bmi to Cut Capacity to Bergen and Stavanger

UK carrier bmi British Midland International is to significantly reduce capacity on its flights from London Heathrow to Bergen and Stavanger during the Northern Winter 2011/2012 schedule. The airline will maintain a daily schedule on both routes, but from October 30 will switch the operating aircraft from an Airbus A319 to an Embraer ERJ145 regional jet, albeit one weekly rotation to Bergen will continue to be flown with Airbus A320 Family equipment.

bmi inaugurated the two routes at the start of the summer schedule at the end of March and in its first two months of operation carried an estimated 8,000 O&D passengers to Bergen and 7,000 to Stavanger, securing a 79 per cent and 31 per cent share of the market, respectively over the period. It is the sole operator to Bergen, but competes with fellow Star Alliance member SAS Scandinavian Airlines to Stavanger, the latter offering a twice daily service with a mix of Boeing 737 variants.