bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 17 May 2008 : by Darren Ward

Customer Rating : 4/5

Heathrow - Teeside return. Half full A319 aircraft both ways, clean and tidy with polite crew. Left on time in both directions, no hassle with on line check in, and self check in on return. Cheap ticket and efficient service, would use again.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 5 May 2008 : by Darran Burr

Customer Rating : 4/5

MAN-LAS Business Class. BMI offer a night before check-in between 7pm and 9pm at Desk 23 in Terminal 3 from Manchester on their longhaul services - extremely convenient if you live close to Manchester or staying an Airport hotel the night before you travel. You get the very first choice of seats, even the exit row seats which you can't pre-book! We were allocated Business Class Seats 2H/2K. The next morning we arrived at the Airport just 90 minutes before departure, proceeded through security and went to the departure gate, within 20 minutes boarding commenced, Business passengers offered priority boarding along. If you are allocated seats in Row 1 you do not have a 15 inch seat back video screen like rows 2 & 3, instead you are given a personal DVD player and this can be nuisance. As per previous reports the seats do have a few technical problems, several of the seat position buttons do nothing, there are 3 main buttons for varying degrees of recline, these work and once you have played around with the buttons for a while you do find that the seats are comfortable and lie flat. The inflight service was excellent, great food and good selection of wines, and attentive cabin crew. When we checked in the night before our bags were tagged as priority due to us travelling in Business Class, however, when we arrived at Vegas all the "night before check-in" bags came off the flight last - this wasn't a great inconvenience, within 75 minutes of landing in Vegas we were checking in at our Hotel. If you are travelling in Economy try and get any seats on exit rows 20 or 28, in Premium Economy (which is superb with old business class seats) row 10 is best but any are good.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 29 April 2008 : by Angus Miller

Customer Rating : 1/5

Return flight Business Class London to Baku an absolute rip-off. London-Baku took off late, no explanation / apology; ran out of choice of meals; ran out of crockery mid flight - no cups and saucers, so drank coffee out of crew's paper cups. Entertainment system turned off for entire flight as defective. Baku-London took off on time but no choice of meal after only five rows consulted; no menus; no table linen; no saucers; my entertainment system defective and unusable - offered the opportunity to make written comments by way of compensation - thanks!

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 29 April 2008 : by Alan Trotter

Customer Rating : 4/5

Man-Las Vegas business class. Crew and food quality very good. Not sure about the seats. Huge seat pitch but already showing signs of wear. Aisle width is narrow so the rear corner of the seat units are badly scuffed. Flimsy drink trays are aisle side so drink spillage is inevitable by crew or passenger. Our flight had two spills each way - one each for crew and passenger. A real design disaster that negates the huge seat pitch. The fine seat adjustment panel on the seats looked like a Klingon launch sequence. This wasn't a problem as none of the panels worked on any seat. Positions are only upright, slight incline or flattish. The slidey leather seats and limited adjustment can make it hard to get comfortable.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 23 April 2008 : by S Wilby

Customer Rating : 3/5

MAN-ORD Economy. Check in queue long due to not enough staff. Flight out very good, plane seemed new or recent refit. Food good for airline food, staff pleasant and courteous. ORD-MAN flight not so good. Had run out of one choice of food and remaining two were tasteless. Staff were tetchy with one complaining to a traveller that they were short-staffed and very busy (not really the paying customers fault). Why do airlines cut staff so much on overnight flights? Felt the charge for wine with the meal a little mean but I suppose thats what you get with a decent priced economy ticket.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 23 April 2008 : by N Merrills

Customer Rating : 4/5

LHR to BEY (Beirut). Pleasant journey and helpful staff. Seated in second emergency row (Row 8) which allowed for additional legroom and for our seats to recline (Row 7 do not recline). IFE not great (screens above head).

