PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (all economy) (15/04/2012 08:09)

DUB-LHR-DUB (Economy Flexible)

Booking and check in

Given the current uncertainty surrounding the future of the BMI Diamond Club, I decided to use some of my destination miles to get a reward flight. There was availability for the dates I wanted, and little trouble in making the booking. The total charges and fees were 63euro.

I later tried to select my seats on line, which is a feature of economy flexible tickets, however this does not apply to redemption bookings, Not a problem, a quick call to the BMI call centre and my preferred seats were allocated. Unusually, the day following this call, I received an email from BMI requesting feedback on my experience of their call centre.

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes the day before I travelled.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 8.30am for my 10.50am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded than heretofore. BMI economy flexible includes use of the fast track security lane which is useful. I was airside within a minute.

There is a good range of shops and cafes, and I was pleasantly surprised to find cooked breakfast available from 5euro, pretty good value.

Lounge (Dublin)

The Diamond Club lounge is adjacent to the main shopping area and is furnished in the usual BMI manner: bright colour sofas with a business section for those who wish to work. Restrooms are outside the lounge and are shared with the Dublin Airport Authority lounge.

There is a limited range of food: biscuits, sweets and packaged pastries. The coffee is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The lounge is a short walk from gates 301-313 (the old B pier) and makes boarding quite easy.

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Diamond Club Gold holders and economy flexible passengers are invited to board at their leisure. Being in row 1 my hand baggage has to be stowed in the overhead bins, so if the flight is busy it can be worthwhile boarding early to ensure space is available close to the seat.

A new addition was the provision of a separate entrance to the boarding desks for Gold/Silver Diamond club members and those traveling in flexible economy

The Airbus 319 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers.
The aircraft was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first rows were reserved for economy flexible. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back shortly after 10.45am and were airborne shortly afterwards.

Economy flexible passengers are offered a choice of snacks (crisps, muffin, chocolate bar and drink of choice. The usual hot wrap or cake slice would have been nice, and it is a reminder of how good the old business class service used to be.

Return Check in and security

Having my boarding pass already printed, I went directly to security at Heathrow T1 and was processed very quickly. I was airside within 5 minutes.

Lounge Heathrow

Being Diamond Club Gold, I visited the Star Alliance lounge. Once BMI leave the Star Alliance this facility will no longer be available so it was with some degree of sadness that I visite.d today

This is a large, very comfortable facility with on site restrooms and excellent showers.

The food consists of soup, rolls,salads, sandwiches, cold meats, hot savoury snacks, rice crackers. Additionally, there was a chicken dish with rice. I had a very pleasant lunch, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

As this lounge is quite a long walk from the BMI boarding area, I went to the BMI lounge shortly before boarding. The Great British Lounge is very big with plenty of natural light. Staff are very welcoming and tend to greet passengers by name, which is always a nice touch .

The food is soup, rolls, cheese, crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts, good quality cheesecake and gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets, always brings me back to my childhood!! There is a full bar service.

Boarding

Dublin bound flight boarded at gate 8b, almost beside the lounge.

Boarding was by rows, and was quite efficient, with the usual invitation to flexible economy and elite diamond club members to board at their leisure. The Cabin crew were very welcoming indeed.

The Airbus 320 was configured in full economy mode, identical to the outbound aircraft.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, the cabin crew gave a safety demonstration.We pushed back shortly after our scheduled time of 7.35pm, and were airborne shortly afterwards.

I was offered a hot wrap which was quite tasty, as was the merlot I had with it.

Conclusion

A very acceptable return flight. Good service, punctuality and pleasant lounges make BMI a very pleasure to travel with.

I chatted with the flight supervisor on the homeward flight and complimented her and all her colleagues (in cabin crew and lounges) for remaining so positive during what has been a time of great uncertainty for them. She said that even though IAG have indicated that frontline jobs are mostly secure, there was a feeling of sadness amongst the staff at the demise of the “BMI family”, so close were the working relationships forged over the years. Only time will tell what the future holds for BMI staff and customers.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (09/02/2012 13:53)

DUB-LHR-DUB (Economy Flexible)

Booking and check in

BMI do not charge for checked in baggage which gives them a competitive edge over their rivals on this route.

I hold Diamond Club Gold status, and decided to use my destination miles to get a reward flight. There was availability for the dates I wanted, and little trouble in making the booking. The total charges and fees were 56euro.

I later tried to select my seats on line, which is a feature of economy flexible tickets, however this does not apply to redemption bookings, Not a problem, a quick call to the Diamond Club call centre and my preferred seats were allocated.

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes for my same day return flight.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 8.30am for my 10.45am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded than heretofore. BMI economy flexible includes use of the fast track security lane which is useful. I was airside within less than a minute.

Lounge (Dublin)

The Diamond Club lounge is adjacent to the main shopping area and is furnished in the usual BMI manner: bright colour sofas with a business section for those who wish to work. Restrooms are outside the lounge and are shared with the Dublin Airport Authority lounge.

There is a limited range of food: biscuits, sweets and packaged pastries. The coffee is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The lounge is a short walk from gates 301-313 (the old B pier) and makes boarding quite easy. We boarded from Gate 311.

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Diamond Club Gold and Silver card holders and economy flexible passengers are invited to board at their leisure. There is now a dedicated lane for economy flexible and Diamond Club Gold/Silver card holders.

Being in row 1 my hand baggage has to be stowed in the overhead bins, so if the flight is busy it can be worthwhile boarding early to ensure space is available close to the seat.

A new addition was the provision of a separate entrance to the boarding desks for Gold/Silver Diamond club members and those traveling in flexible economy. A nice tough, but one which might easily overwhelmed by a group of non elite passengers.

The Airbus 319 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers.

This Airbus 319 was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first rows were reserved for economy flexible. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back shortly after 10.35am and were airborne by 10.45.

On mid morning flights, Economy flexible passengers are offered a cake slice and beverage. The Victoria sponge was quite tasty, but I still hanker for the old business class product.

We landed in Heathrow 11.40am , well ahead of schedule.

Return Check in and security

Having my boarding pass already printed, I went directly to security at Heathrow T1. It was quite busy and with almost half the lanes closed, it was slow getting through: almost 20 minutes.

Lounge Heathrow

The Great British Lounge is very big with plenty of natural light. However as it was after dark, the lighting was very pleasant and relaxing. Staff are very welcoming and tend to greet passengers by name, which is always a nice touch .

The food is soup, rolls, cheese, crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts, good quality cheesecake and gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets, always brings me back to my childhood!! There is a full bar service.

Boarding

Unusually the Dublin bound flight boarded at gate 8, almost beside the lounge. Heretofore it used to be gates 72-78, adjacent to the Aer Lingus departure area and quite a walk from the lounge. Using gate 8 for the evening flight seems to be the norm lately and is most welcome.

Boarding was by rows, and was quite efficient, with the usual invitation to flexible economy and elite diamond club members to board at their leisure. The Cabin crew were very welcoming indeed. As with Dublin, there is a dedicated lane for economy flexible and Diamond Club Gold/Silver card holders.

The Airbus 321 was a two class configuration with the front being 2-2. The large seats are upholstered in brown leather.

The seats themselves are wide and have a footrest/recline facility and are very confortable.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, we pushed back at just before 8.00pm. However, we soon learned that due to a technical problem we would have to return to stand. The crew kept us fully informed, and we departed shortly before 9.00pm.

I was offered a hot wrap which was quite tasty, but somewhat small. It came with Pringles and a good red wine.

Conclusion

A very impressive return flight. Excellent service, and pleasant lounges make BMI a very pleasant airline to travel on the Dublin-London route

On both flights, the cabin crew were truly excellent. That they remain so friendly and professional despite the uncertainty they face at present is a testament to their excellence. I trust the new owners will appreciate this in the future.

gsm0610 flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (2-Class) (23/01/2012 21:33)

LHR-TXL 31-12-2011. On an A319.

