in the business class lounge offers a choice of wine - white or red. Its the same wine as in the planes (see below) which is middle of the road, if not very entertaining. The white isn't kept in the fridge, but in a cooler, so by the end of the day its tepid. Beer is either Carlsberg, or if you're very lucky, bottles of Miller.
LHR T1 Business spirits |
Sometimes there is also Guinness. There are four spirits, all on a rotating (and very unstable) optic. Again (watch this "cheap but full service" philosophy) named brands, but with no options. One whisky, one gin, one vodka, one congac (odd, that). Theres a selection of minature cans in the fridges below or beside the bar, with tonic, coke, and juice.
Food consists of packets of biscuits, packets of nuts, and, errr, thats it. At LHR T1 international, you can walk through the corridot to T2 and Lufthansa lounge. On the Senator side it has champers, and quite good food, so its worth the walk.
LHR T1 Domestic |
LHR T1 Domestic - the food pod |
As you swing past the desk (just a wave of your Diamond Club card often works) with 4 staff, you'll see most of it.
The most unusual feature is often the children playing on the floor of the lounge, watching the TV's which are screwed to the wall of the food pods. Most uncomfortable. If you go to the far end, past the docking stations for PCs, the armchairs are much better.
bmi business lounge in Edinburgh
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The lounge in Edinburgh is noted by its most incredibly uncomfortable furniture. There are wooden seats which have come straight out of an achingly trendy design catalogue, and which make you ache achingly. Thankfully there are a few comfy armchairs, but they go quickly.
Theres a pile of newspapers by the door, and its worth-while grabbing a couple of Scotish papers, which aren't available on the plane.
The bar selection is better than LHR, with Miller and Guinness in the fridge.
Paris bmi Business lounge |
Paris bmi Business lounge |
There is one central food & drink pod, with the usual array of seats around the edge. The most comfortable seats are oddly in the smoking section, where you can tuck around 2 corners and be nicely hidden away. There is a TV (with BBC World), but no computers.
The Bar is pure bmi, with the standard single bottle of white (warm) and red wine on top of the counter, and four spirits on optics. Beer is in the fridge, with Kronenborg in strange tall thin cans, and Heiniken in barrel shaped cans. There are miniature cans of juice and Pepsi, plus a lovely tomato juice. There is no champers.
Paris bmi Business lounge |
Food is very poor at CDG, with only the usual packets of shortbread, lemon biscuits, or miniature fairy-cakes in plastic wraps. There are however some very good peanuts. The lounge is also hired out to Singapore Airlines, and in the two hours before SQ's midday flight, a tray with rather mournful looking plastic-wrapped cheeses appears, plus biscuits. There is a large (and handwritten!) sign above it saying that this is strictly for the use of business passengers to Singapore (although quite how this is policed is unclear) and even more unusually, First class SQ passengers are allowed to pick at the plate of even sadder looking bunch of fruit. This tray is removed as soon as the flight starts boarding.
Paris bmi Business lounge |
Newspapers are pretty good, with a single copy of all the UK papers, plus large number of all the French ones. There are, alas, few magazines other than a couple of copies of Wallpaper and Home & Garden.
It is worth exploring CDG's lounges if you have some time at the airport. As a Star Alliance Gold you will also get access to the SAS lounge: (at passport control turn right, head round the shops and to the escalators, turn right and follow round), and the United Airlines Red Carpet Club (also used by ANA, open 8am to 1pm and 4pm to 7pm) (at passport control turn right, head round the shops and to the escalatorr, it is on your left as you exit the lift). There is also a Lufthansa lounge in the Schengen-area, in the basement of the LH satellite 6. You need a pin-code from check-in to use it, and as a Star Gold you'll only get access to the Business lounge, with the Senator lounge reserved for Senators and First Class.
bmi generic business lounge in Palma |
There are two parts to the lounge, with a smoking and a non-smoking part, and you can't walk between the two. On the non-smoking side there is a TV area behind the screen, with Spanish TV and a cartoon channel. There is a conference room on the lower level reached by the stairs past the food pod.
Food is mainly cheese and biscuits and packets of peanuts. The drink selection is very good, with many types of spirits, a fridge at each end of the food pod stuffed with beer and wine (but no champers) in small 187ml bottles you can take out (Take a bag to stop the woman on reception from moaning at you). Newspapers are either Spanish or German.
bmi generic business lounge in Venice |
Bar at Venice lounge |
There is a bar, which is always staffed. You very definately cannot serve yourself. However the choice is good, with several types of wine and even champers. Food consists of nuts, crossants, and crisps. There is a TV in the second half of the lounge, normally on BBC World. There are no computers, however there is a very good stock of British Newspapers. These are stuck on long poles, to stop you taking them out of the lounge.
Bar Area bmi lounge at Nice |
This lounge is cursed, blighted even, by being after Schengen security. This means you have to pass through passport control to get to it - however passport control is only staffed after 1920. So if you arrive early, check in, and go past security, you can have a long wait before you can get into the lounge. Once past passport control, head to the lift on your right.
bmi lounge at Nice |
bmi lounge at Nice |
The well stocked bar has two types of red and white wine, plus Champagne, and even a pink Champagne. If someone has swiped the bottle of champers for their table, spares are kept in the main fridge, on the lowest shelf, behind the white tray. Boxes of cheese are also kept there. There are plenty of spirits (including some cherry variants you may not have heard of) and an amazing array of beers. Heiniken, Kronenbourg, Buckley, Chimay, and incredibly Belgium Kriek Cherry trappist beer. There is also a good coffee machine.
Food is mainly nibbles, but there are plenty to choose from here too. There are miniture crossants and pastries, trays of miniture pizzas and welsh rarebit in the fridge, along with other indeterminable nibbles, plenty of cheese and biscuits.