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 22 April 2008 : by R Herbert

Customer Rating : 4/5

MAN/LYS/MAN with BMI Regional EMB145. Check in on both sectors was slow and cumbersome with MAN agents insisting on extra payments for skis which had already been prepaid! Once on board the service was excellent, on time both ways and complimentary sandwich and drinks both ways too. BMI use the main terminal at Lyon not the dreadful charter shed which is a huge bonus as the baggage delivery is better and the whole experience is more pleasant. Sensible timings make this a good, though not obvious, choice for anyone travelling to the French Alps. With only 30 odd passengers on each sector though, you must question the viability of this service which is a shame as it deserves to succeed.

bmi British Midland review - by Jon Earnshaw

15 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

BA-LHR-LBA. Attempted to check in at LBA with hold luggage for my connecting flight at LHR, told I had to use the self check in machine, which meant I could not be checked through to my final destination and had to collect and re-check my luggage in at LHR. I would not have minded if I had been advised what I needed to do whilst waiting rather than wasting 20 minutes and then been told, the Aviance agent staff member who was talking to me whilst I waited made me no the wiser. Once on the flight, used my Bmi frequent flyer card to claim my "free drink" and the flight passed without incident, a short flight of just 45minutes on a lightly filled A319. The return flight was delayed by 1.5hrs without any real explanation, though an apology was made onboard and the flight to Leeds of 35minutes passed without any further problems, again a small load on this last flight of the day from LHR. Crew friendly, smiling and efficient.

bmi British Midland review - by John Logie

11 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-ORD return Economy Plus. Both flights left on time and arrived early. Economy plus on the A330 utilises BMi's original business class seats so legroom plentiful and comfortable seats with electric lumber, recline and footrest control. Each has a large TV with a choice of nearly 30 channels of movies and tv programmes which run on a 2 hour loop rather the AVOD. I was in row 15 on the outbound leg, its the back row of this cabin and thought the recline was slightly restricted by the divider behind me, you also cant really see the front screens showing the map and info. Food was good for economy, you get a menu on taking your seat and give your choice prior to take off. The crew were polite and cheerful. The food was pretty typical of economy. On the way back, dinner was pretty similar to lunch, and breakfast was a muffin and a small fruit salad which was fine. All in all a very comfortable flight with a pleasant crew both legs. I particularily enjoyed it as I got a very cheap economy fare even though i booked it the day before i travelled and then managed to use my Gold Card upgrade voucers to get a free upgrade both ways. If there are down points with BMi its their lounges. They are pretty basic and the seating is not that comfortable which is ok for domestic but on an international flight its nice to be spoiled a bit. BMi use the SAS lounge in T5 O'hare but they seem to have timed the flights well so it doesn't get too crowded. Lounge is bright and cheery with free wifi but is pretty spartan and a bit like a display room in Ikea.

bmi British Midland review - by R Smith

5 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-LAS-MAN in business. Outbound 5 star - food excellent, steward superb. Inbound the opposite, 2 star. Both main meal and breakfast poor, stewardess surly, senior steward ineffective. Crew more interested in themselves rather than passengers. On both flights there were problems with seats not fully working. Lie flat seats are an improvement, though some issues - trays are very low, so often do not sit clear of passenger legs, seats are high, so those under approx 5ft 9 may find their feet do not touch the floor. Wrote to BMI Cust Services about the return flight - they were not interested. Shame some poor staff let them down.

bmi British Midland review - by Irena Stanwell

4 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-Amman return in Economy. Old plane with obsolete entertainment system which did not work in the whole row where we were sitting on the outbound flight while on the inbound "Beowulf" was played twice! The movie is rated "PG-13 for intense sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and nudity" and was just shown in the cabin with small children. Shabby cabin with many broken pieces, the handle of my son's seat was broken and replaced by some tape, the back of my seat was also broken. Dirty cushions. Food very bad. Crew efficient but not particularly friendly.