New looking interior of leather trim. Business class seats were wider and a bit more leg room but not that much bigger than economy. Reasonable legroom in economy. Seats were comfortable even with me as I have a slipped disc!! All in comfortable and of course was on time as usual for bmi.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A321-200 (2-Class) (18/01/2012 16:50)

DUB-LHR-DUB (Economy Flexible)

Booking and check in
BMI do not charge for checked in baggage which gives them a competitive edge over their rivals on this route.

I hold Diamond Club Gold status, and decided to use my destination miles to get a reward flight. There was availability for the dates I wanted, and little trouble in making the booking. The total charges and fees were 56euro.

I later tried to select my seats on line, which is a feature of economy flexible tickets, however this does not apply to redemption bookings, Not a problem, a quick call to the Diamond Club call centre and my preferred seats were allocated.

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes for my same day return flight.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 5.30am for my 7.05am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded than heretofore. BMI economy flexible includes use of the fast track security lane which is useful. I was airside within a couple of minutes.

There is a good range of shops and cafes, most of which open around 5.00am to cater for the early birds.

Lounge (Dublin)

The Diamond Club lounge is adjacent to the main shopping area and is furnished in the usual BMI manner: bright colour sofas with a business section for those who wish to work. Restrooms are outside the lounge and are shared with the Dublin Airport Authority lounge.

There is a limited range of food: biscuits, sweets and packaged pastries. The coffee is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The lounge is a short walk from gates 301-313 (the old B pier) and makes boarding quite easy. We boarded from Gate 312 which is at the entrance.

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Diamond Club Gold holders and economy flexible passengers are invited to board at their leisure.

Being in row 1 my hand baggage has to be stowed in the overhead bins, so if the flight is busy it can be worthwhile boarding early to ensure space is available close to the seat.

A new addition was the provision of a separate entrance to the boarding desks for Gold/Silver Diamond club members and those traveling in flexible economy. A nice tough, but one which might easily overwhelmed by a group of non elite passengers.

The Airbus 320 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers.
This Airbus 320 was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first rows were reserved for economy flexible. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back shortly after 7.00am and after a lengthy taxi were airborne by 7.15.

Economy flexible passengers are offered a hot wrap and beverage. Quite tasty, but not as nice as the cooked breakfast on the old business class product.

We landed in Heathrow at 8.15am after a very few minutes in a holding pattern but still landed ahead of schedule. After a brisk walk, I was on the heathrow express and arrived in London Paddington before 9.00am. Now that’s a good start to the day.

Return Check in and security

Having my boarding pass already printed, I went directly to security at Heathrow T1 and was processed very quickly. I was airside within 5 minutes.

Lounge Heathrow

Being Diamond Club Gold, I visited the Star Alliance lounge. This is a large, very comfortable facility with on site restrooms and excellent showers.

The food consists of soup, rolls, salads, sandwiches, cold meats, hot savoury snacks, rice crackers. Additionally, there was a chicken dish with rice. I had a very pleasant lunch, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

There is a pleasant shower area, and after a day trudging around London, I was very much refreshed after my shower.

As this lounge is quite a long walk from the BMI boarding area, I went to the BMI lounge shortly before boarding. The Great British Lounge is very big with plenty of natural light. However as it was after dark, the lighting was very pleasant and relaxing. Staff are very welcoming and tend to greet passengers by name, which is always a nice touch.

The food is soup, rolls, cheese, crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts, good quality cheesecake and gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets, always brings me back to my childhood!! There is a full bar service.

Boarding

Unusually the Dublin bound flight boarded at gate 8, almost beside the lounge. Heretofore it used to be gates 72-78, adjacent to the Aer Lingus departure area and quite a walk from the lounge. Using gate 8 for the evening flight seems to be the norm lately and is most welcome.

Boarding was by rows, and was quite efficient, with the usual invitation to flexible economy and elite diamond club members to board at their leisure. The Cabin crew were very welcoming indeed. Given the uncertainty surrounding the future ownership of BMI, this is a testament to the professionalism of BMI crew who will be an undoubted asset to the eventual owners of the airline.

The Airbus 320 was a two class configuration with the front being 2-2. The large seats are upholstered in brown leather, and in the first row, there are only 2 seats: A & C. The space where D & F would normally be is taken up by a wardrobe. A very useful pair of seats for those seeking privacy. The seats themselves are wide and have a footrest/recline facility and are very confortable.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, the cabin crew gave a safety demonstration.

We pushed back shortly after our scheduled time of 7.35pm, and were airborne shortly afterwards.

I was offered a hot wrap which was quite tasty, but somewhat small. It came with Pringles and a good red wine.

Conclusion

A very impressive return flight. Excellent service, punctuality and pleasant lounges make BMI a very pleasant airline to travel on the Dublin-London route. The earlier departure time ex-Dublin and return ex London gives an additional two hours in London than was previously the case. Much more beneficial for business or leisure purposes and a welcome change.

BMI staff in the lounges and aircraft are most pleasant and helpful and make flying with BMI a pleasure. I sincerely hope the eventual owners appreciate this very valuable asset.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (11/12/2011 21:02)

DUB-LHR-DUB (Economy)

Booking and check in

www.flybmi.com is an easy site to navigate and selecting flights for my preferred dates and times was no trouble. BMI do not charge for checked in baggage which gives them an edge over their rivals on this route.

I hold Diamond Club Gold status, and decided to use either my DC upgrade facility or destination miles. My initial enquiry (by email) to Diamond Club gave a response that I certainly could use miles to upgrade, but when I telephoned the D.Club to do this, I was told that it was not possible. Ok, I said, I’ll use my vouchers.

Inbound there was no problem, but outbound there was no availability. However, I was placed on a wait list and advised to call back after a few days. This I did, but I asked it I could pay for the upgrade….to be told that I was already upgraded. Happy days indeed! However when I tried to select my seat on-line, the system would not allow it. A further call gave me the reason why: I was not yet upgraded! Confused? I certainly was!

As it transpired, I was not upgraded after all. The question remains: how could it happen that BMI were unable to accept my offer to pay for an upgrade? Unless they’re so flush that they can afford to refuse revenue?

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes for my same day return. At this point I noticed that I had been allocated seat 14F by the system. I changed this to an aisle seat without difficulty and proceeded to print my boarding passes.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 6.00am for my 7.15am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded. However, early Saturday morning is a busy time, and it took a good 15 minutes to clear security.

There is a good range of shops and cafes, most of which open around 5.00am to cater for the early birds.

Lounge (Dublin)

The Diamond Club lounge is adjacent to the main shopping area and is furnished in the usual BMI manner: bright colour sofas with a business section for those who wish to work.

There is a limited range of food: biscuits, sweets and packaged pastries. The coffee is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The lounge is a short walk from gates 301-313 (the old B pier) and makes boarding quite easy.

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Diamond Club Gold holders and economy flexible passengers are invited to board at their leisure.The gate was quite close the lounge, so I didn’t have far to walk. Servisair are BMI’s handling agents and are quite efficient.

The Airbus 320 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers.

This Airbus 320 was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first rows were reserved for economy flexible. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back shortly after 7.00am and were airborne quickly.

Economy passengers are offered a very limited pay menu: basically biscuits and drinks. This is in contrast to Aer Lingus who offer a more extensive menu, thus giving choice and providing a useful revenue stream.

We landed in Heathrow at 8.35am after some minutes in a holding pattern, but this was barely past the scheduled time so not an issue. After a short taxi we were on stand and deplaned into T1 on a coach.

Return Check in and security

Having my boarding pass already printed, I went directly to security at Heathrow T1 and was processed very quickly. I was airside within 5 minutes.

Lounge Heathrow

Being Diamond Club Gold, I visited the Star Alliance lounge. This is a large, very comfortable facility with on site restrooms and excellent showers.

The food consists of soup, rolls,salads, sandwiches, cold meats, hot savoury snacks, rice crackers. Additionally, there was a chicken tikka masala with rice and naam bread. I had a very pleasant lunch, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

There is a very pleasant shower area, and after a day trudging around London, I was very much refreshed after my shower.

As this lounge is quite a long walk from the BMI boarding area, I went to the BMI lounge shortly before boarding. The Great British Lounge is very big with plenty of natural light. However as it was after dark, the lighting was very pleasant and relaxing.

