bmi British Midland review - by Jon Earnshaw
20 March 2007

LHR-LBA. Checked in on-line, bag dropped off at the bag-drop and in the Bmi Diamond Club lounge within 10mins. The lounge upstairs at T1 Heathrow had the usual drinks selection - cheese, crackers, nuts and crisps the main food items. Boarded the Embraer 145 for the 45mins flight to Leeds - the crew were not overly friendly and spent 25mins of the flight talking in the gallery area - they only came round with drinks/snacks to purchase once we had started our descent into Leeds!! The Embraer is not that comfortable and the legroom was tight - the flight was really uneventful and arrived into Leeds on time. No frills all the way now on Bmi, though I understand this is changing for Diamond Club members from April - so we'll see how this works. Its great that the airline appears to be admitting, via the back-door that it was wrong to treat its most loyal passengers in the way they did - when they scrapped Business Class on most of its LHR flights.

bmi British Midland review - by Jon Earnshaw
3 March 2007

LBA-LHR. Arrived at LBA at 1700 for my 1840 flight having checked in on- line - had one hold bag and was kept waiting 20mins in the bag-drop zone as one check-in agent trying to help numerous customers on her own. This wait really defeats the object of online check in. Once at the desk, I was processed within a minute and the agent was friendly though provided no directions to the lounge even though I am Star Alliance Gold member. Enjoyed the Servisair lounge at LBA that Bmi use. Only 47 passengers on a new A319 which was smart. The flight is only 45minutes and cabin crew offer drinks and snacks to purchase, shame they had run out of sandwiches. Arrived into London at 1940 and had my luggage and was out of the airport by 1955 which must be a record on a Friday night. Good practical service, with no frills but a few smiles along the way.

bmi British Midland review - by Charles Smith
27 February 2007

London to Amsterdam. We flew the day the snows hit the South of England which meant most flights suffered delays and cancellations - ours being no exception. We were advised by the BMI service desk in departures that our flight had indeed been cancelled and to proceed back to baggage reclaim and then the ticket desk in departures to negotiate rebooking. Other passengers were screaming on mass at the staff manning the BMI baggage servie counter. Forseeing long queues ahead, I called BMI Diamond Club while waiting at reclaim and secured seats for may party later that day. Due to the many flight cancellations and lack of available seats, we were upgraded to Premium Economy at no extra charge. This proved to be a wise move as the queue for the ticket desk in departures snaked around the crowded terminal which we were then able to avoid. We were able to use the premium check in area where new boarding passes were issued and we were also checked in for our return journey. While the service on board remained the same "pay for all" affair, we were seated towards the front of the aircraft. Premium Economy also allowed us use of the BMI business lounge which proved invaluable during the delay. Complimentary drinks and snacks in quiet calm surroundings. In my experience you tend to get a lot further with an airline when things go wrong when you adopt a calm, polite and considerate approach to staff who are trying helping you. Delays must be their nightmare just as much as they are the travelling publics.

bmi British Midland review - by Charles Smith
26 February 2007

London Heathrow to Amsterdam using tiny and baby fares. A mixture of reservations made online and through a travel agent. Checked in online approx 12hrs prior departure to secure seats. Managed to secure seat assignments with interactive seating plans for the tiny fares booked through my travel agent, however no choice given for baby fares booked online for my friends where seat numbers were automatically assigned. Interesting point to consider is that the tiny fares were only GBP5 more expensive than the baby fares and allow the enhanced feature of selecting seating and enhanced frequent traveller mileage accrual. For those who have posted previously outraged by BMI's inflexibilty, this may be of use to you in future.

bmi British Midland review - by J Clement
26 February 2007

LHR-CDG. Flew bmi as part of a Star Alliance round the world ticket. Was able to check in through business class as United Silver flyer. Was told at check in that we would have to pay excess baggage as we were carrying two bags each. I explained that we contacted bmi in the US before departing and was told that as a round the world ticket holder, we were entitled to the piece concept, and packed accordingly. After making an enquiry, the check in clerk confirmed our understanding and we were checked in. Flight itself on A320 which was only about 10% full - staff were friendly. Drinks offered for charge on board, which we declined. Overall, OK experience.

bmi British Midland review - by Colm Connolly
13 February 2007

LHR-DUB-LHR recently in C class. Very disappointing. For £400, you really expect more. First time on bmi since 2004, when I stopped flying due to diminishing service. Only flew them this time due to possibility of BA strike. Booking was a chore, as the site repeatedly rejected my attempts to enter my VS frequent flyer number. Telephone helpline in India less than useful, and cold to the point of being totally without any customer service ethos. Lounges are sufficient, but diminished from what they used to be. Boarding and service was ok outbound, with a hot- breakfast-in-a-plastic-bowl bento box. However, nothing was offered beverage wise apart from tea or coffee. Not great for those who don't drink either. Return journey was disappointing. DUB lounge staffed by disinterested ground handling staff. No snacks of any kind apart from biscuits. Loud TV with sport on it which was quite disturbing. I realise another passenger turned it up, but the lounge attendant could have made some effort to stop the noise. However, she was more interested in sending texts on her mobile and gossiping with her off-duty friend, who was perched on the desk. Cabin was full when flight boarded, with lots of positioning crew. FA seemed more interested in having a chat with of- duty staff than sorting out cabin for departure. Service was good, but minimal - a small sandwich (which bmi used serve up, for free, in economy) and a banana (again, I don't eat them so that didn't help). Not fantastic when you haven't eaten since early morning. Baggage handling in Heathrow terrible - took 40 minutes for my "priority" bag to be delivered. All in all, a stark reminder of why I don't bother flying bmi anymore. BA from Gatwick is a much better option, especially in Club Europe (nicer lounges, better onboard service and for a much more favourable price). I know which one I'll be choosing.