bmi British Midland review - by Geoff Isaacs

28 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

BMI "Charter" Manchester to Bergamo (Milan) for skiing holiday. Got us there and back on time without fuss. Crew attentive and offered drinks/breakfast/dutyfree service on 2 hour flight with minimum fuss. A319 clean and tidy both ways.

bmi British Midland review - by Jon Earnshaw

27 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LBA-LHR-LBA Checked in online so breezed through fast track security at Leeds/Bradford. Boarded the very crowded A319 for 45minute flight to LHR. As a Blue Plus Diamond Club card holder, I was offered a free drink and hot sandwich as this was a 0655 departure and the sandwich was tasty and filling. Crew friendly and efficient. Return flight, used the Bmi lounge at Heathrow as travelling on a full- price flexible economy ticket - flight left Heathrow 45minutes late due to a security alert but again complimentary refreshments offered to Diamond Club card holders, food for purchase for everyone else, crew friendly and efficient once more on a very busy A319. A reliable and straightforward service, shame they scrapped Business class on this sector but complimentary refreshments for frequent flyers is the next best thing, lounge access at LBA would be nice too for flexible ticket holders, especially when paying £350 for a return flight.

bmi British Midland review - by N Anderton

26 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-LAS in Business. Done this route in Business many times, first time with lie-flat beds. However, new seats terrible. Hardly any of the buttons to adjust the seats worked. Table and drinks holder too small. Real shame - used to be one of the best Business class services from Manchester to the US. Very attentive crew and onboard chef for meals is always great. Entertainment system outdated - needs to be on-demand, especially in Business. Apparently seat issue well known to bmi - they have had loads of complaints. Until they sort them out it's probably worth saving money and flying in Premium Economy. We would have saved £1700 each.

bmi British Midland review - by James Williamson

22 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

GLA-MAN-ORD Premium Economy. Got a great deal for a round trip between Glasgow and Denver of £570. The short 40 min flight GLA to MAN was on an Embraer ERJ145 which was pretty small though not a busy route so that's why they use it. The outbound flight had cloth covered seats which were pretty uncomfortable, the cushion was almost non existent and this made the seat hard, while the return flight had leather covered seats which were much better. Was very surprised to get a choice of Hot Pannini and hot drink for such a short flight but at 7am this was most welcome. MAN-ORD seat is very comfortable and loads of room. The cabin crew were excellent providing a very high level of service - nice to have drinks in a real glass rather then plastic. Meal was fine if a little on the small side and served on china and glassware.

bmi British Midland review - by Eric Holt

20 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR to Palma. Outward journey was good, the return however was different. The flight was not full and so there were only three cabin crew. One of the two serving economy class spotted an off duty colleague and spent 20 minutes chatting to her - whilst we all waited for a drink. Trouble is, in the winter months they have almost a monopoly from the UK.

bmi British Midland review - by M Valentine

9 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

ABZ-LHR-ABZ. Easy on line check in. Timings for boarding, departure, arrival more or less as stated and ditto for return. You can buy food / refreshments on board for more reasonable prices than many and service was pleasant. I will continue to prefer BMI now for this route - although their timings aren't always the most convenient and that may force me back to BA sometimes. Of concern is the continuation of this BMI service. BMI slots at Heathrow are worth a fortune and the anxiety is that they will soon sell out and I suspect that will mean losing the BMI ABZ to LHR connection. This will be a great pity

bmi British Midland review - by Mark Consterdine

4 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-ORD-MAN Premium Economy, with proper electric seats and even a few hours sleep both ways. Food good, although a little on the mean side. Excellent service from crew, but some need to smile a little more! IFE the old type - not on demand but ok, although picture quality not as good as others. Premium Economy space and comfort on this route used to be a bit of a joke, but now much improved. Seat configuration is 2-2-2 and used to be 2-4-2. I will definitely be using this route and airline again.