The food is soup, rolls,cheese, crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts, good quality cheesecake and gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets, always brings me back to my childhood!! There is a full bar service.

Boarding

Unusually the Dublin bound flight boarded at gate 8, almost beside the lounge. Heretofore it used to be gates 72-78, adjacent to the Aer Lingus departure area and quite a walk from the lounge.

Boarding was by rows, and was quite efficient.

This Airbus 320 was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first rows were reserved for economy flexible. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive. As I had chosen row 1, the bulkhead ensured that I didn’t have a seatback close to my face.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, the cabin crew gave a safety demonstration.

We pushed back shortly after our scheduled time of 8.15pm, and were airborne shortly afterwards.

I was offered a chicken wrap which was quite tasty, along with a cold lager which was most welcome.

Conclusion

A very impressive return flight. Excellent service, punctuality and pleasant lounges make BMI a very pleasant airline to travel on the Dublin-London route.

The earlier departure time ex-Dublin and return ex London gives an additional two hours in London than was previously the case. Much more beneficial for business or leisure purposes and a welcome change. However, I remain puzzled at the (uncharacteristic) confusion over the upgrade scenario. Nonetheless, BMI staff in the lounges and aircraft are most pleasant and helpful and make flying with BMI a pleasure.

PeterGill flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a Embraer-145 (2-Class) (01/12/2011 11:46)

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (config 2) (18/10/2011 19:57)

DUB-LHR-DUB (Economy flexible)

Booking and check in

www.flybmi.com is an easy site to navigate and selecting flights for my preferred dates and times was no trouble. BMI do not charge for checked in baggage which gives them an edge over their rivals on this route.

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes for my same day return.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 7.00am for my 8.40am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded. One of the benefits of BMI economy flexible is use of the fast track security queue. The entrance leads directly to the xray machines and I was airside within a minute: the main queue was not terribly long, but the ability to by pass it is a valuable benefit for those in a hurry.

There is a good range of shops and cafes, most of which open around 5.00am to cater for the early birds.

Lounge (Dublin)

The Diamond Club lounge is adjacent to the main shopping area and is furnished in the usual BMI manner: bright colour sofas with a section for those who wish to work.

There is a limited range of food: biscuits, sweets and packaged pastries. The coffee is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The range of newspapers and magazines is particularly good.

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Diamond Club Gold holders and economy flexible passengers are invited to board at their leisure.The gate was quite close the lounge, so I didn’t have far to walk. Servisair are BMI’s handling agents and are quite efficient. Boarding was delayed by 15 minutes due to late arrival of the incoming aircraft.

As I got to the gate, I was told that due to an aircraft change, my seat had been changed (from 1D to 4D). I had selected row 1 as I prefer not to have a seatback too close to my face. However, I was pleased to find that the new aircraft was a two class configuration.

The Airbus 320 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers. This particular aircraft is used for mid-haul flights, and the first 8 rows are configured 2-2 and are large business class type which partly recline but perfectly comfortable for the short flight. There is ample storage for books, etc. The seat is upholstered in brown leather, with carpets a grey pattern. The seat pitch is circa 52inches, so space was not an issue. I noticed that the division between the economy and business cabins was decorated in a black flock effect: very nice touch.

.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back at 08.55 and were airborne quickly.

Economy Flexible passengers are offered a hot wrap (mine was scrambled egg, sausage & bacon), a muffin and drink.

We landed in Heathrow at 10.10am after some minutes in a holding pattern, but this was barely past the scheduled time so not an issue. After a short taxi we were on stand and deplaned into T1 through an airbridge.

Return Check in and security

Having my boarding pass already printed, I went directly to security at Heathrow T1 and was processed very quickly. I was airside within 5 minutes.

Lounge Heathrow

Being Diamond Club Gold, I visited the Star Alliance lounge. This is a large very comfortable facility with on site restrooms and excellent showers.

Unusually on this occasion I had an issue with a partially blocked drain resulting in the cubicle floor awash with water. I spoke to a manager (Anna) who was most helpful. Her approach was whether there was anything she could do for me? I asked if it would be possible to visit the First Class area and this was no problem whatever. Other service providers would do well to emulate this approach.

The First Class area is very much quieter than Business Class with more comfortable seating. PCs with complimentary internet access are provided along with printing and fax facilities.

The food consists of salads, sandwiches, cold meats, hot savoury snacks, rice crackers. A full bar service is available including Pannier champagne, a couple of glasses I enjoyed whilst reading the latest Lee Child thriller.

As this lounge is quite a long walk from the BMI boarding area, I went to the BMI lounge shortly before boarding. The Great British Lounge is very big with plenty of natural light.

The food is cheese, crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts, good quality cheesecake and gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets, always brings me back to my childhood!! There is a full bar service.

Boarding

Unusually the Dublin bound flight boarded at gate 8, almost beside the lounge. Heretofore it used to be gates 72-78, adjacent to the Aer Lingus departure area and quite a walk from the lounge.

Boarding was by rows, and was quite efficient.

This Airbus 320 was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first rows were reserved for economy flexible. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive. As I had chosen row 1, the bulkhead ensured that I didn’t have a seatback close to my face.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, the cabin crew gave a safety demonstration.

We pushed back shortly after our scheduled time of 6.40pm, and were airborne shortly afterwards.

I was offered a steak and ale wrap which was quite tasty, along with Pringles and a cold lager which was most welcome.

Conclusion

A very impressive return flight. Excellent service, punctuality and pleasant lounges make BMI a very pleasant airline to travel on the Dublin-London route. The unexpected visit to the Star Alliance First Class lounge was a much appreciated and unexpected surprise and was thoroughly enjoyable

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (config 2) (16/10/2011 19:46)

DUB-LHR-DUB Economy Flexible

Booking and check in

www.flybmi.com is an easy site to navigate and selecting flights for my preferred dates and times was no trouble. BMI do not charge for checked in baggage which gives them an edge over their rivals on this route.

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes for my same day return.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 7.00am for my 8.40am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded. One of the benefits of BMI economy flexible is use of the fast track security queue. The entrance leads directly to the xray machines and I was airside within a minute: the main queue was not terribly long, but the ability to by pass it is a valuable benefit for those in a hurry.

There is a good range of shops and cafes, most of which open around 5.00am to cater for the early birds.

Lounge (Dublin)

The Diamond Club lounge is adjacent to the main shopping area and is furnished in the usual BMI manner: bright colour sofas with a section for those who wish to work.

There is a limited range of food: biscuits, sweets and packaged pastries. The coffee is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The range of newspapers and magazines is particularly good.

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Diamond Club Gold holders and economy flexible passengers are invited to board at their leisure.The gate was quite close the lounge, so I didn’t have far to walk. Servisair are BMI’s handling agents and are quite efficient. Boarding was delayed by 15 minutes due to late arrival of the incoming aircraft.

As I got to the gate, I was told that due to an aircraft change, my seat had been changed (from 1D to 4D). I had selected row 1 as I prefer not to have a seatback too close to my face. However, I was pleased to find that the new aircraft was a two class configuration.

The Airbus 320 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers. This particular aircraft is used for mid-haul flights, and the first 8 rows are configured 2-2 and are large business class type which partly recline but perfectly comfortable for the short flight. There is ample storage for books, etc. The seat is upholstered in brown leather, with carpets a grey pattern. The seat pitch is circa 52inches, so space was not an issue. I noticed that the division between the economy and business cabins was decorated in a black flock effect: very nice touch.

.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back at 08.55 and were airborne quickly.

Economy Flexible passengers are offered a hot wrap (mine was scrambled egg, sausage & bacon), a muffin and drink.

We landed in Heathrow at 10.10am after some minutes in a holding pattern, but this was barely past the scheduled time so not an issue. After a short taxi we were on stand and deplaned into T1 through an airbridge.

Return Check in and security

Having my boarding pass already printed, I went directly to security at Heathrow T1 and was processed very quickly. I was airside within 5 minutes.

Lounge Heathrow

Being Diamond Club Gold, I visited the Star Alliance lounge. This is a large very comfortable facility with on site restrooms and excellent showers.