bmi British Midland review - by C O'Reilly
7 February 2007

DUB-LHR-DUB. If you have luggage for the hold, you cannot use Online Checkin on this Route. As Partner and Self had luggage and were on bmibaby fare (bmi flight), had to use the Self-Service Check In at DUB. Arrived in plenty of time for flight, but were allocated seats in different parts of plane. Did not notice until we were getting on flight, and then assumed that this must be because plane was full. But No, my Partner had a free seat next to him. There were numerous other couples separated on the flight, even though some of them had free middle seats next to them. Same separation on the Return Flight, but this time the flight was full. What are bmi up to? It would have cost us 48euro to be able to choose our seats (next fare level up) This is the worst charge of all, and if you don't, they don't even sit you together! I am going back to AerLingus and the oneworld alliance, after this. Aer Lingus lets you pick your seat, when you purchase your ticket, and it costs nothing!

bmi British Midland review - by Rajni Kaur
1 January 2007

Absolutely horrific experience. Dealing with this airline was a nightmare even before the travel started. They cancelled all their flights from London to Mumbai and were not accommodating at all in the rescheduling process. Phone call after phone call and very rude reservations department still did not get us on the flights we needed. The rescheduling they were doing meant 16 hours at the Mumbai airport and another 16 hours at the London airport before we can make it home. When asked to be placed on another airline, they refused to help! We are now stuck running around the airport to get our flights rescheduled. If possible avoid flying on this airline!

bmi British Midland review - by Eric Winters
27 December 2006

I use bmi Premium Economy Manchester to Chicago regularly. The lounges at MAN and ORD have friendly staff, good selection of food and drinks and plenty of space. Onboard you get a soft drink before departure and the normal bar service after departure. Dinner with a reasonable choice. The main course is an economy meal, a starter, cheese and ice cream or dessert. Staff attentive and courteous. After the meal, they drop off some water and disappear, but if you want to drink through the journey they show up if you press the button. On the way out there's a toasted sandwich and small cakes for tea. On the way back breakfast is a hot breakfast item eg. a bacon, egg and tomato roll etc, fruit juice, croissants, tea or coffee.

bmi British Midland review - by Tony Wood
20 December 2006

Delays and total incompetence should be their motto. My flight to Cork was cancelled, we were then shipped from pillar to post with no explanations. When we collected our baggage we had to queue for several hours and in the end I gave up. When I tried to phone to find out how to change my flights I was put on hold for 30 minutes and then told I could not transfer the flight to 18 days later and would have to rebook and be given a refund on my existing tickets, they insisted on doing the additional admin rather than making things easier!

bmi British Midland review - by Tim Short
17 December 2006

LHR-GLA twice in last two weeks, both times flexible econ (c.£300 each). Queues at LHR now under control. Very friendly staff in Diamond Club lounge at LHR, less so in GLA. Both flights ex-LHR late. On one occasion being made to board, close doors, move airbridge to be told by pilot we weren't moving for at least 45mins due to ATC. Why can't they leave you in the lounge? Friendly crew on all flights, though not much for them to do in the back - amazed they don't even supply soft drinks free.

bmi British Midland review - by Mark Simons
10 December 2006

LHR-BRU. Outbound flight delayed 1.5 hours with not a single announcement made. There was then one member of staff to board the entire aircraft. In BRU I checked status of return flight at 17.30 via live departures board on the internet - my return flight had been cancelled. I phoned BMI who advised it had not but then went to check and came back to confirm it had! This was at 14.45 and BMI advised that they had re-booked me on the 15.10!! I was not allowed to be re-booked on the phone and was told I would have to go back to the airport. To be fair, they booked me on to a BA flight very courteously but some of the earlier failings were somewhat off-putting

bmi British Midland review - by R Meredith
25 November 2006

I want to commend one of the flyBMI phone staff for great service this month. Having missed our flight due to traffic problems, we were quickly and simply booked on the next flight with BMI since mine and my boyfriend's tickets were non-changeable. I kept the receipts and then called the customer help desk later that week to ask for the airport tax to be refunded on the first set of flights since this only needs to be paid once (when you actually use the flight). BMI usually charge an admin fee of £25 to do this but this was almost equal to the amount of airport tax on one ticket so the member of staff agreed to waive the fee and refund taxes on both tickets. Service was quick, efficient and made up for missing our first set of flights!

bmi British Midland review - by Barry J Hodge
22 November 2006

GLA-LHR return to connect with other flights - Business class. A bit disappointing. I used to use BMI all the time and what a change. A 'doorstep' sandwich on way to London and little in the form of a smile. On the return I couldn't get seats at the front as they were blocked. They were - by deadheading crews. Only two regular passengers, the rest were BMI employees in uniform. And to add insult to injury we all had to wait while they got their baggage together (I bet I couldn't have taken a bag that big as hand baggage) before we were able to disembark. Not sure I'll repeat it in a hurry.

