What If?
bmi Still Existed?
In this harmless fun exercise, I take an educated guess at how the bmi group fleet might have developed had they not closed down.
Background
As most of you will know, the majority of bmi entered the history books in 2012, with the mainline division absorbed into British Airways and the low cost bmibaby division shut down. bmi regional survived and was rebranded as "flybmi" by new owners, before later merging with Loganair in 2015, although both continued to be run as separate airlines. In February 2019 flybmi was placed into administration and ceased operations, with Loganair taking on their fleet.
Prior to all of this, in October 2008 long-time majority owner Sir Michael Bishop exercised a "put option" that forced the sale of his 50% shareholding onto Lufthansa whether they liked it or not (they already owned 30%).
When you look at Lufthansa's portfolio of airlines, bmi seemed like the perfect fit, you would have expected Lufthansa to have made a go at turning the loss-making airline around, and a damn successful one at that. Alas not. With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been much better had Virgin Atlantic merged with bmi instead - they are known to have made two attempts, once in the early 2000s, then again when they tried to hijack IAG's acquisition from Lufthansa.
It's also worth noting that bmi in their latter years were suffering from an identity crisis; one minute the "British Midland" suffix was dropped, then it wasn't, then they were becoming low cost by dropping business class, then they were focusing on premium etc etc.
Aircraft Fleet
At the time of their takeover by British Airways, bmi's fleet consisted of the following:
| REG | A/C TYPE | OPERATOR | CONFIG | NOTES |
| Airbus A330-200: 2 | ||||
| G-WWBD | Airbus A330-243 | bmi British Midland | C42 Y156 | |
| G-WWBM | Airbus A330-243 | bmi British Midland | N/A | |
| Airbus A321-200: 7 | ||||
| G-MEDF | Airbus A321-231 | bmi British Midland | C31 Y118 | |
| G-MEDG | Airbus A321-231 | bmi British Midland | C31 Y118 | |
| G-MEDJ | Airbus A321-231 | bmi British Midland | C31 Y118 | |
| G-MEDL | Airbus A321-231 | bmi British Midland | C31 Y118 | |
| G-MEDM | Airbus A321-231 | bmi British Midland | C31 Y118 | |
| G-MEDN | Airbus A321-231 | bmi British Midland | C31 Y118 | |
| G-MEDU | Airbus A321-231 | bmi British Midland | C23 Y131 | |
| Airbus A320-200: 7 | ||||
| G-MEDH | Airbus A320-232 | bmi British Midland | C22 Y102 | |
| G-MEDK | Airbus A320-232 | bmi British Midland | C22 Y102 | |
| G-MIDO | Airbus A320-232 | bmi British Midland | C24 Y108 | |
| G-MIDS | Airbus A320-232 | bmi British Midland | Y162 | |
| G-MIDT | Airbus A320-232 | bmi British Midland | C20 Y108 | |
| G-MIDX | Airbus A320-232 | bmi British Midland | CY156 | |
| G-MIDY | Airbus A320-232 | bmi British Midland | C20 Y108 | |
| Airbus A319-100: 11 | ||||
| G-DBCA | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | CY130 | |
| G-DBCB | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | CY130 | |
| G-DBCC | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | CY130 | |
| G-DBCD | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | CY130 | |
| G-DBCE | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | CY130 | |
| G-DBCF | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | CY130 | |
| G-DBCG | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | Y144 | |
| G-DBCH | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | Y144 | |
| G-DBCI | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | Y144 | |
| G-DBCJ | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | Y144 | |
| G-DBCK | Airbus A319-131 | bmi British Midland | Y144 | |
| Boeing 737-300: 12 | ||||
| G-OBMP | Boeing 737-3Q8 | bmibaby | Y148 | "Robin Hood Baby" |
| G-ODSK | Boeing 737-37Q | bmibaby | Y148 | "Baby Dragon Fly" |
| G-OGBD | Boeing 737-3L9 | bmibaby | Y148 | "Little Duncan" |
| G-TOYD | Boeing 737-3Q8 | bmibaby | Y148 | "Surf's Up Baby" |
| G-TOYF | Boeing 737-36N | bmibaby | Y148 | "Rainbow Baby" |
| G-TOYG | Boeing 737-36N | bmibaby | Y148 | "Butterfly Baby" |
| G-TOYH | Boeing 737-36N | bmibaby | Y148 | "Baby of the North" - pfft! |
| G-TOYI | Boeing 737-3Q8 | bmibaby | Y148 | "Tinylife Baby" |
| G-TOYJ | Boeing 737-36M | bmibaby | Y148 | "Pudsey Baby" |
| G-TOYK | Boeing 737-33R | bmibaby | Y148 | "Jump In Baby" |
| G-TOYL | Boeing 737-36N | bmibaby | Y148 | "Rainbow Baby" |
| G-TOYM | Boeing 737-36Q | bmibaby | Y148 | "Groovy Baby" |
| Boeing 737-500: 2 | ||||
| G-BVKB | Boeing 737-59D | bmibaby | Y131 | "Jelly Baby" |
| G-BVZE | Boeing 737-59D | bmibaby | Y131 | "Little Costa Baby" |
| Embraer ERJ-145: 17 | ||||
