bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  1 December 2008 : by L Whitmore

MAN-LAS-MAN Premium Economy. No queue on outbound checkin at Manchester and changed seats to bulkhead 10A/C which were fine. Didn't get bumped by trolley and service was quick. After boarding menus handed out and orders for main course taken before take off. A drinks round was delivered promptly and entertainment system started - about 8 or so newish films were offered on a roll around system. The food was adequate and served with plastic cutlery Adequate wines offered with the meal and a bottle of water handed out to retain throughout the flight. The recline was enough to get a sleep and the pitch was approximately 48" which is far better than most PE competitors. Seats were in a 2-2-2 configuration which is nicer too. It is a shame they're discontinuing these flights as for a 10 hr flight, PE is a good product on BMI with a lot more legroom than Virgin's PE. The return journey was much the same but we couldn't get the bulkhead this time and noticed the difference when the person reclined in front of you. It was fine whilst seated, but if you are in a window seat, it was difficult to get out to go to the toilet without knocking the reclined seat in front. The PE cabin is worked by the chief flight attendant throughout, with only minimal assistance during meal service by another FA. I was informed it's easier to run this cabin than to work in the business cabin due to extra demands thus enabling her to be available anywhere else on the plane should the need arise. On the whole, a good product: shame it's being discontinued in April.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  19 November 2008 : by D Fay

DUB-LHR-DAM & TLV-LHR-DUB in Y class. Check in at Dublin was quick and the staff on both legs were friendly. The IFE on the Damascus leg was good for a 4.5 hour trip. On the return, bag drop at TLV was also quick and simple and we got an upgrade! BMI business class offering didn't seem as good as BA's on this route but the big seats were a treat on an early morning flight. We got upgraded at the gate in LHR for the final leg but the meal seemed much poorer than their business class of old. Overall I'd fly with them in economy but think twice about paying extra for business class.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  16 November 2008 : by Jon Earnshaw

LHR-DUB-LHR Business Class. Though I have flown with Bmi extensively on their regional network, this was my first flight in the short-haul business cabin for nearly two years - how things have changed. On the LHR-DUB leg, a small sandwich, small chocolate bar and a satsuma were provided on this lunchtime peak flight which was full. Perhaps they have the market, they don't need to pull out the stops- service was efficient but lacked warmth and certainly was not friendly. A small cup of coffee offered and all I could hear on the flight was how tired the crew were and they were sick of working these long hours - professional I think not! A small hot towel was provided before landing but this was a very poor service, no newspapers and the wow factor has gone fully. The return flight was terrible, one cabin crew member for 20 passengers and she struggled. She snapped at passengers asking for water "give me a chance" was a terrible start. The meal of lancashire hot-pot was shocking, the small satsuma and small chocolate bar did not even make up for it - again a poor service. Bmi are great in business class on their long haul network, shame their short haul flights have been overlooked and the standards have slipped terribly. I fly them a lot and will continue to do so, I will just avoid paying extra to fly business when it's a poor offering. BA are much better on short haul business routes.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  15 November 2008 : by Tony McLaughlin

LHR-BHD-LHR. I cannot ever fault this airline, and they have a good servant to N Ireland over the years. There is now competition on the LHR to Belfast route, so both my flights were 1/3 full. Flight to BHD delayed 40 minutes at LHR - there were adverse weather conditions at LHR, but this was then compounded by 5 bags being off-loaded - I suspect they belonged to transfer passengers. Reasonable service on board, comfortable seats on the Airbus 320, with enough leg room for the short hop. Return journey left on time and arrived early.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  11 November 2008 : by Richard Vallance

Manchester - Chicago on a A330. Cabin crew seemed quite flustered and very busy (or understaffed). Seats comfortable but Voyager entertainment system was poor as screen was barely viewable and/or too bright. Cabin was also uncomfortably warm for the whole flight.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  7 November 2008 : by S Jones