bmi British Midland review - by Keith Fairbairn
17 November 2006

Premium Economy Manchester to Chicago, return Washington to Manchester. Seats were extremely uncomfortable, very disappointed as we had previously heard good reports. Neither flight more than 50% full in PE but cabin service very slow - staff decided to stand and chat with passengers rather than serve us food and drinks. No offers of water during flights.

bmi British Midland review - by Chris Cotton
15 November 2006

Man-Ord Premium Economy. Simply put, this airline does not deserve the 4 star ranking for the Premium Economy. I had nothing but problems with the call centre, they simply refused to change a ticket date, when it was a fully changeable ticket. Their excuse they could not find the fare rules, although it clearly states on the BMI web site ticket is changeable after departure. I finally had to ring BMI Man desk to get them to change the ticket. The service on board was not premium service. They have cut the amount of staff down from 12 to 9 on this service, and it shows in their service. On the outward journey, cabin staff were less than great. They simply did the bare essentials and then disappeared for 5 hours. No bottles of water were handed out. The free wine, a perk of premium economy was the cheapest plonk. The seat is the exact same as economy, old and uncomfortable, after 4 hours I was in pain. Many of he seat back screens did not work. Staff not bothered by this. The food was the exact same as economy. I could not see what you pay an extra £500 for. Coming back was slightly different, the Chief Steward was sympathetic to the many problems that occurred to my seat reservation, but could do nothing about it. BMI disallows the Chief Steward to upgrade Premium Economy passengers into Business class, even though my seat reservation was not honoured. They had to upgrade a number of economy passengers, as economy was overbooked. Breakfast was a blueberry muffin and a coffee, I still cannot believe they have the nerve to charge £900 and give you a muffin for breakfast. Quite frankly, I would never grace this airline again. Premium Economy is simply not premium service anymore. It does not compare to BA or United seats. It simply is not worth £900. I will be looking at other airlines from now on.

bmi British Midland review - by Jon Earnshaw
15 November 2006

Manchester-Bridgetown return in Premium Economy. Checked in at Manchester on the first day of the new security measures and what chaos, the line through security merged with the line to check in and it took over 60mins to check in and get through security. Once in the Bmi lounge, I enjoyed a drink, the food selection in the Bmi lounges is fast disappearing - only crackers and cheese at 1030am!! I last flew Premium Economy in 2003. Onboard, the crew seemed uninterested and though professional, were not overly friendly. We were provided a plastic cup of water or juice before take-off, no newspaper and no menu card. Once in the air, complimentary drinks were provided once, no refills and lunch was a small salad with thousand island dressing served in a plastic cup, beef with potatoes and vegetables, ice-cream, cheese/crackers and a bread-roll- the meal was tasty but just too small. Coffee (one serving) was served after the meal. A bottle of water was provided for the rest of the flight - no more drinks until about an hour before arrival when a sandwich and a small chocolate bar were served in a paper bag. The premium economy seat has 38" of legroom, is is not that wide, and was uncomfortable. The return flight I attempted to get into the Caribbean Lounge at Barbado - the lounge is only accessible before security and as I had already passed through security, it was not posisble to go back. Onboard, a newspaper was provided, a plastic cup of water or juice and a menu food options. The crew were professional but seemed distant and were unfriendly. Drinks provided after take-off and were refilled without asking, more than once and dinner was served. A very light breakfast of a blueberry muffin, small fresh fruit cup and juice was served about an hour before arrival. The Bmi Premium Economy product needs refreshing, and the seat needs to be updated to a wider more comfortable seat. The Bmi product suffers from inconsistency which is a shame and the attitude of some of the cabin crew also let's the airline down - the Bmi of a few years ago prided itself on excellent cabin service, and the airline has cost-cut so much that its staff no longer have any faith in the product they are expected to provide.

bmi British Midland review - by Sandra Collyns
1 November 2006

LHR - MAN for £26.10. I was on a very early flight at 0700, so had to get up very early, but it meant that Heathrow was very quiet and empty when I was there. There were only about 30 people on this flight, so i had a row to myself. The seats were very comfortable, FA's smiling and friendly, and who needs food on a 35 minute flight if it means paying less for the ticket? (I also liked the self check in machines, which are very easy to use.)

bmi British Midland review - by Gerard Denneny
27 October 2006

I fly BMI about 12 times a year and up until this year used to enjoy flying them always. The defrilled rude BMI is altogther a different and dissappointing experience ,however I do find that the fares in general have got more competitive. The most frustrating part for me at present is that despite always prsenting my UA FF card at check in - the miles never reach my account entailing a lengthy process in order to retro credit the mileage. In conclusion will continue to fly them as unfortunately in todays airline world they now blend in.

