Bmi to operate ghost flights as industry braces for tough winter
Bmi has admitted that it will fly almost-empty planes out of Heathrow in a bid to retain its coveted airport slots.
The carrier has told The Times that rather than cancel flights as the credit crunch and high fuel costs deplete passenger numbers, it will operate “ghost flightsâ€.
The airline’s deputy chief executive Tim Bye told the paper that he would prefer to cancel the uneconomic flights, usually those in the middle of the day from London to the North of England and Scotland, but that he had to fly that service four fifths of the time under the “use it or lose it” rules.
Green campaigners have called the practise “environmental vandalism†but industry insiders say near-empty flights are not unusual and most carriers will be forced to make similar management decisions this winter.
By Dinah Hatch
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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