bmi British Midland review - by Chris Duckett

2 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-DMO-LHR. Business class seats great, flight attendants professional and friendly. Product badly let down by truly awful food - microwave meal of standard way below most charter airlines. No competition with BA or AF Club Europe's excellent snacks! Surely for a very small extra amount BMI could serve something half decent! Being bussed to Arrivals at LHR - departing plane via back door, crowded onto buses like cattle was a dispiriting end to the journey.

bmi British Midland review - by Derek Adams

17 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

BHD-LHR. With the added competition of Aer Lingus (BFS-LHR) and Ryanair (BHD- LondonStansted) BMI have at last lost their monopoly out of BHD and at last have a fight on their hands. The flying public appear to be voting with their wallets as there were lots of empty seats on this normally busy flight. Baggage drop had a queue of 16 waiting with only one check in desk manned and no one at the priority baggage drop! The Gold Card lounge was, as usual, pleasantly efficient. As usual BMI refused to interline baggage, despite every other Star Alliance carrier trying to be helpful! BMI extend Star Alliance Gold Card courtesies land-side but it stops dead air-side with charges for everything on board. As usual baggage took longer to arrive on the carousel than the actual flight time! Next time I probably try Aer Lingus into LHR as I have to haul checked baggage to LHR T3 anyway!

bmi British Midland review - by Patrick Jordan

11 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

GLA-LHR. I am an infrequent BMI flyer, but was curious to compare their short haul service with Aer Lingus. Airbus was clean and had a pleasing interior. Some of the business class seats were allocated to economy, and I would have welcomed the extra width given my portly size. Sadly my request to move to one (if available) was refused, despite their being on one or two spares. The seat belts were very short: I had to tug mine to fasten it. Aer Lingus give you a few extra inches of belt, so I guess BMI are taking cost cutting to a new level. I was amazed to find that my Silver US Airways card has absolutely no value with BMI: no lounge access, no free food, nothing. I always assumed that all alliances honoured all partner airlines cards - not BMI it seems. The food and drink was good quality, and reasonably priced albeit of a very limited range. I was amused to note the "special offer" on Heathrow Express tickets: buying from BMI would save the princely sum of 50pence (or was that 25p??). Even a new entrant to BAA Worldpoints saves around £5. Convenience aside, there's little incentive to take up this offer. Overall I was disappointed by my BMI experience. Their dismissive attitude to my US Airways Silver card set the tone, and having to endure an uncomfortably tight seat belt raises issues about passenger comfort.

bmi British Midland review - by Darren Ward

7 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Flew business class return between Yerevan to Heathrow and impressed. The business class seats were comfortable, although they do not lie flat. IFE was good with a good selection of programs and business class food was outstanding with attentive and efficient service.

bmi British Midland review - by Louis Esteves

4 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-ABZ on an Embraer 145. Boarded on-time. Plane is very small and narrow, therefore, no hand baggage was allowed as I had to leave mine at the bottom of the stairs due to the very small compartments and lack of space. Onboard service not free, unless you are a Diamond Club card holder, payable drinks and snacks. Crew friendly and professional. Arrived on-time, my hand baggage was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs on a baggage trolley. Overall, good flight.

bmi British Midland review - by N Holdsworth

29 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-DUB boxing day 2007. Flight was empty - got whole row (emergency exit) to myself and paid only taxes. Heathrow was quieter than usual but still chaotic. The flight was fine, but had problems with online payment - ie they never took money out of my account when they should have processed my credit card payment, then waited until four days before I was going to fly to tell me I owed them £25. Spent 2 hours on the phone to a call centre employee in India trying to sort this all out. This was very annoying, but thankfully it got sorted out in the end.