DUB-LHR-DUB. Satisfactory service and planes, a good alternative to Aer Lingus, which is the only other operator on this route, especially if you fly frequently enough to have a Blue plus or higher frequent flyer card, in which case you get a free meal on the plane and lounge access. The all inclusive fares are a nice change too (ie you don't pay extra to check in a suitcase). The biggest problems are delays to flights, which can be lengthy, and the baggage reclaim. If you check in a suitcase, it often takes one hour for it to appear at the other end. You will not find a representative from BMI or the baggage handlers in the baggage collection area - there is no-one to explain, or to complain to - why it takes more time for your suitcase to get from the nearby plane, than it did for you to fly from Dublin to Heathrow! There appears to have been nothing done to address this as it has been like this for years.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  7 November 2008 : by Darran Burr

BMI are withdrawing all their Manchester long haul services! If you are booked to travel on the following BMI routes from Manchester in 2009 you should contact them asap to find out what alternative airlines they will be re-protecting you on. MAN-Chicago route will cease to operate from 14 Jan 09 and their Barbados, Antigua and Las Vegas flights will cease to operate from April 2009. I have used BMI Las Vegas flight many times, they had the best Premium Economy service, and their Business Class was excellent.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  7 November 2008 : by Bill Cooke

LHR-Cairo-LHR on A321, excellent crews both ways and 3 choices of hot meal in Y class. Downside just 1 of 2 toilets working on LHR-Cairo flight resulting in blocked aisles throughout the flight! Arrival in Cairo smooth, but leaving Cairo is a nightmare, poor organisation by the ground-handling agents. Gate 6 very small, no pre-boarding, all announcements indecipherable, everyone onto 2 buses, a free for all.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  5 November 2008 : by Jane Suthers

LHR-SFO. Booked with British Midland but when we got to Heathrow found out it was a flight with United Airlines. Very poor entertainment system and food, with no free drinks. Would never book with them again.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  30 October 2008 : by Mary Bennett

Heathrow to Glasgow with BMI, 24th October from Terminal 1. My husband's suit bag with his weekend clothes never arrived. I have been chasing it ever since. The number I was given to contact lost luggage over the weekend was in India which was absolutely useless. We returned on Sunday hoping to collect the bag, it was still missing. Yesterday, Monday, I contacted lost luggage yet again, a bag seems to have been found that could be my husband's. They unfortunately were unable to get the bag as it was in Terminal 4 tagless and the company looking after it had gone home, this was 15.00 in the afternoon. Today, Tuesday 09.30, I am still waiting for someone to call. I have tried ringing BMI customer relations, the operator could not put me through as they do not answer their phones until 09.30,not one person was available. There seems to be a chronic problem with missing luggage certainly on the Glasgow route as there were 5 missing bags on our flight. A family in our hotel had two missing cases, they returned to Glasgow Airport Saturday night to see if the cases had turned up, they hadn't and other people on the incoming flight had cases and a buggy missing. Somebody needs to do something urgently to correct the situation. I am a regular flyer and have never experienced anything like this. The worst thing is no one seems to care.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  28 October 2008 : by J Oh

Dublin to London Heathrow return economy. I am guessing that the aircraft used on both the outgoing and return journey was the same. The flights were on time with self service check-in kiosks available at both airports. The plane sported the old livery with a somewhat worn and dated interior and stood out amongst the rest of the BMI fleet at Heathrow. The temperature of the cabin was almost uncomfortably warm in both instances but the leg-room was generous. Overall reasonable value although I'm undecided if it compares favorably to Aer Lingus who also operate the same route.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  27 October 2008 : by John Grimmett

LHR-FRU economy. Tired old aircraft, operated by Astraeus, and I was allocated 23E, the middle seat in the last row which does not recline fully. This is a 7-8 hour flight, with a stop in Almaty. The check-in clerk referred to the seat as in an exit row, which was stretching things since it was merely the last row in the aircraft. I know from experience to bring some of my own food with me rather than rely on the airline fare, which is no better than edible. The ticket was the cheapest available (GBP 780) and the website has invited me to upgrade to a more expensive version of economy but I had not done so since there were no published benefits. Friendly cabin staff.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  23 October 2008 : by A Soufan

LHR-FNA flight delayed 3 hrs without no reasons. Boeing 757 leased from Astreus is serving the route which is a disaster as that aircraft is 17 yrs old. Return flight on time however cabin crew was not responding to passengers. I had no choice but to fly with them as they are the only airline that flies to Freetown direct from London Heathrow.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  21 October 2008 : by O Banderas