bmi British Midland review - by John Maley
22 October 2006

Glasgow to Heathrow in Business. I am a Star Alliance Gold Member with this airline but tend to travel on Star Alliance Partners more. I have been more and more concerned when I do fly with them about the poor level of service over the last few years as they seek to offer low cost fares and also a business class service. I flew with them on Sunday 15 October. I was at the airport early around 6am for the 7:25AM flight BD19. I checked in and went to the lounge. At 7:10 I asked about boarding and was told the flight was delayed to 8:10AM due to the crew being over their duty time and needing to rest. We actually boarded at about 8:15 and took off at 8:40, we were originally scheduled to arrive in Heathrow about this time. What was particularly annoying was that nobody apologised for the flight being late. Even better the Capt announces as we boarded that he was hoping for an "on time departure", that was tough at 8:15 when we were supposed to leave at either 7:25 or 8:10. When I asked the Cabin Service Manager what was happening she confirmed it was the same flight but the Capt was referring to the time the crew were working off not what the passengers had been told - a truly classic insight into how this crew viewed the customers. She explained the crew had come in late the night before due to fog at Heathrow and so they had to rest later. The reason the last point is important is that at check-in they must have known the flight was going to be late and could have put me on the earlier but did not offer this to me. I had a meeting in Heathrow which I did not make as I had to go straight to my SQ flight to Asia. What made this worse was that they would not check my luggage through and I had to pick them up at Heathrow and take them to Terminal 3, apparently if you have two separate tickets they cannot through check the luggage, even though both airlines are Star Alliance Members. The final fantastic piece was we were told we had to disembark the plane by the rear door using stairs and then onto a bus. Again no apology or reason was offered and those of us in the Business Class cabin were last to get off. My advice to anyone who is travelling in the UK and needs to connect to an international flight is avoid BMI, they cannot make up their mind what sort of airline they are and at least British Airways understands many of their passengers are being taken to a hub to fly internationally and will make every effort to get you there earlier.

bmi British Midland review - by Derek Adams
15 October 2006

BHD-LHR. What a farce! Firstly the self check-in machine was faulty. On pointing this out to a ground staff member he virtually punched the touch screen and then gave me a look as if I was the stupid one!. Lounge at BHD was pleasant, take off on time. Crew seemed more interested in selling atrocious tasting "coffee" and then selling train tickets to central London! On arrival at LHR the parking guidance system was down. Hardly the Airlines fault. Then the airbridge wouldn't work either and passengers had to disembark through rear steps. Baggage took almost as long as the 50 minute flight. BMI really have to sort out their new "package' - still no inter-lining of Star Alliance Members baggage unless single ticketed. Baggage can be sent (Via Star Alliance carriers) all around the world by Star Alliance carriers but BMI passengers first have to lug their own baggage from T1 to T3 ar LHR.

bmi British Midland review - by Dave Houlihan
12 October 2006

I concur with Bill mountains comment in regards to no flexibility. I had arrived early at Lhr for flight to Dub as meeting was cancelled and gave me 5 hours to wait . There was a flight going in 90 minutes and I asked could I go standby, I am a silver card member and had paid full fare, to be told a flat no. I asked why - no sir. Is the flight full - no its half full. Why cant I go on this flight - you just cant was the reply, unless you pay another full fare at 120 sterling. It was more the attitude which annoyed me with a total disinterest in even having to talk to me.

bmi British Midland review - by Gavin Stewart
12 October 2006

LBA-LHR on a packed Emb145. Normally quiet Sunday morning flight - crew caught out by gigantic wedding party of middle-aged Americans returning home. On boarding, we found to our dismay that 2 x said party had pinched our seats. Notified the FA of this, only to find that she'd moved them there herself! Apparently a mother and teenage daughter who couldn't bear to be separated. Well, fine, but we have a 4 year old toddler, that's why we bagged these seats online. Madame would not budge however. FA stood there smiling, apparently dumbstruck. At which point a kindly UK couple, overhearing the situation, got up and swapped so at least wife + toddler could stay together. Don't mean to be a pain, but what are you going to do, sit a 4 year old by themselves in row Z? What bothers me is deficient behavour or the FA. Passengers swapping seats, fine, just wait till the plane is fully boarded. FA was lovely girl, but poor attitude, poor training - start with the basics, no? EMB145 is a bit cramped to start playing musical chairs on such a short leg - especially before it's left the ground!

bmi British Midland review - by Bill Mountain
10 October 2006

I used to fly BMI all the time between Paris and London and do this route maybe 20 times a year return, and travelled wherever possible with the star alliance. Was a happy client and well looked after. Things started to change last August when they went low cost. Having just had a very expensive experience with them regarding a mistyped name on a booking and their intransigent attitude towards changing it (not possible at all, even if charged) I've taken a deep breath and spent a lot of money on buying a third ticket (for two passengers) as a schedule had to be adhered to. But their inflexibility has lost them a customer who was a frequent flier and ensured that I'll be avoiding them unless impossible not to in the future. An object lesson in alienating a loyal customer.

bmi British Midland review - by Simon Downham
10 October 2006

LHR-EDI-LHR. Never again! Check in quick and easy and as an Amex cardholder I can use the BMI lounges. Lounge at LHR is okay as I just wanted a coffee as it was early morning. Having checked in online I was a bit annoyed to find I was in the last row. Why? No crew in cabin during boarding. They were standing in the back galley chatting and having tea or coffee. Apparently BMI is not a good company to work for, BA is much better! Not a very professional attitude. After take off service was very slow ( okay, flight was full) but crew were very surly and BMI charge for everything on board, even coffee. If they want to act like a low cost airline they might at least charge low cost fares. I will stick to BA from now.