bmi British Midland review - by Simon Harris

24 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Heathrow-Amsterdam return. Online check in for outbound flight worked. The outbound flight was less than half full, made for comfortable flight. Legroom is not great and for anything more then the hour flight would have been a problem. Service was ok. They seem to operate on a low cost basis with drinks and food as extras except for Diamond Members. Overall a good experience and would use them again for a short hop such as this

bmi British Midland review - by Robert Bushby

24 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-MAN on a little Regional Jet - very pleasant it was too. Return from MAN was at the other end of the scale in a A321 operating the only one out of of 4 consecutive BMI flights between 1700 and 2100 to actually run as BMI and other operators had ATC problems at Heathrow We were delayed 5 hours waiting to depart MAN two of which were spent in the aircraft on the tarmac. So given it was probably not the fault of BMI how did they cope - reasonably well is the answer, modest refreshment vouchers pre-boarding as the delays accrued plus free water, soft drinks, cake & crisps on board kept us going whilst those who wished were allowed to disembark before we left Manchester and collect their bags. Whilst there were mutterings around us on the lines of; 'next time I will go by rail' clearly those folks had not hoped (as I had) to get to Blackpool from Manchester by train on the Sunday only to find a rail replacement bus in operation for the entire journey, whilst there were few trains at all on the West Coast main-line on the Monday north of Preston because of flooding. BMI get 4 stars because the staff overall were pretty fair and were good in a difficult situation - but I did not have an onward connection from LHR, and that might have been an altogether different story.

bmi British Midland review - by W Hamilton

21 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-DUB restricted economy. Not a very pleasant experience. I don't understand the low-cost-carrier thing. Connecting on a BA flight from China you are told to check-in online 24 hours before departure and that they won't check your bags through to the final destination. After spending twenty quid trying to find a BMI rep office that was open in an appropriate time zone (the Australian rep hung up on me without saying a word!) I was told by both BA and BMI that if BA in Shanghai were willing to do it, BMI would allow through checking of bags. In the end, and bearing in mind it was Christmas and I was going via Heathrow I opted not to take bags. So I got up and went into the office at 3am to print out my boarding pass as I was told without it I would have to arrive at Heathrow terminal 4 and go through the whole arrivals process and then travel to terminal 1 and check in again. All this after a twelve-hour flight. Madness. And it's not like the ticket was super cheap. GBP67 plus having to buy your own food and drink on each leg for a one-hour flight ended up about a hundred pounds. Or you can pay the ridiculous GBP400 return fare to travel in what BMI have the gall to call "Business Class". On one leg I noted that if you take the first row (row 5 in this case) you have Business Class style seats (the middle seat removed and replaced with a space) as the curtain has been moved forward one row. Comfortable enough for the short flight. When connecting with an international flight costing a thousand pounds the whole BMI experience just seems like a rip-off. As I wrote above, my ticket cost GBP16 but I was just under GBP100 out of pocket at the end of it. Who are they trying to kid? I've been flying between Ireland and the UK since 1984 and when connecting with long-haul flights you need a little bit of flexibility in the ticket. To get this it appears to now cost 400 quid return. If my BA flight had been late I would have had to pony up 30 pounds plus the fare difference to get the next flight - if it was even available and I estimate this would have cost me about 160 quid one way on the day (!) Can this possibly be right? However it seems there is no alternative as all European carriers are at this malarky. All the BMI staff I encountered were very helpful and friendly though. The two stars are for them. Job well done, but I won't be flying BMI again because of their bizarre ticketing policies and ridiculous penny pinching.

bmi British Midland review - by Suzanne Ackerman

13 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-ORD. Excellent business class service on way out with just 6 passengers in business cabin. Unfortunately flight cancelled on return where we had been booked into premium economy due to lack of availability. Alternatives offered were Aer Lingus/Swiss Air/Air India. However they would only rebook economy seats as no premium economy offered on these airlines. After much debate about getting equivalent service got business back on Aer Lingus with 5 hour wait in Dublin. MAN-ORD flight has been cancelled quite a lot recently so bear this in mind if it happens to you as they will try and fob you off with economy.