Unusually on this occasion I had an issue with a partially blocked drain resulting in the cubicle floor awash with water. I spoke to a manager (Anna) who was most helpful. Her approach was whether there was anything she could do for me? I asked if it would be possible to visit the First Class area and this was no problem whatever. Other service providers would do well to emulate this approach.

The First Class area is very much quieter than Business Class with more comfortable seating. PCs with complimentary internet access are provided along with printing and fax facilities.

The food consists of salads, sandwiches, cold meats, hot savoury snacks, rice crackers. A full bar service is available including Pannier champagne, a couple of glasses I enjoyed whilst reading the latest Lee Child thriller.

As this lounge is quite a long walk from the BMI boarding area, I went to the BMI lounge shortly before boarding. The Great British Lounge is very big with plenty of natural light.

The food is cheese, crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts, good quality cheesecake and gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets, always brings me back to my childhood!! There is a full bar service.

Boarding

Unusually the Dublin bound flight boarded at gate 8, almost beside the lounge. Heretofore it used to be gates 72-78, adjacent to the Aer Lingus departure area and quite a walk from the lounge.

Boarding was by rows, and was quite efficient.

This Airbus 320 was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first rows were reserved for economy flexible. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive. As I had chosen row 1, the bulkhead ensured that I didn’t have a seatback close to my face.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, the cabin crew gave a safety demonstration.

We pushed back shortly after our scheduled time of 6.40pm, and were airborne shortly afterwards.

I was offered a steak and ale wrap which was quite tasty, along with Pringles and a cold lager which was most welcome.

Conclusion

A very impressive return flight. Excellent service, punctuality and pleasant lounges make BMI a very pleasant airline to travel on the Dublin-London route. The unexpected visit to the Star Alliance First Class lounge was a much appreciated and unexpected surprise and was thoroughly enjoyable.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (config 2) (12/10/2011 21:02)

DUB-LHR-DUB (Economy flexible)

Booking and check in

www.flybmi.com is an easy site to navigate and selecting flights for my preferred dates and times was no trouble. BMI do not charge for checked in baggage which gives them an edge over their rival on this route.

On line check-in is available 24 hours prior to travel, and I used this facility to print my boarding passes for my same day return.

I arrived at Dublin Terminal 1 just after 6.00am for my 8.40am flight and proceeded straight to security. Since Aer Lingus and transatlantic operators have migrated to Terminal 2, there is a lower number of passengers using T1 which makes it far less crowded. One of the benefits of BMI economy flexible is use of the fast track security queue. The entrance leads directly to the xray machines and I was airside within a minute: the main queue was not terribly long, but the ability to by pass it is a valuable benefit for those in a hurry.

There is a good range of shops and cafes, most of which open around 5.00am to cater for the early birds.

Lounge (Dublin)

The Diamond Club lounge is adjacent to the main shopping area and is furnished in the usual BMI manner: bright colour sofas with a section for those who wish to work.

There is a limited range of food: biscuits, sweets and packaged pastries. The coffee is good and strong (perfect for early morning!) with a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

The range of newspapers and magazines is particularly good.

Boarding

Boarding is through an airbridge and rearmost rows are called first to minimize delays. Diamond Club Gold holders and economy flexible passengers are invited to board at their leisure.The gate was quite close the lounge, so I didn’t have far to walk.

The Airbus 320 was immaculate and cabin crew warmly welcomed passengers. This particular aircraft is used for mid-haul flights, and the first 8 rows are configured 2-2 and are large business class type which partly recline but perfectly comfortable for the short flight. The seat is upholstered in blue leather, with carpets a grey pattern.

.

Inflight

The Captain gave a brief welcome and details of flight times, followed by a safety announcement from the cabin crew. We pushed back at 08.40 and were airborne quickly.

Economy Flexible passengers are offered a hot wrap (mine was scrambled egg & bacon), a snack and drink. Quite tasty, but a more substantial offering would have been nice.

We landed in Heathrow at 10.10am after some minutes in a holding pattern, but this was barely past the scheduled time so not an issue. After a short taxi we were on stand and deplaned into T1 through an airbridge.

Return Check in and security

Having my boarding pass already printed, I went directly to security at Heathrow T1 and was processed very quickly. I was airside within 5 minutes.

Lounge Heathrow

Being Diamond Club Gold, I visited the Star Alliance lounge. This is a large very comfortable facility with on site restrooms and excellent showers.

The range of food here is not as generous as in the past: hot soup and rice/curry type dishes are no longer offered. There is a good choice of savoury hot snacks, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit with a full bar service.

As this lounge is quite a long walk from the BMI boarding area, I went to the BMI lounge shortly before boarding. The Great British Lounge is very big with plenty of natural light.

The food is cheese, crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts, good quality cheesecake and gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets, always brings me back to my childhood!! There is a full bar service.

Boarding

Unusually the Dublin bound flight board at gate 7. Heretofore it used to be gates 72-78, adjacent to the Aer Lingus departure area and quite a walk from the lounge. A bus was provided to take us to the aircraft. Boarding was through the rear door, but was efficient, nonetheless.

This Airbus 320 was configured in full economy mode, all seats 3-3. The first three rows were reserved for economy flexible and the middle seats had a plastic tray inserted, which increases personal space and handy for books, papers, etc. Seats were in the newer BMI brown colour, and very attractive. As I had chosen row 1, the bulkhead ensured that I didn’t have a seatback close to my face.

After a welcome announcement from the Captain, the cabin crew gave a safety demonstration.

We pushed back shortly after our scheduled time of 6.40pm, and were airborne shortly afterwards.

I was offered a chicken wrap which was quite tasty, and a cold lager was most welcome.

Conclusion

A very impressive return flight. Excellent service, punctuality and pleasant lounges make BMI a very pleasant airline to travel on the Dublin-London route.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (25/04/2011 20:50)

DUB-LHR Economy Flexible.

BMI Economy Fexible is the substitute product for the former Business Class cabin. It offers lounge access, seat selection at time of booking, complimentary catering and seat at front of aircraft. An additional benefit for pax departing from Dublin is access to fast track security. I learned of this when I checked in online and printed my boarding pass.

However as I was flying on Easter Monday, there were very few pax at Terminal 1 so there was no need to use this facility. I was through security in a few minutes. The BMI Diamond Club lounge is beside the main shoping area in Dublin and close to the departure gates (the former "B" pier).

The lounge is similar to all BMI lounges in terms of furniture and colour schemes, but is a little lacking in food for morning flights. Cereal bars, biscuits and chocolate filled croissants are the only offerings. The lady on duty was particularly friendly and spent a fair bit of time chatting to a passenger's child. No lounge dragons here!!

The 0840 flight boarded early. The Airbus 320 was a two class aircraft with a 2-2 configuration for the premium economy cabin. I had selected 1F and was pleasantly surprised to find this particular aircraft being used. The norm is a full economy A320/A319 with the first few rows (3-3) allocated for premium economy. The large seat has recline and footrest facility with a massive pitch. Very comfortable indeed.

The seats were upholstered in blue cloth and the cabin was spotless.

Push back was 0835 and we were airborne at 0845. The Captain estimated a flight time of 50 minutes.

Complimentary food was a choice of hot bacon roll or cheese and egg panini. I opted for the bacon roll which was crusty and very tasty. However, it was not a patch on the old cooked breakfast served in the old biz class. However, times change and the roll was very acceptable. I was particularly surprised to be offered wine, and as my body clock reckoned it was lunch time, I indulged in a nice Chilean Merlot.

We landed at 0940 (no delays in Heathrow!!) and were on stand within a couple of minutes.

This was one of the best BMI flights I have enjoyed in some time: the cabin crew were very friendly, early departure and landing, nice food and drink.

As much as I mourn the loss of the business class product, it is clear that BMI are constantly improving the premium economy product to a standard which is pretty close to the former product. The cabin earns double the normal Diamond Club points allocation (1,600 in this case) which is very useful for tier progression within the DC.

