LH announces BD takeover - time to start burning those miles!!!

[Keith009]

sBBC NEWS | Business | BMI being taken over by Lufthansa

UK airline BMI is being taken over by Germany's Lufthansa.
Lufthansa, which already owns a 30% stake in BMI minus one share, is buying the 50% of the company owned by BMI chairman Sir Michael Bishop.

...

Lufthansa said it intended to complete the deal by 16 January. It has not said how much it is paying for the 50% stake.

Time to start working through those miles before diamond club gets absorbed into Miles & Less and becomes dramatically decreased in value...

edit: those with BD*G status now may just get 2 more years as *G as LH Senators if history was anything to go by (cue Swiss Travel Club).

 

[futaris]

The thread on flyertalk is certainly huge. Let us know how your AA EXP status match goes.

 

[ANstar]

Well this is interesting (and not unexpected).

Virgin Atlantic have a lot to lose if they also don't have some tie up as I am sure a lufty backed bmi will focus on some long haul expansion.

If they can do a tie up, then it spells a big challenge for ba also.

Interesting times indeed!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

The thread on flyertalk is certainly huge. Let us know how your AA EXP status match goes.

Lots of speculation and few facts....not surprisng of course as t is early days.

However one useful bit from reading there is that the consensus seems to be that BMI Diamond Club should have about 12 months before it becomes BMI M + M.

This is based upon what happened when LH took of Swiss....and the Swiss program became Swiss M+M 12 months later.

No one knows for sure of course, but it looks like you have about a year to use any DC points.

There are examples in that thread of how M+M is in the main (but not always) a lot less generous than BMI in earn and burn. So hence why burn if you can.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Well this is interesting (and not unexpected).

Virgin Atlantic have a lot to lose if they also don't have some tie up as I am sure a lufty backed bmi will focus on some long haul expansion.

If they can do a tie up, then it spells a big challenge for ba also.

Interesting times indeed!

Yes as evidently BMI controls 11% of the slots at London Heathrow....so LH can convert many of them to longhaul flights and really ramp up on flights from its current 5% of slots.

 

[Keith009]

However one useful bit from reading there is that the consensus seems to be that BMI Diamond Club should have about 12 months before it becomes BMI M + M.

But in the meantime I'd expect them to become a whole lot less generous. I suspect that the reason why DC was so generous with redemptions, promos and status matching was nothing more than a fattening exercise - the more members and elites it has on its books, the higher a valuation it commands and thus the higher a price it can ask of LH. Once LH has sealed the deal or even if the deal falls through since it'd be tough for LH to raise the money it requires in today's economic circumstances, there'd be no incentive for DC to remain as generous and we can expect to see an enhancement or 10.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Just wish I'd gotten in on the party a whole lot earlier.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Just wish I'd gotten in on the party a whole lot earlier.

Or in my case actually arrived!!!!!!!!!! as I was still getting my first "invitation" together....

 

[Keith009]

I might hasten to add - good luck dealing with Pune.

 

[Keith009]

Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk

Virgin Atlantic pounced on the chance to forge a tie-up with British airline bmi on Wednesday immediately after Germany's Lufthansa announced it was poised to become bmi's majority shareholder.

Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Steve Ridgway told Reuters bmi would make a good fit with Virgin Atlantic and provide a stronger competitor to Heathrow kingpin British Airways.

...

Bringing Virgin and bmi together would be good both for Lufthansa and its Star Alliance airlines grouping, he said, adding Bishop's "smart" deal left UK aviation at a crossroads.

...

Ridgway declined to say whether Virgin Atlantic, which has long coveted a deal with independent-minded bmi, would seek to buy out Lufthansa or seek a three-way deal between them now that Lufthansa holds the cards.