bmi British Midland review - by Jonathan Marshall
30 September 2006

LHR-RUH. Disappointing that BMI use an old 767 leased from TUI on this route, no personal entertainment system just old style TV screens hung from ceiling (non of which I could see from my seat), aircraft seemed tatty. Hopefully BMI will see sense and introduce new aircraft on this route soon.

bmi British Midland review - by Alan Wan
24 September 2006

MAN to LHR on BMI regional on an EMB 145. Flight left on time and arrived 20 minutes early. Two FA's on board this small plane but served drinks quickly and were friendly. OVerall great flight for £32.

bmi British Midland review - by Dave Houlihan
22 September 2006

LHR -DUB. Business lounge relaxed and plenty of beverages - no food. Staff friendly. Staff attentive and friendly meal was ok, I see BMI are going the healthy route with fresh salad and fruit salad and cheese n crackers, drinks offered twice. Overall a good business product, if not a bit pricey at 250. One thing which does annoy me though and it has been mentioned before is the check in , why use the self check in when you have to go and queue for ever, to drop your bag, could not see any business check in open?

bmi British Midland review - by J Delaney
16 September 2006

Dublin to London Heathrow on a A321. Plane looked tired and old. Seats not that comfortable. One FA near us was more interested in himself than the passengers. Glad it was a short flight. Was in plenty of time for our connecting flight

bmi British Midland review - by Christina Berrick
16 September 2006

Business class EDI-MAN. The business lounge was clean and well stocked, actual flight was fairly short but business class passengers were well looked after being offered a drink from the bar plus sandwich, scone and chocolste with a wet towel - plus a sweetie for landing! The only thing I must complain about is check in, whenever I fly with bmi whether economy or business I find check in a disaster, there are no separate queues for business class and if you use the self service check in you are then supposed to be able to go directly to bag drop, more often than not I find there is no separate bag drop and you end up queing up in the check in queue thus defeating the purpose of self service check in!!

bmi British Midland review - by Angela Small
13 September 2006

LHR-EDI-LHR Economy. Very efficient and helpful check-in - I went through LHR in the middle of the security scare with full cabin baggage restrictions in place and got through in record time both times. Both flights left on time. I’m glad I chose to fly bMI rather than any of the budget airlines. Only whinge is that the inflight food is expensive, but who really cares for shorthaul?

bmi British Midland review - by Pauline Nicholas
9 September 2006

MAN-ORD April this year. Nice clean plane. FAS very nice and attentive. IFE very good. Food quite good (as far as airline food can be). Loved the footrests - helped make the long journey more confortable. Pleasantly surprised and will fly with them again (as long a the connection is not with United Airlines - they are terrible)

bmi British Midland review - by David Stephenson
6 September 2006

I'm constantly shuttling between London and Glasgow and every now and again use bmi. They are going to have to work harder to compete with the quality of BA's product - free food and drink on BA, everything chargeable on bmi unless you pay an extortionate business class fare at about £300 return. There are other good alternatives too - air berlin to STN provides free snack and is reasonably cheap and efficient - only drawback is the timing of its services. bmi crews are usually very good, friendly and efficient; check-in is reasonably swift and services are punctual and seats pretty comfortable. The one thing that keeps me flying with them is the availability of UA frequent flyer miles on standard economy tickets - but they do need to work harder to compete. The lack of food is a real minus!

bmi British Midland review - by Sheena Patel
26 August 2006

EDI-LHR. A disgraceful service to customer as the airline merged two morning flights into one. I am sure the later one is pretty empty and they keep delaying the flight until the two merged together. I miss my connecting flight because of the delay. I have complaint about it in the counter but nobody seems to bother.

bmi British Midland review - by Eric Bateman
22 August 2006

CPH-EDI 18th August. Full Embraer 145 so not too comfortable, but newspaper, bacon roll, cup of tea so pretty happy. Flight attendants actually smiled (in fairness they usually do on this route) so generally a pleasant experience and great value for money.

bmi British Midland review - by J Modi
12 August 2006

LHR-BOM Economy class as a connecting flight from Philadelphia. Check in easy in spite of flight being full. The seats were broad and comfortable though a little rigid. Inflight food great. The personal IFE options were great, but location of IFE box below the seat was uncomfortable for the legs. FAs were warm but didn't find them very professional. Not a bad option - for its cost.

bmi British Midland review - by Peter Cookson
3 August 2006

For £50 per person, 4 of us have just flown LHR - INV return. Checkin at both airports was fine, I quite like the self service machines at Heathrow and if you can use a cash point you can use the self service machines! The flight itself was good, I also don't mind paying for coffee, especially when the fare is so cheap. The handling agents at Inverness were very good. My mother is disabled and the ground staff at Inverness and the crew were faultless, all flights on time, what more could you ask for? I would choose BMI again with no hesitation.

bmi British Midland review - by Peter Hawley
14 July 2006

LHR-ALC. We use BMI to ALC a lot. Find their ground handling is excellent. My partner is registered disabled and we always find some kind and helpful agent to help us avoid that panic with those self check-in machines. However cabin service wise, this can be the luck of the draw. Either they are excellent or totally disinterested. Surely it is BMI Management who need to address this issue. The cabin crews really do not like reducing their once excellent service to a "Sell a sandwich and £3 for a can of lager". It is quite obvious by some of their crews. One thing - extra padding on those Airbus 319/320/321 seats as your bottom gets numb, very quickly !!