| G-EMBI | Embraer ERJ-145EU | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-EMBJ | Embraer ERJ-145EU | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-EMBN | Embraer ERJ-145EU | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-EMBP | Embraer ERJ-145EU | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXA | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXB | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXC | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXD | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXE | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXF | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXG | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXH | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXI | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXM | Embraer ERJ-145MP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXN | Embraer ERJ-145MP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXO | Embraer ERJ-145MP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| G-RJXR | Embraer ERJ-145EP | bmi regional | Y49 | |
| Embraer ERJ-135: 4 | ||||
| G-RJXJ | Embraer ERJ-135ER | bmi regional | Y37 | |
| G-RJXK | Embraer ERJ-135ER | bmi regional | Y37 | |
| G-RJXL | Embraer ERJ-135ER | bmi regional | Y37 | |
| G-RJXP | Embraer ERJ-135ER | bmi regional | Y37 | |
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Whilst there is some variation, more often than not in airline seating configurations C = Business, W = Premium Economy and Y= Economy. CY is presumably interchangable based on sales.
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bmi had already disposed of their own 10-strong fleet of A321s when they inherited and kept BMEDs examples having taken over that airline in February 2007.
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The config of A332 G-WWBM is not known, however G-WWBB which had left the fleet in March 2010 is noted as C18 W30 Y170. They also had a fourth example - G-WWBC - which on delivery was immediately leased to Emirates as A6-EAS. They reportedly almost recalled it at one point.
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Unlike most LCCs who were rapidly expanding, bmibaby had actually disposed of eight B733s and six B735s on top of what's listed above.
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Four of the above E145s never made it to Loganair.
Today
So what would their fleet look like had they still been around today? It's hard to see past NEOs, and despite Lufthansa Group placing their order prior to the takeover, it can be assumed that an expansion of that order would more than likely have covered bmi.
Another aspect to consider, is that if aircraft have similar operating costs - you go for the larger version, which is why the A319neo / A330-800 are not selling well at all (which begs the question why the original A319 / A330-200 did).
Based on the above, the A330-900 would seem the logical replacement for the A330-200, however, given the A330-900 and A350-900 offer similar capacity/range and compete for the same market, you wouldn't necessarily expect Lufthansa to order a very limited amount of a brand new type just for one subsidiary. It is therefore more likely they would convert options on a type they already operate.
Given the opportunity to expand at Heathrow is limited, I've kept the narrowbody fleet at 25 but altered the split between types. I've thrown an extra widebody in the mix based on their original A332 order.
In their latter years, bmi placed a heavy focus on developing the medium/long haul routes they inherited from BMED, that stretched the legs of their A321s to their limits, with some routes having to make tech stops. This was one of their smarter moves towards the end. It's no coincidence a number of failed start-up attempts have targeted similar markets - Hans Airways, Sentra Airways, flypop and Global Airlines (they could do a lot worse than combining their efforts). With that in mind, I've split their A321neo order between the regular model, and XLRs.
To slightly contradict the above logic of not buying an A319 because you might as well have an A320, airlines appear to be using the A220-300 in the former A319ceo role. I could see bmi needing it for some of their thinner/shorter routes that the ERJ operated out of Heathrow towards the end - let's be honest, you don't really want feeder aircraft in Heathrow.
You'll notice below I've gone with Pratt-and-Whitney powered NEOs, this is for engine-type commonality with the A220/ATR.
Speaking of ATR, I feel the ERJs would still be in active service with bmi regional but at some point they'll need replacing, and when it comes to regional connectivity the ATR is the only game in town these days. I don't feel they'd order the 42, again because you might as well have the extra seats of the 72 for the same operating cost, and whilst a 72-seat aircraft is quite a jump from a 49-seater - the difference in operating costs of the ATR more than offsets the risks of not filling the extra capacity. That said, I have gone with less ATRs than the ERJs they would replace, to factor in the ones already replaced at Heathrow by A220s, and the fact they seemed to have more ERJs than they needed elsewhere as well.