PATAM99 flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a Embraer 145 (12/04/2011 21:26)

I have been a frequent user of the bmi BHD - LHR service for many years and have found it to reliable and comfortable with excellent,efficient and friendly staff. However, the service at weekends has now diminished to 4 daily flights and most of these operated by the tiny Embraer. It used to be A321s.
It was my first experience of the Embraer last Saturday on the BD80.

The entrance to the cabin is cramped to say the least squeezing past the galley and wardrobe, the overhead bins are small and the whole atmosphere in the cabin is one of claustrophobia. "Wheelie bags" are taken from passengers at the bottom of the steps and returned on the tarmac on arrival. However, this meant that no one was allowed off the aircraft on arrival until all the "wheelie bags" had been placed at the bottom of the steps. Unfortunately, the crew did not inform the passengers of this so there was some confusion in the cabin as to why we were not being let off.

Basically, a poor reflection on the rest of the airline and its operations.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (07/02/2011 00:30)

DUB-LHR-DUB.

I took advantage of BMI's low fares to visit family in London. The on-line booking process is simple to follow, though it can take the BMI site a while to open. Because I had availed of low fares, seat selection is not available until check-in.

Online check in is available from 24 hours prior to departure, and at this stage, you can select the number of checked in bags. BMI do not charge for baggage which is a welcome touch. I selected seats for my wife and I: row 13 was the most forward available, which let me to think that the aircraft would be a two class plane redeployed to the DUB-LHR route.

We used the DAA Blue car park which is easily accessed from the M50, and a very reasonable 5.50euro per day when booked on line. If only DAA used some of their revenue to fill some of the many potholes which become pools in wet weather.

There was no queue at the BMI bag drop off desk, and we were swiftly dealt with by a very helpful lady.

This particular morning, Dublin airport was very quiet and we were through security within a few minues. However, there seemed to be a heaitng problem as the airport was freezing!

The BMI lounge is beside the main shopping area and a short walk from the departure gates. Sadly on this occasion the lack of heating extended to the lounge which was like an icebox. The unfortunate lady working there had an overcoat and scarf to try and keep warm. It is inexcusable that Dublin Airport impose charges on pax and expect them to freeze.

The 0830 hours flight boarded on time and the aircraft was virtually full. As expected, it was a two class A320. Seats were blue leather and the aircraft was immaculate. Cabin crew were friendly, and just before 0830, the captain announced a delay to 0915 on foot of the heavy winds. The business cabin is 2-2 and economy 3-3. Despite the C seats, the pax there had to make do with economy plus service (warm sandwich and drink). Economy pax have to make to with (good) coffee and a biscuit or chocolate bar.. I always felt that stopping the sale of sandwiched to economy pax was a backward move and loss of revenue. (This is my opinion, I am unaware of the costs involved).

We pushed back at about 0910 and were airborne shortly afterwards. The captain later let us know that we would be landing at approximately 1010. At it happened we were still circling Heathrow at 1030, but this was beyond anyone's control. We touched down just before 1040 and were on stand within 5 minutes.

There was only a short wait for baggage to arrive.

Returning, we had checked in online the previous evening and proceeded to the BMI premium check in area (taking advantage of my DC Gold status). A very friendly lady checked in our bags, and even enquired if we know where the BMI lounge was situated. A nice touch indeed.

Having some time to spare, we had lunch at Wetherspoons (under £9 for a roast lunch!) and proceded airside.

There were few people in T1, and we were airside in less than 5 minutes.

Again, taking advantage of my DC Gold card, we visited the Star Alliance lounge. This is a former BA lounge, and is very big with a variety of seating types. Eagle eyed pax will note that the showers retain the BA logo!

There is a good range of food : always hot soup, a rice and curry type dish (chilli today), sandwiched, salads, fruit, hot savoury snacks...there is virtually a full meal available here. There is a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks on offer:I enjoyed a (couple of) glasses of Zinfadel.

Our flight was scheduled for 1750, and about 1600, I received a sms from BAA's excellent service (flight messenger) informing me of a 25 minute delay.

We proceeded to the BMI lounge as it is nearer the departure gates. This has been recently refurbished. As I have previously written about this very pleasant lounge so will refrain from too much detail here. There was a new range of cakes on offer, which were delicious, but not too good for the waistline!

The lounge staff kept pax well informed of delays, and out flight was called about 6.10pm. This allows just the right amount of time to walk to the departure gates and be one of the last to board, thus minimising the time sitting on the aircraft.

This was an A319 with all economy seating (3-3). The first 4 rows were reserved for economy plus pax: there were only 2, and the remaining economy cabin was almost full. The seats were upholstered in the new brown colurs.

The captain apologised for the delay, and quickly pushed back. The cabin crew gave a very good safety demonstration, as we taxied towards the runway. At this point I fell asleep and did not awake until we touched down in Dublin at approx 1940.

Bagage took about 15 minutes to arrive on the belt, and despite being marked "priority" ours were almost last to appear.

The delays on both flights were a little annoying, but not that much so. As always, BMI offer a very good service for a reasonable price. I personally would love to see business class reappear on this route (particularly the morning flight when the cooked breakfast was so welcome), but needs must.

Overall a very pleasant return trip and excellent value at less than 100euro return each.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (18/01/2011 20:14)

DUB-LHR-DUB Economy.

I made this booking online, and unlike economy flexible & plus, seat selection is not available at time of booking, but can be done at check-in.

Online check-in is available from 24hours ahead of departure, and for a same day return, both legs can be checked in at the same time. The system automatically allocates DC Gold members seats nearest the front of the main economy cabin, in this case row 8.

I arrived at Dublin Airport at 6.00am for BD 122. I allowed extra time as this is a busy period, but there was a smaller crowd than I expected, partly due to the opening of terminal 2 and in part to the fact that fewer people were travelling. I was pointed towards the fast track lane where one scans the boarding pass at an unmanned gate and straight through to security. Within 10 minutes of arriving at the airport, I was in the BMI lounge.

BMI's Dublin lounge is beside the main row of shops and a short walk away from the departure gates: 301 to 313 (formerly known as the B pier). The range of food is less than that on offer in London, but the coffee is good and strong, just right for early morning.

The flight was called from the lounge, and I boarded at about 8.20am. Cabin crew were very welcoming an the Airbus A319 resplendent with blue leather seats. We pushed back at 8.30am and were airborne at 8.40am. The Captain announced that there would be no delays at Heathrow.

The service in economy i a very limited range of drinks and snacks. I hd a cup of Kenco coffee which was pretty good.

We touched down at 0940am, ahead of schedule and were on stand within a few minutes. As we had parked at a domestic stand, we had to take a bus to arrivals and deplaned from the rear of the aircraft. Not a major delay, but not great for pax who had paid a hefty premium or seats at the front of the cabin.

On the return, I took advantage of my SA Gold card and visited the SA lounge. This is a very large lounge with areas for dining, working, relaxing and very good showers. The range of food includes cold meats, salads, cookies, soup, sandwiches, fruit, crisps, hot snacks and a hot dish served with rice. On this occasion it was beef casserole with baby potatoes: very nice but a strange choice for rice. I asked one of the staff where the red wine was. The poor man was very embarassed that the delivery hadn't arrived. I told him not to worry: he wasn't to blame. But surely the management could have got a case ot two from the shop in T1??

I made my way to BMI's lounge at the UK & Ireland departure area. The London Room is in great shape after a refurbishment and is nicely decorated in grey, brown, beige. The walls are decorated with London icons: street names, phone boxes, routemasters, etc.

There is a good range of crisps, nuts, cheese, crackers, biscuits, brownies , fruit, and my favourite: jars of old fashioned sweets! A full bar is available with the added touch of tea/coffee to take away it time is short. I had a pleasant stay sitting on a sofa reading with a glass of cabernet.

The flight was called, and I began the lengthy trek to the departure gate. This is the one thing where Aer Lingus beats BMI: the Gold Circle lounge is beside the gates, though not nearly so comfortable.

I boarded BD 131 at 6.40pm. This was the scheduled departure time, and the Captain explained that there would be a short delay while baggage belonging to some delayed pax was being off loaded.

As usual the cabin crew were very welcoming and the A319 appeared to be new: dark brown carpet, matching leather seats with grey armrests. Very similar to the London Room colours, and very pleasant indeed.

