Aer Lingus vows to go after bmi share of key London route

BATTLE has been joined for a share of the lucrative Belfast to Heathrow air route after Aer Lingus threatened to "unashamedly" go after bmi, currently the sole operators to Heathrow from Northern Ireland.

Enda Corneille, Commercial Director of Aer Lingus, which will be starting a Heathrow service from Belfast International in January, said the airline was determined "to compete aggressively" with bmi for passengers.

The Irish flag carrier will operate a three times a day service from Aldergrove from January 14, rising to four times a day in the summer.

However, bmi refused to get involved in a war of words but issued a brief statement, saying it "welcomed competition on the route."

The airline, formerly British Midland, has operated a Heathrow service since it moved from Belfast International Airport to then Belfast City Airport on October 28, 2001.

It currently operates up to eight rotations daily using a 156-seat capacity Airbus 320 with fares starting at £32-20 single including taxes. Bmi says it does not charge for luggage.

It operates its first flight from George Best Belfast City Airport at 06.45 and the last flight leaves London Heathrow at 19.50.

Aer Lingus' last flight of the day is due to depart Heathrow 20 minutes earlier than bmi at 19.30 but says that it is pushing hard for a later departure, primarily to cater for the needs of business travellers.

Enda Corneille said there had been a surge in bookings for the Heathrow service but bmi countered with a statement that it had seen "no decrease in forward bookings for January/February compared to the same time last year."

The Aer Lingus chief said: "We are very pleased with the level of interest. In the last four weeks bookings have quadrupled on the Belfast to Heathrow service. We will unashamedly go after bmi on the route."

To further up the ante, Aer Lingus has formally announced a codeshare with British Airways which means that aircraft operating the Aer Lingus service will carry both BA and Aer Lingus numbers.

Passengers travelling onward with BA on long-haul flights from Heathrow will be able to book tickets and baggage through to their final destination, an important consideration, particularly for business travellers.

Bmi is the second largest airline at London Heathrow, one of the world's busiest and best connected airports. With the recent integration of BMED routes bmi will operate over 1,800 flights a week across its full network.

The airline is a member of Star Alliance, established in 1997, which offers a network of more than 16,000 daily flights to 855 destinations in 155 countries