For bmibaby, it's hard to see past the mainline A319s/A320s being reconfigured and handed down to replace the Boeing 737s, with a few more A319s sourced to cater for expansion. Longer term, more A320neos would likely be the order of the day.
| REG | A/C TYPE | OPERATOR | CONFIG | NOTES |
| Airbus A350-900: 4 | ||||
| G-WWBE | Airbus A350-941 | bmi British Midland | C30 W26 Y262 | |
| G-WWBF | Airbus A350-941 | bmi British Midland | C30 W26 Y262 | |
| G-WWBG | Airbus A350-941 | bmi British Midland | C30 W26 Y262 | |
| G-WWBH | Airbus A350-941 | bmi British Midland | C30 W26 Y262 | |
| Airbus A321-200NY(XLR): 6 | ||||
| G-XBDN | Airbus A321-271NY(XLR) | bmi British Midland | C16 Y168 | |
| G-XBDO | Airbus A321-271NY(XLR) | bmi British Midland | C16 Y168 | |
| G-XBDP | Airbus A321-271NY(XLR) | bmi British Midland | C16 Y168 | |
| G-XBDR | Airbus A321-271NY(XLR) | bmi British Midland | C16 Y168 | |
| G-XBDS | Airbus A321-271NY(XLR) | bmi British Midland | C16 Y168 | |
| G-XBDT | Airbus A321-271NY(XLR) | bmi British Midland | C16 Y168 | |
| Airbus A321-200NX: 5 | ||||
| G-XBDI | Airbus A321-271NX | bmi British Midland | CY220 | |
| G-XBDJ | Airbus A321-271NX | bmi British Midland | CY220 | |
| G-XBDK | Airbus A321-271NX | bmi British Midland | CY220 | |
| G-XBDL | Airbus A321-271NX | bmi British Midland | CY220 | |
| G-XBDM | Airbus A321-271NX | bmi British Midland | CY220 | |
| Airbus A320-200N: 8 | ||||
| G-XBDA | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| G-XBDB | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| G-XBDC | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| G-XBDD | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| G-XBDE | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| G-XBDF | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| G-XBDG | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| G-XBDH | Airbus A320-271N | bmi British Midland | CY180 | |
| Airbus A320-200: 7 | ||||
| G-MEDH | Airbus A320-232 | bmibaby | Y180 | |
| G-MEDK | Airbus A320-232 | bmibaby | Y180 | |
| G-MIDO | Airbus A320-232 | bmibaby | Y180 | |
| G-MIDS | Airbus A320-232 | bmibaby | Y180 | |
| G-MIDT | Airbus A320-232 | bmibaby | Y180 | |
| G-MIDX | Airbus A320-232 | bmibaby | Y180 | |
| G-MIDY | Airbus A320-232 | bmibaby | Y180 | |
| Airbus A319-100: 18 | ||||
| G-DBCA | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCB | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCC | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCD | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCE | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCF | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCG | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCH | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCI | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCJ | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCK | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCL | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCM | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCN | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCO | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCP | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCR | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| G-DBCS | Airbus A319-131 | bmibaby | Y156 | |
| Airbus A220-300: 6 | ||||
| G-ZZOA | Airbus A220-300 | bmi British Midland | CY145 | |
| G-ZZOB | Airbus A220-300 | bmi British Midland | CY145 | |
| G-ZZOC | Airbus A220-300 | bmi British Midland | CY145 | |
| G-ZZOD | Airbus A220-300 | bmi British Midland | CY145 | |
| G-ZZOF | Airbus A220-300 | bmi British Midland | CY145 | |
| G-ZZOG | Airbus A220-300 | bmi British Midland | CY145 | |
| ATR 72-600: 17 | ||||
| G-RTPA | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPB | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPC | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPD | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPE | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPF | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPG | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPH | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPI | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPJ | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPK | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPL | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPM | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPN | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPO | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPP | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
| G-RTPR | ATR 72-600 | bmi regional | Y68 | |
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Registration sequences as follows: A350 - continuation of the A330 sequence. NEOs - "X" being a placeholder and "BD" their IATA code. A220 - "ZZO" being "220" in letters. RTP - "Regional Turbo Prop".
I attempted to generate images of the fictional fleet using AI, the results were interesting to say the least. I then turned to the Flight Simulator community, to my surprise nothing much doing there either. Ah well.
Do you have any thoughts on what bmi might look like in 2025? Let us know using the Contact Us link!
The next entry in this aviation article equivalent of the Carry On films will be a sort of bmi part 2, as I take a look at the trajectory bmibaby might have taken at Teesside had they not axed the base.