flybmi goes into receivership, all flights cancelled – why did it happen?

flybmi (not to be confused with Flybe) went into administration on Saturday evening.

All flights were cancelled with immediate effect.

This is the official statement published on their website:

British Midland Regional Limited, the East Midlands-based airline which operates as flybmi, has today announced that it has ceased operations and is filing for administration.

flybmi operates 17 regional jet aircraft on routes to 25 European cities.

All flights have been cancelled with effect from today. Customers who booked directly with flybmi should contact their payment card issuer to obtain a refund for flights which have not yet taken place. Customers who have booked flybmi flights via a travel agent or one of flybmi’s codeshare partner airlines are recommended to contact their agent or airline for details of options available to them. Customers who have travel insurance should contact their travel insurance provider to find out if they are eligible to claim for cancelled flights and the procedure for doing so.

A spokesperson for flybmi said:

“It is with a heavy heart that we have made this unavoidable announcement today. The airline has faced several difficulties, including recent spikes in fuel and carbon costs, the latter arising from the EU’s recent decision to exclude UK airlines from full participation in the Emissions Trading Scheme. These issues have undermined efforts to move the airline into profit. Current trading and future prospects have also been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process, which has led to our inability to secure valuable flying contracts in Europe and lack of confidence around bmi’s ability to continue flying between destinations in Europe. Additionally, our situation mirrors wider difficulties in the regional airline industry which have been well documented.

“Against this background, it has become impossible for the airline’s shareholders to continue their extensive programme of funding into the business, despite investment totalling over £40m in the last six years. We sincerely regret that this course of action has become the only option open to us, but the challenges, particularly those created by Brexit, have proven to be insurmountable.

“Our employees have worked extremely hard over the last few years and we would like to thank them for their dedication to the company, as well as all our loyal customers who have flown with us over the last 6 years.”

Where was flybmi flying?

flybmi carried just over 500,000 passengers on 29,000 flights last year, using a fleet of 17 Embraer aircraft.

The airline had three main bases, in Aberdeen, Bristol and Munich, with its head office at East Midlands Airport.  flybmi served Aberdeen, Bristol, Brno, City of Derry, Dusseldorf, East Midlands, Esbjerg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Jonkoping, Karlstad, London Stansted, Lublin, Milan Bergamo, Munich, Newcastle, Norrkoping, Nuremburg, Oslo, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rostock/Laage, Saarbrucken and Stavanger.

As well as flying under its own brand, it sold tickets under codeshare deals with Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Loganair, Air France and Air Dolomiti.

The airline is the final remnant of the old British Midland.  After IAG acquired BMI in 2012, IAG sold the non-core routes which did not fly into London to Sector Aviation.  In 2015 it came under the control of Loganair’s owner Airline Investments.

It is important to note that Loganair is not impacted by this announcement, despite the two airlines having the same parent.

Why did flybmi go into administration?

Whilst flybmi is not related to Flybe, there is no doubt that the two airlines had been facing the same issues in recent months.  This move may give Flybe the opportunity to pick up a few of the better performing routes.

Let’s be clear about one thing though – flying 522,000 passengers on 29,000 flights in 2018 means an average of just 18 passengers per flight.  An Embraer E145 can seat 49 people whilst an E135 holds 37, so we are looking at very weak loads.  Whatever factors are being blamed for its closure, the answer may be closer to home than the airline wants to admit.