bmi British Midland review - by Jonathan Reed
8 July 2006

LAS-MAN-LAS Business class. I chose bmi because it was non-stop from Las Vegas to England and it had discount business class seats if bought well in advance. The 60 inch pitch business class seats as good as any of this pitch I have flown and food service as good as any other business class I have experienced. FAs were very attentive and helpful. Passengers each have their own movies screen and there are a number of movie channels but movies can not be started and stopped by passengers so in this latter regard they are behind some other airlines. My United Mileage Plus account was credited for my bmi flights within a few days of each flight. Everything efficient from e-tickets to check in.

bmi British Midland review - by Lisa Hams
1 July 2006

Having read many of these comments I am shocked and quite sad about the apparent decline in bmi standards. I worked for the company in the British Midland days and was proud to do so. The airline was frequently praised for the professionalism of the crews and the standards of service provided. If you worked as cabin crew for BM, you were almost guaranteed a job with any other airline. I am planning a trip to the north east with my young sons and thought it would be ideal to "fly bmi". After reading these comments I shall now suffer the 5-6 hour drive instead.

bmi British Midland review - by Tanya Bailey
1 July 2006

MAN-ORD. Booked PE for the supposedly better service and seats. Seats were as narrow as economy & not very well padded, but leg room was a lot better at 38". It would be better off being described as enhanced economy as it does not compare to Virgin or BA's service. Food is the same as coach but we served first by a pleasant crew member who never seemed to take a break during the flight. Food was inedible and the best choice seemed to be sausage & mash which was over spiced and over heated. Good choice of wines and plenty of water was handed out during the flight. Had to ask for an amenity kit as they are not given out to customers on MAN-ORD, only on the homeward journey. Entertainment was good with plenty of choice but each seat now has a box in front of it decreasing foot width of the seat.

bmi British Midland review - by Andrew Baxter
24 June 2006

Las Vegas to Manchester round trip in economy. Inbound to MAN, plane full, but service good. Food edible, plenty of bottled water handed out along with amenity kits and menus. Pleasantly surprised to have footrests in economy. Return flight less than half full, very pleasant flight.

bmi British Midland review - by Mark Freyton
21 June 2006

London - Manchester return. Out with BMI - in common with many posters here I am so upset that BMI have got so bad that I cannot face another flight with them. This trip was last minute, but actually got an okay fare on line, although BA beat the fare by £3 on the return! Legroom awful, crew indifferent. Overall the BMI service was unpolished, unprofessional, and truly had a nasty low cost feel about it. BA however was cheaper and free drinks, nice sandwich, and a smiley happy bunch of crew to top it all off - maybe this is why the BMI flight was half empty whilst the BA one was completely full.

bmi British Midland review - by Mike Preston
21 June 2006

Check in at LHR for an early morning LHR-NCE. Long queues for the 'self service' check-in, where several (helpful and patient) BMI staff are helping passengers to use the machines, then long queues for the subsequent 'bag drop' where the process took as long as a conventional check-in. I cannot believe that this cumbersome and inefficient process is saving BMI money and it is certainly losing customer goodwill. This is just one of many complaints I have about this previously excellent airline which has now gone to the dogs. How sad.

bmi British Midland review - by Nigel Bolton
18 June 2006

Manchester-Antigua. Flew BMI with family,4 young children, to Antigua. Promised modern Airbus plane with full at seat in flight entertainment, this was non existent. Plane was ancient 767 on loan from European company TUI. Only inflight entertainment was old style tv's hung from ceiling. Children were very disappointed and led to very stressful flight for my wife and myself. Seating not as advertised with old fashioned basic seats. If I had known this before I would not have booked with BMI. Airlines should not be allowed to advertise a level of service and then not provide it. Our letter of complaint received a weak apology from BMI. As a long standing Silver Diamond club member I will be sticking to Virgin and BA in future. The quicker Lufthansa utilise their option to buy out BMI the better.

bmi British Midland review - by David Pearce
18 June 2006

MAN-LHR Economy Class. Checked in online the night before. Once at the airport I had to use the bag drop for my checked baggage. Rather confusingly (and defeating the purpose of the online check-in) my boarding pass I printed out at home was taken from me and I was given a conventional boarding pass instead. The flight was on time and was uneventful, however it took a good 45 minutes for my bag to be delivered at LHR.

bmi British Midland review - by Colin West
10 June 2006

GLA-MAN Business Class. Took at least six attempts to check in on line - and even then the process did not complete. Arrived at the airport - Fast Bag Drop position unmanned, joined Business Class line to find it full of Economy Class - and ground staff pushing other Economy Class passengers to front of Business Class line. Finally get on board to be given a pre-printed postcard to 'apologise' for the lack of any catering on board - the fact that the card had been pre-printed suggests that this is a regular occurrence. One week after the flight I have had no response to the completed card (which is apparently sent to bmi's Customer Relations) or to the additional comments form I completed - and my frequent flier miles haven't been credited either - could it be because I used capital letters which bmi maybe don't understand - or is it, more likely, that they are such an unprofessional outfit that they couldn't care anyway. BA Connect may be bad but on this route the competition is worse!