All in all its a great lounge to kill an hour or two. Alas, it does not open late, and indeed it also shuts early before the main flights leave.
Madrid bmi/Spanair lounge |
At Madrid BD use the Spanair lounge, which has it's advantages (it's a small, obscure airline, so not many Business passengers) and disadvantages (no access for guess, and poor food). Infact the access policy can sometimes seem a little odd, where you are waved through on some occasions, and get a grilling about your Diamond Club card on others. When the Lufthansa, Austrian, Argentina, and bmi flights are all about to take off, it can get a little crowded.
Upstairs Bar Area bmi lounge at Madrid |
You enter through the sliding doors straight after security - but note that the lounge is itself in the Schengen area. You have to go through passport control to get to the non-Schengen bmi flights. There are two main areas to the lounge; "on top", where there is a TV and computer area, and downstairs, where there is an OK view of a couple of gates, but not of the main apron.
Downstairs Bar Area bmi lounge at Madrid |
There are two bars, one in the corridor behind the reception desk, and one big long one downstairs, with two big fridges. Beer is strictly Heiniken, plus the usual miniture cans of soft drinks, and the strange Spanish "Bucklers Sin". There is no Bloody Mary mix, just a jug of Tomato juice, and one of orange. On top, above the coffee machine (if using this, note there are only small cups - so forget getting a Capochino), there are the spirits, with Bacardi, Baileys, Finlanda vodka, a bland whiskey, and a gin. Also on this shelf are two bottles of red. In the fridge are two bottles of white wine, and (only in the fridge by the window) a bottle of sparkling Cava.
Upstairs Seats bmi lounge at Madrid |
Food is very poor in this lounge. There are some olives and apples in a bowl on the shelf opposite the bar by reception, a few pastries, some biscuits, and that's about it. It is one of the few lounges where you can see people bringing in MacDonalds bags.
Newspapers are by contrast very good. There are all the Spanish dailys, the European FT, the UK Guardian and the UK Times. There are some American papers like USA Today, and the International (!) Herald, plus a very good rack of all the German papers.
There is all of one Computer, which has Internet access, but is appalingly slow. The lounge does however have WiFi access, and there are desks (at the far end of "on top") with spaces for 4 computers. There is also a TV and a HiFi (with stern notices about not disturbing other users of the lounge).
Cairo Egyptair Business Lounge |
Cairo Egyptair Business Lounge |
Egyptair has themed the areas of the lounge according to the countries it flies to, from the Paris lounge, to the English quarter. There are two main areas for the lounge - you can sit outside, under the modern glass ceiling, or there are the VIP rooms. These are extraordinary. They look like a French palace from the 17th century. There are however a few plasma TVs - normally on CNN - which look rather odd among all the finery.
Cairo Egyptair Business Lounge |
Food is pretty poor. There are a few pastries and sweetmeats, and bags of crisps. There are however plenty of flunkies running around, so if you ask for the crisps they are brought to you - on a bone china plate.
The lounge is dry, so there is no alcohol in the lounge - however you can pop down the unmarked back stairs to the bar in the main part of the terminal. Here, a beer costs 20 Egyptian pounds.
Cairo Egyptair Business Lounge |
There are no computers or other facilities in the lounge.
Of course, there is one guaranteed way to get a business class seat. Pay for it. And by the way, some of my comments here are designed to be taken with a bit of a wry English sense of humour - and Emailing me to complain that the system above didn't work probably shows you have a sense of humour bypass.
Fokker 100 at Venice |
To start with, make sure you are a frequent flyer, and you do fly frequently: after all, if bmi are going to upgrade anyone, they will upgrade those passengers who fly with them pretty regularly, and hence will enjoy the upgrade enough to put more business bmi's way. Then if the flight is full in economy, and someone needs to be moved up, the check in staff will first look at Gold Diamond Club members, and then Silver level, and then at other Star Alliance members at the equivalent levels (Gold, then Silver). Another thing that bmi look at is how much you paid for your ticket: it's much more likely to happen with a full fare ticket (although occasionally you can get lucky with a discounted economy ticket). On bmi the airline has heard - probably hundreds of times a day - requests for an upgrade: the general consensus seems to be that if you ask for an upgrade, you're less likely to get it, although opinions differ on an upgrade strategy for bmi.
As always, my advice on dressing properly in the pages on how to get an upgrade applies.
Beware that bmi are notorious for their IT: it is as excentric as the airline. Sometimes it works wonderfully: other times it can have you shaking you head and wondering just what happened. As always with bmi, it is be best to be prepared for the unexpected. It must be said however that bmi are very good at handing out extra Diamond Club miles when their website, inevitably, has a "glitch".
Booking tickets is pretty easy, with the cost of each flight segment broken down for all outbound and inbound flights where the flights are run by bmi, however it is impossible to see if there are cheaper flights on other days than those entered. Tax is added at the last stage of booking - a nasty surprise - as does using a credit card which adds £10. However you can get around this by using a bmi credit card - or just book on the Austrian Airlines website, which avoids this.
Clicking on the flight code on the first "Select flights" page when booking shows you the aircraft operating the service - it's not shown afterwards.
At last, after some "contracual differences", the bmi website will also let you book SAS flights that are bmi codeshares, however these will not display in a grid format, and you only get the total price when you confirm the flight.
Old style livery on a 737 at LHR
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Some parts of the site do not have a "go back" item - use the back button on your browser to return. The worse bug on the site is that when using a dial-up connection, if you move your mouse over a menu item to select it, it disappears!
Address: www.flybmi.com
Note that all reviews and opinions on BMI (BD) food, service, seats, planes, upgrades, lounges, the Diamond Club, and the Frequent Flyer scheme is soley at my judgement. No legal liability is accepted if you take my advice.
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