AMS-LHR one-way ticket at reasonable price. Clean smart plane, very nice seats, punctual. Staff and catering concept let the airline down and give it a very cheap feel though (must be the only low- cost concept airline in a major alliance?). Would never fly ex-LHR again due to chaotic check-in alone.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  21 October 2008 : by Stephen Lloyd

LHR-DME-LHR. Heathrow to Moscow in Business Class. Confortable seats, 50 inch pitch, and good service with choice of 3 meals. Entertainment is weak and on the outward leg no cards available for landing in Russia - not good as this is going to slow up entry. On the return quality was the same but some entertainment available in handsets. Headphones not supplied to reduce the benefit of them being available. Decent flow of drinks and reasonable food. The down was the quality of the lounge in Russia, very limited drinks, and being a Star Alliance Gold member was annoyed to be denied entry to the other lounges there.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  18 October 2008 : by S de Carteret

I fly BMI from Jersey to LHR for business on a weekly basis and a frequent flyer member. Last night for some reason although I checked in online the website said it was unable to print my boarding pass. The tube was badly delayed due to an incident so I arrived only 30 minutes before departure. I pleaded with a noticeably unbusy member of BMI staff at the check in machines if she could help me get a boarding pass as I was on the 7 pm to Jersey. She replied "are you in business class?" I said no, economy. She turned her back on me and walked away as she barked "Zone B". Totally ungracious, unhelpful and uncaring. An appalling reflection on BMI. Fortunately the delightful girl behind customer services took pity on me and handwrote a boarding pass so I was able to make my flight and get home to my two very young children. The rest of the flight was good but this one incident stands out in my mind and I could so easily have missed it.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  15 October 2008 : by R Moss

Heathrow-Edinburgh-Heathrow Economy. Had to communicate by telephone to BMI to make reservations. Not a pleasant experience with this call or previous calls. Command of the English Language is weak in most cases. When I had to make a reservation change, they tried to charge me for change fee and total cost of new ticket. Check in staff at Heathrow some of the rudest I have ever encountered. One hour flight was ok and cabin was well maintained. I found economy seat to be more comfortable than Virgin Premium Economy, although less seat pitch.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  15 October 2008 : by D Ward

LHR-ABZ-LHR economy and LHR-AMS-LHR economy. ABZ flight was on small Embraer aircraft with only 49 seats - legroom was fine for a short flight. Flight ahead of schedule on both legs and service was efficient and friendly. AMS flight was on a very busy airbus. Aircraft was clean and service again friendly and efficient. Both flights departed and arrived ahead of schedule. Have used bmi on several occasions for business in the last year and good value for money.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review :  11 October 2008 : by D Hagan

LHR-BHD return. If you are a business traveller that travels on e tickets booked directly by your company you may find this article of value. Be aware that BMI now offers lounge access on some premium economy fully flexible tickets on domestic routes. This is not explained at check in, so maybe some BMI staff aren't aware of this either. The only reason I found this out was that I had a complimentary BMI lounge voucher that had been presented on a previous flight. Diamond club members "Blue Plus", can qualify for these on some flights. When I presented the lounge voucher to BMI staff at the lounge on another flight, I was informed my ticket type, premium economy, already allowed me lounge access and I should keep the Voucher for lounge access on an economy ticket that didn't qualify. .

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 9 October 2008 : by William Hill

Trip Rating : 2/5

BHD-LHR-BHD Economy. When travelling economy with Bmi you are made well aware of it by the treatment you receive, not so much as a cup of tea and very unfriendly, stern FAs. I wish there was some competition on the Belfast/Heathrow route. Easyjet provide a far superior service than this airline, but bmi is slightly better than Ryanair.

bmi BRITISH MIDLAND review : 22 September 2008 : by R Ryun

Trip Rating : 4/5

Chicago-Manchester return business class. Crew was upbeat, friendly, and attentive - meal outbound was the best I've had on an airplane. Service manager introduced himself to each customer in the business cabin. I'm not too pleased with the width of the business seats but the lay-flat configuration is superior to the Lufthansa or United products. Return flight almost as good but the food wasn't as good (but still better than LH or UA). Sat on the bulkhead - tons of room to get in and out - no screen on the bulkhead, so they give you a personal DVD player (horrible selection- 10 really bad movies!). Because of this "inconvenience," they give you a 25 pound credit for inflight duty free shopping.