bmi British Midland review - by Richard Ashton
1 June 2006

Do BMI think that many of the travelling public are at best ignorant or possibly plain stupid? There I am, looking for a cheap seat London to Barbados and I find a nice offer from BMI at £277. Very good I thought. I had paid £299 to Virgin last year for the same flight but I know prices have gone up and even charter flights this year are around the £350 all-in mark. Click forward, select final dates and times and click for total price and suddenly plus£143.00 for "Taxes AND Sep 11th Security Charge". If there's one thing I hate, it's being taken for a fool. Airport charges - they maybe could get away with £30 with a contribution to an extra insurance policy to cover security issues at, say, another £20. But to try to get away with virtually triple that - I'm sorry BMI, but I'm not that much of a simpleton.

bmi British Midland review - by R Nathan
1 June 2006

GLA-CPH-GLA. Never again on BMI, rather go thu Amsterdam or London. On this route I pay top fare for Business, in order to ensure I get my bags on the Embraer. Get on the aircraft and the cabin crew baggage is taking up all the overhead space for the front rows. I mentioned to the cabin crew, that fare paying passengers should maybe get the overhead space, and was rebuffed, and made to feel secondary, to the requirements of the cabin crew.

bmi British Midland review - by Neil Ramsay
1 June 2006

MAN-ORD in economy. Took advantage of the night before check in which was a rather drawn out process but we were assured by the pleasant check in staff it was a lot better than facing the crowds next day. Departure was delayed 90 minutes due to a technical problem but they made up substantial time on the trip across. Seating at the rear of the Airbus was in 2-3-2 configuration and was quite comfortable with reasonable legroom. Toilets were clean and quite spacious. Maybe 4 of them is not enough for the rear section of the aircraft as there was always a queue. IFE was adequate with a good selection of movies. Food was acceptable but alcoholic drink prices are a rip off. GBP3 for a 330mL can of Carlsberg? You can get a pint of the same beer in a London pub for GBP2.50! And converted into $A you could buy 4 full size cans at home. Apart from that minor irritant, plane was clean and service was good natured and efficient.

bmi British Midland review - by Jeanette Smith
29 May 2006

EDI-BRU. Regional service EMB 135. I thought the service was sensational only one flight attendant who was helpful and attentive. bmi regional crew tend to be more pleasant than their mainline service. Seat comfortable and kept informed of time of arrival, weather etc in destination. Choice of panini good for time of day.

bmi British Midland review - by Mark Freyton
24 May 2006

London - Manchester. Been a while since I used bmi. Flight half empty but crew seemed to take ages to get to me with the snacks (all payable!). Seems really tight to charge for a diet coke and the crew seemed embarrassed by the procedure. On time though, tidy aircraft, though seat pitch was tighter than I remember. Return the next day with BA (same fare as BMI) was better, more legroom, and a nice sandwich and drink, all complimentary. First choice would be BA. Wish BMI would revert to previous levels of service.

bmi British Midland review - by Robert Bushby
21 May 2006

My wife and I flew with BMI from Heathrow to Aberdeen on 18 May and then back to Heathrow from Inverness. Fares were good value and an outbound early afternoon flight meant that T1 was quiet and stress-free. Staff, including ground handling agents were helpful and efficient, aircraft were clean and 60p for an in-flight Pepsi did not break the bank. As a relative new-comer to BMI I note the adverse comments of business travellers and club members about changes that have been made, but our 5 European and domestic flights with BMI on holiday in the past few months have been perfectly acceptable without denting my personal wallet as distinct from a company account.

bmi British Midland review - by Mike Langran
20 May 2006

EDI – CPH Business. Regional service in an Embraer 145. EDI lounge busy until the LHR flight called – still wish bmi would stock more appropriate snacks at breakfast time than they do in this and all their lounges, other Star Alliance lounges provide much better food and snacks. Only one in C on the way out - felt like an oddball with everyone else crammed in the back. Pleasant enough flight and service both ways. As BD Gold member I still try to remain loyal to bmi when I can - their interline rule really annoys me though - I frequently can't get a bmi connection on one ticket to the places I want to travel (even with Star Alliance) and lugging suitcases from T1 to T3 at LHR in particular is not my idea of fun, especially when travelling onwards on a Star Alliance C class flight. Would have thought they could have retained this for gold card holders at the very least.

bmi British Midland review - by Matt Parkinson
18 May 2006

LHR-BOM. I make this trip 4-5 times a year. Like others I'm frustrated by BMI's appalling service on the ground, but I'm happy to take advantage of the often empty business cabin on this route. The website is hopeless and priority baggage is a joke (my suitcase was last out the past 2 times to BOM and in the last few on my return) but I get a good rest, good food, and okay IFE. The major attraction is the generosity of the Diamond Club. Alter that and me and my GBP 30k a year airline spend are gone.

bmi British Midland review - by Dylan Bingham
15 May 2006

Leeds to LHR last Friday, last flight down for the day for BMI to LHR. Used web check-in with no hassles - only hand luggage so routine clearance of security at Leeds. Left 15 minutes late due to gate assignment problems and arrived about 5 minutes late due to congestion at LHR. Polite service that was more like an LCC rather than full service but fine for this very short sector. Interested to find more legroom than I expected (row 7) - better than Virginblue and Jetstar. Have used BMI previous to GLA (when they were still a full service carrier domestically) and will use again, although if you use public transport at both ends the train turns out to be quicker and cheaper when you factor in taxes. Ploy to make LHR eventually a 'Heavy' only zone?