bmi British Midland review - by S Butler

8 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

I was travelling to Montreal in Canada from Belfast City via London Heathrow. When flying home, there was a technical error on the plane. First the crew told us we were going to be delayed, then told us we were going on. They had us all lined up and then told us to sit down again! There were 2 flights already going ahead of to Belfast and we were delayed for 4 hours! They eventually got a supply plane and we didn't even get a free drink!

bmi British Midland review - by B Nugent

8 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Confused now with what BMI are trying to be. Just flown EDI-BRU return and food and drink are free, however on the busier and surely more profitable EDI-LHR or any LHR routes you pay unless you are silver or gold? Must say service on the EDI-BRU route was far superior to the now non-service on the mainline LHR routes

bmi British Midland review - by D Ward

8 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Business Class ESB-LHR. Service very good with very nicely presented, tasty food and nice wine selection. IFE was hand held DVD players with good picture and sound quality and 9" screen. The seats do not recline flat, but very comfortable for me. I would use them again provided service was at this high standard.

bmi British Midland review - by Ross Clark

4 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

BMI EDI-LHR-SIN-AKL. If they could do something to botch the handling of an interlined booking, they did. The booking (through to AKL) was not completely held in their system, so needed a manual override for the luggage labels; this also required the issue of the SQ boarding passes at LHR, which took more time; the boarding pass did not have the e-ticket reference printed, so that took even more time at boarding. Was saved only by having a paper record of the whole booking. I know interlined bookings can give grief, but I have done the same trip with BA/CX, two years ago, and it worked perfectly.

bmi British Midland review - by Sandra Collyns

20 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

London Heathrow - Dublin. I had a comfortable, pleasant journey. There were no queues at the self check in machines (which i find very easy to use) and Heathrow was surprisingly empty. The aircraft was a A320 with a pleasant interior and comfortable leather seats in economy. The cabin crew were also very friendly. The only problem was that due to congestion at heathrow we arrived 10 minutes late - but this didn't really matter. Overall, a very enjoyable experience, and i will fly bmi again if they are cheap enough!

bmi British Midland review - by Robert Bushby

20 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

GLA to LHR mid-afternoon for two of us on tiny (pretty tiny in fact!) fares. Arrival was late but there were plenty of apologies and explanations from the flight-deck. So long as BMI do not start charging for hold baggage, continue to pre-allocate seats and steer clear of scratch-cards they will keep our business. Self-service check-in seems a lot smoother these days or perhaps I am just getting used to it. 4 stars may appear a bit OTT for a short domestic sector spent down the at the cheap end of the aircraft but with plenty of legroom it was value for money and despite the late arrival and change of stand at Heathrow the hold bags still popped nice and quick up on the carousel.

bmi British Midland review - by A Bruce

20 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

ORD-MAN. The old business class seats in Premium Economy have made a difference on this route - a comfortable nights sleep, aided by noise cancelling headphones. SAS/BMI lounge at departures was comfortable and the service was good. Very limited retail in ORD once past security. Flew across to the US with US Airways out of Brussels. Very tired 767. Envoy class was less comfortable than BMI's new premium economy - and significantly more expensive. MAN-EDI : connecting regional flight home. Badly delayed at Manchester. A nuisance and let down after good service across the Atlantic. Insufficient Aviance ground staff available to service the plane; resulted in 2 hour delay. Several passengers got off before departure.

bmi British Midland review - by Dan Peterson

16 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-LHR-MAN. I feel standards of service are improving. Self-service gets the job done. Being a Diamond Club Silver member, you get free food and drink (though the drink is only 150ml) on domestic flights even on a Tiny Economy fare. Service is relaxed and with a smile. Though, I'm not too sure about bmi time though.