We pushed back at 7.10pm and were airborne by 7.20pm.

I had a nice nap in my seat so missed the service, but having had a couple of coffees in the lounge this wasn't any hardship.

We landed in Dublin at 8.10pm and were on stand very shortly afterwards. It is a short walk from the gate to passport control and from there to the exit.

This was a very pleasant pair of flights. Good service, small delay returning, but this was beyond BMI's control. I personally would like to see a return to a bigger on board menu: I always enjoyed the sandwiches on sale. I would imagine it would generate additional revenue for BMI too. Well done BMI.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (config 2) (30/11/2010 23:39)

LHR-DUB. Economy. I booked this flight online, and later upgraded to economy extra using a Diamond Club Gold card voucher.

Previously this was by means of paper vouchers and done by lounge staff. Currently, four electronic vouchers are added to each Gold account and are redeemed by telephoning (no less than 7 days prior to departure) the Diamond Club Goid helpline. The India call centre can be problematic, but on this occasion I spoke to a very helpful and pleasant lady who dealt with my request promptly. She was unable to offer seat selection, but I did this on the BMI website "manage my booking" facility quite easily.

Using online check-in (for my same day return from Dublin) I had my boarding pass before leaving Dublin. Having no luggage, this avoids going to the BMI desks at LHR. I had earlier signed up to BAA's information service, and this proved very helpful.

As my outbound flight from Dublin had been delayed due to snow, I had to change my plans and found myself at LHR some hours before my 5.30pm flight. I had an enjoyable browse at the airside shops in T1 (a veritable shoppers paradise) before taking advantage of my Gold card to visit the Star Aliance Lounge.

This is a very large lounge with a several types of seating, and good shower suites. There is a full range of soft & alcoholic drinks, and an array of hot & cold snacks. There is also a hot soup and curry (or similar) dish on offer all day together with salads & sandwiches. In effect it is possible to have a full meal here, and one which is of excellent quality.

Having lunched, I read my book with a glass of red wine. This is a very pleasant lounge to while away the time waiting for one's flight. Given the delay outbound, I expected similar returning. I was delighted to receive a sms at 3.30pm from BAA informing me of an on-time departure.

I then proceeded to BMI's UK & Domestic lounge. This has been recently refurbished, and is very well appointed. The staff are very welcoming, and there is ample space, even when busy. The food consists of bicuits, cheese, crackers, nuts, crisps, fruit, and nice gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets.

Shortly before 5.00pm, I received a further sms from BAA teling me that boarding would soon commence. Indeed, within a few minutes, my flight was called from the lounge. It is a 10 minute walk fro the lounge to the departure gates. Whilst walking, I heard the gate staff make calls for children/special assistance, rearmost rows, then forward rows. No mention of DC members boarding at will, however. By the time I arrived at the gate, I was amongst the last few pax to board. As I was in seat 1A, this was good timing.

The cabin crew welcomed pax warmly, and the aircraft was in pristine condition. The Airbus A320 is configured 3-3 ABC-DEF throughout. Seats are faced in blue leather with brown armrests. Unlike the old business cvabin, premium economy does not guarantee the middle seat being free. In a full cabin this can be a little uncomfortable, especially as a broadly similar fare is charged.

The captain introduced himself and crew, and outlined our course heading. The safety announcement was very good, and we pushed back just after 5.30pm.

Inflight service consists of complimentary sandwich,snack and drink. There was a choice of tuna & sweetcorn or tomato & mozzerella, neither of which appealed to me, so I asked for a couple of packs of nuts instead. I had a very nice red wine, and as I was not driving, had a refill.

We landed at 6.45pm in Dublin, and were on stand after a short taxi.

This was a very pleasant short flight: crew were excellent, lounge very pleasant and punctual flight. I have reservations about the economy extra product, however. A price similar to the old business class guarantees only seats in the front of the cabin, no extra space. The catering is not nearly as pleasant, however the fare allows seat selection at time of booking, and double DC miles. The level of service is very good in all cases.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (config 2) (30/11/2010 23:39)

LHR-DUB. Economy. I booked this flight online, and later upgraded to economy extra using a Diamond Club Gold card voucher.

Previously this was by means of paper vouchers and done by lounge staff. Currently, four electronic vouchers are added to each Gold account and are redeemed by telephoning (no less than 7 days prior to departure) the Diamond Club Goid helpline. The India call centre can be problematic, but on this occasion I spoke to a very helpful and pleasant lady who dealt with my request promptly. She was unable to offer seat selection, but I did this on the BMI website "manage my booking" facility quite easily.

Using online check-in (for my same day return from Dublin) I had my boarding pass before leaving Dublin. Having no luggage, this avoids going to the BMI desks at LHR. I had earlier signed up to BAA's information service, and this proved very helpful.

As my outbound flight from Dublin had been delayed due to snow, I had to change my plans and found myself at LHR some hours before my 5.30pm flight. I had an enjoyable browse at the airside shops in T1 (a veritable shoppers paradise) before taking advantage of my Gold card to visit the Star Aliance Lounge.

This is a very large lounge with a several types of seating, and good shower suites. There is a full range of soft & alcoholic drinks, and an array of hot & cold snacks. There is also a hot soup and curry (or similar) dish on offer all day together with salads & sandwiches. In effect it is possible to have a full meal here, and one which is of excellent quality.

Having lunched, I read my book with a glass of red wine. This is a very pleasant lounge to while away the time waiting for one's flight. Given the delay outbound, I expected similar returning. I was delighted to receive a sms at 3.30pm from BAA informing me of an on-time departure.

I then proceeded to BMI's UK & Domestic lounge. This has been recently refurbished, and is very well appointed. The staff are very welcoming, and there is ample space, even when busy. The food consists of bicuits, cheese, crackers, nuts, crisps, fruit, and nice gateaux. I particularly like the jars of old fashioned sweets.

Shortly before 5.00pm, I received a further sms from BAA teling me that boarding would soon commence. Indeed, within a few minutes, my flight was called from the lounge. It is a 10 minute walk fro the lounge to the departure gates. Whilst walking, I heard the gate staff make calls for children/special assistance, rearmost rows, then forward rows. No mention of DC members boarding at will, however. By the time I arrived at the gate, I was amongst the last few pax to board. As I was in seat 1A, this was good timing.

The cabin crew welcomed pax warmly, and the aircraft was in pristine condition. The Airbus A320 is configured 3-3 ABC-DEF throughout. Seats are faced in blue leather with brown armrests. Unlike the old business cvabin, premium economy does not guarantee the middle seat being free. In a full cabin this can be a little uncomfortable, especially as a broadly similar fare is charged.

The captain introduced himself and crew, and outlined our course heading. The safety announcement was very good, and we pushed back just after 5.30pm.

Inflight service consists of complimentary sandwich,snack and drink. There was a choice of tuna & sweetcorn or tomato & mozzerella, neither of which appealed to me, so I asked for a couple of packs of nuts instead. I had a very nice red wine, and as I was not driving, had a refill.

We landed at 6.45pm in Dublin, and were on stand after a short taxi.

This was a very pleasant short flight: crew were excellent, lounge very pleasant and punctual flight. I have reservations about the economy extra product, however. A price similar to the old business class guarantees only seats in the front of the cabin, no extra space. The catering is not nearly as pleasant, however the fare allows seat selection at time of booking, and double DC miles. The level of service is very good in all cases.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (all economy) (28/11/2010 20:59)

DUB-LHR. Booked online as usual, I find the BMI website a little slow to open, but once opened, is easy to navigate.

I used the online check-in and was initially surprised to find my default seat allocation at row 20: usually it is at the front of the economy cabin. It took little effort to change, and I changed to 7D.

As it was snowing lightly, I left home a little early and arrived at Dublin around 6.30 am for my 8.40am flight. BMI use what used to be the "B" Pier at Dublin, and is a short distance form the Diamond Club Lounge. I went to security and noted a new innovation: seperate entrances for web check-in and desk check-in. This makes for swifter progress for those with web passes, and combined with fewer pax in Terminal 1 (now that T2 is in use) I was through security within a few minutes.