bmi British Midland review - by Duncan Watt
6 May 2006

LHR-CDG, no problems at all with BMI, both flights on time and boarded at the appropriate time (i.e. they announced the gate 40 minutes before instead of the Terminal 1 usual of 3 minutes), the only thing I can complain about is being forced to use the self-check-in, then proceeding to the check-in desk to drop my baggage and being asked all the same questions that the computer asked me, what's the point? Maybe they need to justify spending all that money on those machines that don't actually save any time (with the exception of hand luggage only passengers, which I admit, the machines are useful for), anyway, good thing we're not forced to use them in CDG, flight back had only 35 people on an A319, so boarding was quick as was arrival, nothing special, but they do the job, and they do it cheaply and from Heathrow, so I'll be happy to use BMI again.

bmi British Midland review - by Alan Wan
8 April 2006

MAN-LHR. I fly this route regularly and this was the second trip in 4 weeks. The cost was 26GBP one way, so quite a bargain and cheaper than the train. The flight left and arrived on time, there was a swift beverage service which was fine for a 40 minute flight. I used the on- line check-in facility and that worked perfectly. I think the standards are just the way they used to be. The only difference is having to pay for your drinks.

bmi British Midland review - by Gary King
8 April 2006

My wife and I have just flown BMI from London to Naples and back. Its my first flight with BMI (British Midland) for many years. Check in at Heathrow was diabolical. Despite the fact that we had baggage to check I still had to use the self service machines to obtain boarding passes. Although we were booked on the same reservation code my wife and I were allocated separate seats, she was near the back and I was near the front. How crazy is that! However the check in girl did manage to seat us together. The flights were quite good, both in Airbus A320's. The aircraft used on the return flight was new and comfortable with quite good leg room - service was much friendlier than other low cost carriers we have used. Nothing is thrown in, you now pay cash for food and drinks. Through no fault of BMI's the return flight was delayed (French ATC problems) but the captain and crew gave no explanation until we were 30 minutes from London! When we arrived at the gate, one of a few remote ones at terminal one, there were no BMI ground crew waiting. It took over 20 minutes for people to arrive and attached the steps. Just what you need after a delayed flight. BMI have to remain competitive and as a result it seems the service quality has been reduced in return for lower fares.

bmi British Midland review - by Shaun Buchan
7 April 2006

MAN-ORD. Fly regularly on this route to visit family and from an economy point of view BMI are an excellent option to be considered. Food and in-flight service is generally excellent, although some attention to staff attitude wouldn't go amiss - that said, they are still far more friendly than BA staff who I use for business. Overall, basic economy fares represent excellent value on this route.

bmi British Midland review - by Marcus Richards
30 March 2006

It comes of no suprise to me that passenger numbers with BMI has fallen by 11%. I'm personally fed up with BMI and have just written my final letter of complaint to BMI but I am expecting the usual luke warm response. I will be flying BA in the future as the prices are similar but quality of service superior. One particular thorn in my side is the BMI website which now has been undergoing maintenance for some months now. Being a frequent flyer I like to able to check that my points are added (especially as this often gets overlooked despite me regularly displaying my Diamond Club Card). I have tried to contact someone about this by telephone (Diamond Club, BMI tech support, both calls end up in India and so called Tech Support is definitely not Technical) and am always told that this will be resolved "in a few days". Nonsense! The website does not even incorporate a message that the site is under maintenance! Frankly, I have had enough!

bmi British Midland review - by Terry Nolan
30 March 2006

I was a regular BMI flier up until 2 months ago. The standards have dropped off at an incredible rate in the last 6 months, so much so that I don't bother checking their prices any more. BMI have switched to a new self check-in system whereby passengers are automatically given a seat - no choice is given. I have no problem with this except they fill the plane from the back rows forward. As a diligent flier I usually get to the airport with ample time to spare so when I pointed out how unjust it was to punish travellers by putting them at the back of the plane ground staff just shrugged their shoulders and recommended I "write a letter". I did this and got a response from BMI saying they would reply to my letter within 28 days - this was approximately 2 months ago. I can take the no-frills service (even though prices have not reflected the new service) & I can take surly ground staff but ignoring complaints takes the biscuit.

bmi British Midland review - by Jon Earnshaw
26 March 2006

MAN-ORD Business Class. Arrived very early for my 1045 flight at 0800 and was checked in without any fuss by a very rude Bmi ground agent. Even though I was travelling business, she told me that I would need to show my Bmi/Star Alliance Gold Card to gain entry to the lounge. Globeground lounge was busy and offered the usual snacks and drinks. Once airborne lunch of Duck Spring Rolls with Hoisin sauce, Chicken with a delicious red wine risotto, Sticky Toffee pudding with ice cream was provided. My wine glass was never empty. I hit a small problem when later in the flight I asked for some ice-cream and the In Flight Supervisor commented "you'll be lucky" and went off to see if she could arrange some for me, it did arrive but was like chocolate sauce, not living up to its name as ice cream from the anytime menu! She delivered the ice cream with remarks "you wanted it, you get it" -on this I spoke with the Cabin Services Manager who apologised and attempted to smooth the waters. This kind of service lets the airline down from someone who is loyal to them but I was happy the matter was quickly dealt with. A good flight generally, just let down and spoilt by a one rude member of staff.