bmi British Midland review - by Jon Earnshaw

9 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

LBA-EDI-LBA Business Class. Checked in online, dropped off my bag and found my own way to the business lounge which as a Silver Star Alliance member I can use at LBA. Boarded quickly and warmly welcomed on board. Newspapers provided, breakfast of sausage, bacon, scrambled egg & mushrooms with orange juice, coffee, yoghurt and coffee was provided - the cabin crew also came around with warm rolls and croissants. No hot towels. Return used Bmi lounge at Edinburgh and welcomed on board by friendly and energetic female cabin crew. Newspapers not provided but once airborne, served drink and hot meal - no tea/coffee or hot towels. Bmi do well judging that both flights was totally full - but their standards have certainly fallen - come on Bmi, these are principal business routes with people paying over £350 for a return flight.

bmi British Midland review - by A Pottage

21 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Business MAN-ORD-MAN with the new Business seats. I was somewhat disappointed with the new seats. Lie-flat is a definite bonus, standard UK 3-pin for laptops etc. Three seats had been condemned on the way back due to mechanical faults, not too promising after a limited in-service period. There is an apology for a drinks tray (about 50x50mm). The seats along the aisles had this tray aisle-side - passengers and crew sail pretty close to knocking the glass off this perilous perch - this happened to my colleague who lost a full glass of champagne and the glass broke. A lack of accessible storage space - one storage pocket in the seat back, one at floor level. The meal trays are now contained in the inner armrests. Simultaneous opening of adjacent seat armrests to extract the trays brings about a clash of the armrests near the hinge. On the flight back the inner side of the seats were distinctly wobbly. Compared to the old seats, it felt that one had less elbow room - the meal tray appeared a smaller than the old seats (a remark also made by some crew) and it appears less robust. Not enough space and a bit too low for me - I reckon bmi will have a few problems with these.

bmi British Midland review - by Trevor Wilson

19 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

I recently flew Addis Ababa to London Heathrow by BMI, having been forced to change airlines due to BA giving up their franchise. The departure time was most inconvenient: I had to be at the airport at 2am for a 415am take off. Flying Business Class I expected good service. Check in took 30 minutes (there were two of the other three people flying Business Class in front of me) took 25 minutes due to the incompetence of the staff. The welcome onboard was tepid. There was a welcome drink but no nibbles. Food on the 3.5 hour flight to Amman was a rather tired roll and some coffee. We were on the ground in Amman 75 minutes instead of the promised 45. Business Class from Amman to Heathrow was full and was obviously too much for the cabin staff to cope with. Our "dining experience" - the words of the Cabin Service Chief - on the 6 hour Amman London sector was breakfast. We landed at Heathrow just about on time at about 1215pm London time. I had by then been on the aeroplane 11 hours and 45 minutes and all I had to show for it was a bun, coffee and less than satisfactory breakfast. Far from getting Business Class priority baggage my two bags were third from last and last on the carousel. I fly to Addis three or four times a year. My next trip, and any future ones, will not be with BMI.

bmi British Midland review - by Darren Jones

19 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-ORD-MAN premium economy. The service in premium economy was excellent with comfortable seats, excellent cabin staff and food. Not too long ago this would be known as business class service. Excellent value for money.

bmi British Midland review - by Simon Castleman

9 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

MAN-ORD in Premium Economy. The seats in Premium Economy are the old bmi business seats and the 48"pitch and 50 degree recline is better than others in this market sector. Get the front row and nobody reclines into your "space" its like the old bmi business at about 30% of the cost. OK the food is economy class but you get a mixture of business and economy drinks service (free drinks with a limited choice) and if you want some extra you have to ask rather than it being offered, but when you consider the difference in price its well worth it. If you are prepared to accept economy food I think this is probably the best value for money.

bmi British Midland review - by I Pemberton

28 October 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Chicago to Manchester cancelled due to a technical problem but these things happen. They did an OK job of re-booking me via LHR with BA then the BMI flight up to Manchester. I've just tried logging on to the website to claim my miles but it took about 2 minutes to logon then on the next page the message said 'Service Unavailable'. I've had similar problems with the website over the last couple of months and out of all the websites I use for business/pleasure the BMI site is absolutely rock bottom. BMI please spend a few hours looking at your web log stats and you will get an idea of the problem - then fix it!

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