The BMI lounge is beside the main shopping area and is a pleasant place to wait for flights. There is a good range of reading material, drinks, but not much food. The lady in the lounge was very pleasant, and when it became apparent that the flight would be delayed due to snow on the runway, she spoke to everyone individually and explained the reasons and expected time.

We boarded shortly after 9.00am, and were warmly welcomed by the cabin crew. The captain spoke to us twice before take off, apologising for the delay and explaining the timeframe for closing doors, de-icing etc. We took off just before 10.00am, and landed promptly in LHR with a short taxi to T1.

In flight service in economy is a small range of snacks and drinks. I had Kenco coffee (quite good) and a twix bar. I would like to have the option of buying something a bit more substantial, eg scone, muffin, sandwich. Surely as sandwiches are onboard for premium economy, taking on a few more would be easy and generate some revenue?

I must commend the cabin crew for their attentive and professional service. Two pax were asked to vacate premium seats and moved to the rear of the aircraft. This was done very discreetly, and it can't be pleasant for the staff, but wholly necessary in deference to pax who have paid for those rows.

Another passenger was facilitated with a seat near the front as he was on crutches. A small thing but an example of cabin crew going the extra mile for pax.

A very pleasant flight experience despite the (unavoidable) delay which was handled very well by an excellent crew.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (02/10/2010 22:10)

BD 131: LHR- DUB Flexible economy.

I booked this flight in economy and availed of an upgrade voucher. Diamond Club Gold card holders have four electronic upgrade vouchers, and as I was coming towards the end of my membership year I used one of my last ones.

I was offered a choice of seats and opted for 1F. This beng a bulkhead seat there is plenty of space to read newspapers, etc and no seatback in ones face. The sole downside to row 1 is that it is an exit row and all hand baggage must be stowed in the overhead bins but this is a small price to pay for the extra space, as well as priority boarding and disembarkation.

On-line check in is available 24 hours before departure and having printed my boarding pass, I was able to go directly to security at LHR T1 where there was little delay.

As a Diamond Club Gold card holder I can avail of the excellent Star Alliance lounge. There was a beef casserole on offer as well as sandwiches, salads, fruit and snacks, and a good range of soft & alcoholic drinks. There is a limited range of magazines & newspapers. However it is a good walk from the SA lounge to BMI Ireland departures.

I briefly visited the BMI domestic & UK lounge (on the way to departures). This has been recently refurbished and is very pleasant. There is a limited range of snacks available but a very good range of reading material. Good quality toiletries are in the restrooms.

The flight boardeg and on time. The crew were very welcoming and the Airbus A319 very clean indeed. The blue leather seats and carpets were spotless. We had a delayed departure, but the flight deck kept us fully informed.

Economy Flexible pax receive complimentary food and drink. I had an excellent egg sandwich and chocolate bar, washed down by a particularly nice red wine (14.5%!!).

As we were approaching Dublin Airport, the aircraft began to accelerate which was most unusual. The captain immediately informed us that landoing speed was a little too fast and we would approach again in a few minutes. This we did with a silky smooth touch down.

A very good flight with friendly professional staff and excellent value for money. Well done BMI.

kevgaratt flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A321-200 (16/09/2010 16:55)

I bought my ticket through a travel agency and was allocated my seats by them Upon turning up at the airport, I was informed, at the check in desk, that the seat that I was allocated was no longer available and I had to accept the one that they were going to allocate to me. Upon complaining, I was told that they did not know what had happened and suggested that next time I should try to come to the airport earlier so that I can be in the front of the queue. Well, I thought I had already done that, turning up 4 hours before departure time (I thought that you could not check in any earlier than 3 hours before your departure). However, this is apparently not the case!?

tabitaw flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a Embraer 135 (25/08/2010 20:00)

Within the last four years I've often travelled with BMI on the Copenhagen-Glasgow route. At no point have they disappointed me. Their service is impeccable, their staff is friendly and their baggage never gets lost on the way.

That's already enough for them to be a great choice for me to fly with, but the fact that they're usually way ahead of the schedule and rarely land after the estimated time really is rather great. On my last flight I checked in my suitcase and brought my hand luggage trolley as well as my laptop briefcase to the gate. My trolley was white-tagged and put away with the big suitcases so I wouldn't have to worry about it fitting in the overhead lockers while I carried my laptop case onto the flight. The flight attendants were friendly and helpful as always, and so was the captain.

After the plane took off (exactly on time) and we were in the air, the attendants offered everyone croissants (this is what you get on morning flights, at other time they'll offer sandwiches or similar) along with their preferred drink and tea/coffee. On most flights they also offer snacks such as crisps or mini pretzels.

As we approached our destination, the captain did a little follow-up on the trip and made sure everyone knew what time-zone we were in and what the weather was like. The landing was great, and as it often is with Bmi, ten minutes early. This meant we could go in, get our luggage and be in Arrivals by the time of the scheduled landing.

Bmi is by far my favourite airline and although it's not especially cheap you really get your money's worth. I would recommend them to anyone.

AntonyMercer flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (2-Class) (20/08/2010 14:05)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS I checked in on-line for this flight via the Bmi website and printed out my boarding pass. As we are both Silver Card holders with Bmi, we were able to use the Premium Check-In at London Heathrow Terminal 1. Although we initially went to the Premium Bag Drop, these desks were unattended so we went back round to the normal check-in and our bags were quickly processed with the attendant marking our bags with priority tags. We then proceeded to Security via the channel by the Bmi Economy Check-In. There was no queue and just had to remove the lap top from my hand luggage. We were airside within 10 minutes of arriving at the airport which I was very impressed with on this Friday afternoon.

THE LOUNGE We then made our way to the Bmi International Lounge. It was about half-full and offered soup at the Aga and a wide selection of sandwiches and salads. I like the individual seats in the lounge and the views across the northern runway, as well as the self-service bar.

BOARDING No announcements are made in the lounge but there are plenty of screens to keep you updated. At 17.15 the screen advised to go to Gate 5. As this was the first time I had used this former BA Lounge, I was unsure as to the route to Gate 5 as it seemed a rather torturous route from Security to find the International Lounge in the first place. I need not have worried as there was a staircase that descended directly into Gate 5 that I remembered from when I used to fly domestically with BA. When we arrived into Gate 5, the Berlin flight was due to depart from Gate 5C, whilst there was also a Lufthansa flight due to depart for Frankfurt from Gate 5A.

When Boarding commenced, they initially called persons requiring extra time such as those with children, Business Class and Star Alliance Gold Card holder. As we both only had Bmi Silver Cards we continued to wait. They then called passengers in Rows 15 to 23 which caused some problems as many of the passengers appeared to be non-English speaking. There were also some people who tried to board who were ticketed to go to Frankfurt!

THE SEAT Once on board everyone took their seats quickly. Bmi used the Airbus 319 on this route, and had just 3 Flight Attendants. As the first 3 rows were blocked off for Business Class, I was surprised at this until I realised that there was just one Business Class passenger. Business Class on this A319 was configured as 2-2 with the middle seat blocked out. Economy is configured 3-3. In terms of the best seat, Row 9 is the Emergency Exit row but these seats were not available when I tried to check-in online. I would therefore recommend to be seated as far forward as possible.

The plane pushed back on time at 17.50 but did not actually become airborne until 18.10 which was probably really good for Heathrow on a Friday afternoon! After about 10 minutes the cabin crew started to move around the cabin, but it took a further 35 minutes before the seat belt sign was turned off which caused some confusion as some passengers really needed the toilet!

MENU One of the confusing aspects with Bmi at present is the service that is received in Economy. Everybody around me had purchased their own sandwiches and drinks only to discover that on this flight Bmi serve a sandwich (on this occasion cheese, tomato and pesto on brown bread) and a drink of choice including alcoholic drinks though not champagne. Their website is unclear and from talking with my fellow passengers the view is to err on the safe side and purchase something in advance. The Bmi in-flight magazine that was available in the Bmi International Lounge does not help either. In fact it details that on flights to Hanover in Germany, all food and beverages need to be purchased. On the subject of the in-flight magazine, this caused more confusion as the version available on the plane was the Lufthansa version with no sign of the Bmi Voyager magazine.

