Bmi

UK based airline Bmi is a scheduled service provider with administrative operations located in England's East Midlands region and hubs at London Heathrow and Manchester airports. Over 2000 flights a week are served by the airline with destinations in Europe, the US, the Caribbean and Saudi Arabia covered by its network. With the acquisition of British Mediterranean Airways in January 2007, Bmi looks set to expand that network to cover a wider range of destinations including those in Africa and the Middle East.

The airline's history dates back to 1949 with the formation of Derby Aviation Limited, a subsidiary of Air Schools Limited. In 1964, the company changed its name to British Midland Airways then later in 1985 to just British Midland. A new corporate identity was launched in 2001 following the airline joining the Star Alliance. The new identity saw the British Midland re-branded as Bmi (British midland international). Bmi serves close to 50 destinations across the world with extra routes due to be added. The airline provides services with a fleet made up predominantly of Airbus aircraft, of which it has 29. The remaining 16 craft are Embraer planes with thirteen ERJ 145 models and three ERJ 135s.

Bmi is a full service airline offering the complete in-flight experience and a high standard of passenger care aimed at providing both safety and comfort. Food and drink are complimentary on most flights with the passenger's grade of ticket determining whether they receive hot meals as opposed to sandwiches and snacks. Soft and alcoholic beverages are available from the on-board bar services.

In-flight entertainment is offered as standard on long haul flights with passengers in business class provided with arm-mounted TV sets and economy passengers with seat-back sets. A wide choice of viewing material is available from movies to documentaries to popular television shows. Nintendo and pc games can also be played on the set while audio channels present 16 different music choices. Flights can be booked on the Bmi website or with participating travel agents in the UK or international destinations.