In 1998, British Midland celebrated its 60th anniversary, having been formed in 1938 as Air Schools Limited, a flight training school for RAF pilots. In the intervening years, the airline has gained unparalleled experience and expertise in a wide range of operating environments and markets throughout the world. In more recent times, the airline has been best recognised for its unique contribution to shaping and taking advantage of open skies within the United Kingdom and Europe.

Throughout its history bmi has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to compete effectively against dominant flag carriers on monopolistic routes. It has achieved great success in the face of some of the stiffest competition anywhere in the world and its contribution to the development of a competitive European aviation market has been unique. It has been so successful that of all the airlines pushing for the right to operate transatlantic services from Heathrow, bmi is the only airline capable of providing an adequate European feeder service into Heathrow in its own right.

Today, bmi is the second largest scheduled carrier at the biggest international airport in the world, London Heathrow, accounting for over 14 per cent of all take-off and landing slots. On its route network, which covers the UK domestic market and Europe, the airline operates over 2,000 flights per week to 32 destinations with a modern fleet of 54 aircraft.

bmi’s commitment to providing oustanding customer service has resulted in the airline receiving over 50 prestigious industry awards since 1990, most notably it has won Best UK Domestic Airline (Travel Weekly) for the past 10 consecutive years.