The flight was pretty uneventful, with just one very brisk run down the aisle with a trolley that they said contained duty free items. The attendants are clearly not bonused too highly, if at all, as they made no effort to try to sell anything.

ARRIVAL The flight arrived on schedule, though we were delayed disembarking as the aircraft parked at a remote stand and we had to take a bus to Passport Control. There were 4 windows open so we were processed quickly before reaching the baggage carousel. After a further 5 minutes the bags appeared.

VERDICT A punctual, professional service by Bmi. However, the airline does need to make it clearer as to the service available on board.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (26/06/2010 20:47)

DUB-LHR-DUB Economy Extra.

I paid for economy extra DUB-LHR and used a Diamond Club upgrade voucher for LHR-DUB. Unfortunately this can only be done by telephoning the Diamond Club call centre which was as problematic as usual. Lounge staff used to be empowered to accept the old paper vouchers: this was much more customer friendly. Surely more cost effective for the company too.

One of the benefits of economy eatra is the availability os seat selection just after purchase. I was also able to select my seat on the return leg after I had used my voucher to upgrade.

I was pleasantly surprised to note that Economy extra also entitled me to use the fast track security channel at Dublin airport. This was most welcome as Saturday morning is very busy at Dublin Airport.

BMI's Dublin lounge is quite close to the departure gate (the old "b" pier). The range of snacks is less than that on offer in LHR, but quite ok for an early morning flight.

Boarding was called on time, with the invitation for priority boarding extended to Diamond Club PAX and Economy extra ticket holders to board at one's leisure. This is most welcome when sitting in exit rows where cabin baggage must be stowed.

The Airbus A319 was immaculate, and configured in full economy, seats being 3-3. Economy extra and economy flexible pax are seated at the front of the aircraft, but do not have the extra width that the old 3-2 Business Class cabin had.

Push back was a little late but we made up the time on route. The flight deck udates were very good.

As always, cabin crew were very welcoming. Economy extra pax have a choice of hot panini for breakfast (cheese & ham or egg & mushroom) with hot drink and muffin. It's quite adequate but not in thesame league as the old business class cooked breakfast.

We landed pretty much on time at LHR with a short taxi to stand.

Returning, I was once again very much impressed with the refurbished great British Lounge at LHR. I remain amazed at how much better the lounge is! I particularly like the big jars of old fashioned sweets.....just like being a child again! All that's missing is a few copies of the "Beezer" or "Topper" (showing my age now!!).

There was plenty of fruit, biscuits, cake, cheese, crackers, savoury snacks with a full bar service. Sadly the range of newspapers and magazines in BMI lounges is less than heretofore, but this is most likely due to the need to reduce costs.

It is a longish walk from the Lounge to the departure gates: this is the principal advantage Aer Lingus has over BMI.

Again, when boarding began, Diamond Club members anf economy extra pax were invited to board at thir leisure. As I was seated in 1D, I boarded early to ensure a space for my shoulder bag in the overhead bin.

Cabin crew gave the usual warm welcome and the Airbus A319 was in excellent condition. We pushed back a few minutes late but as before made up lost time and touched down on schedule.

The catering choice was roast beef or cheese & salad sandwich. I opted for the beef which was pretty good. The beer I had to wash it down was nicely chilled.

The flight experience was excellent:: BMI's frontline staff are consistently superb. It's just a pity that the call centre staff are less so. As an alternative to business class, I have mixed feelings about the enhanced economy product. Priority boarding, advanced seat selection, fast track security are most welcome.

However the inflight experience lacks the feel good factor that the old business class used to have. That said, we are talking about a short haul flight (barely an hour) so it is entirely possible that I am in the minority in this opinion. Mind you, the range of food available to purchase in standard economy is also reduced, which I feel to be a backward step, as well as a lost revenue stream.

BMI has a lot of good points, but diluting the product any further would (in my opinion) be a mistake.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (config 2) (11/05/2010 19:05)

LHR-MAN Airbus 320. Checking online was a breeze and having boarding passes in one's hand going to the airport is a boon. I had chosen seat 3D but this was changed just before boarding to 12D due to a change of aircraft. No major hassle with this, just a few extra yards to walk!

Cabin crew gave a very warm welcome as usual.

The Airbus 320 was configured 3-3. The blue leather seats were very comfortable, and the aircraft very clean.

The flight was very quiet and I (as most pax) had a row to myself. I had a beer and packet of nuts which was a little steep at £4.50. The range of onboard catering is quite small now, only premium economy pax have sandwiches now. I would have thought that offering them for sale would have generated a valuable revenue stream.

We had a slightly delayed departure due to non appearance of some pasengers, however the captainmade up for this.

I must mention the refurbished domestic lounge at Heathrow: the London Room. On entry it is very similar to the Great British Lounge (for International pax). Brown/beige and black/grey are the predominant colour schemes and with the use of natural light make it a very pleasantarea. The toilets have also been refurbished and now offer Miller Harris toiletries.

As it was mid morning there was a range of cereals, pastries, and fruits which were ample for a continental breakfast. There was agood range of crispsand snacks as well as the normal range of soft and alcoholic drinks.

One thing caught my eye: old fashioned jars of sweets (sherbert lemons, licquorice chews and chocolates), just like what sweet shops had when we were younger. What a nice touch.

New PC terminals with complimentary internet access have been installed with plenty of spaces for those who wish to use lap tops, thus catering for leisure and business travellers.

Overall the London Room is a vastly improved and a very pleasant spot to wait for a flight.

Daniel95eb flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A321-200 (2-Class) (09/04/2010 09:43)

Flew heathrow to Amman, It was good.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (11/03/2010 21:48)

LHR-DUB Economy Flexible

BMI very kindly upgraded me from Economy as a goodwill gesture arising from some problems I experienced whilst checking in on line. I was curious to compare the new economy flex to the defunct business class.

Whilst waiting in LHR my wife and I enjoyed the facilities at the Star Alliance lounge. We enjoyed an excellent lunch (creamy mushroom soup, chicken tikka & rice, and sandwiches). We later moved to the BMI domestic lounge which is closer to the Dublin gates. The downstairs lounge is closed for a refit so all pax are directed upstairs which was quite full. Just as we entered a flight was called thus freeing up many seats. The range of newspapers and magazines isn't quite as lavish as heretofore but this is most likely due to cost cutting, something all too familiar these days. We enjoyed cheese & crackers which was sufficient to keep us going until boarding.

Our flight being called we went to gate 84 to find most pax already boarded, this meant a short wait till push back.

The Airbus 319 was very clean: blue leather seats and red patterned carpet. A most attractive combination. Cabin crew were very welcoming and later gave a good safety demonstration. The entire cabin is configured 3-3 so economy flex differs from business in having no extra personal space. However for a short flight this is no hardship. There appeared to be a high take up of economy flex seats which will no doubt have a positive impact on the bottom line.

The service consists of a sandwich, snack and drink. No hot meal is available, even to purchase. We had egg sandwiches which were of high quality.

The flight was very smooth and we landed 10 minutes early which was very welcome. My wife commented later that the take off and landing were the smoothest she has ever experienced.

On a strictly personal level, I miss the old business class food, drink and space. However I am aware of the need to maximise revenue in today's climate. Given the high take up of economy flex seats on this flight, BMI may well have hit the bullseye. I still feel that economy pax would like to option to buy a snack more substantial than a biscuit or crisps. Also it would generate additional revenue for BMI: not everyone has lounge access and for those in a hurry buying a (particularly early morning), buying a breakfast on the plane is quicker than on the terminal.

Overall a very pleasant experience, and well done to BMI.

sander1985 flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (23/02/2010 14:43)

Flight from London Heathrow to Amsterdam. registration of the plane was : G-DBCF Very correct flight. More then enough legroom and good seats ( not hard). The flight departed right on time, and landed 25 minutes ahead of schedule. Crew were friendly but I missed a little snack and drink.

sander1985 flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (22/02/2010 15:49)

I made a trip to London Heathrow for a couple off days planespotting. Our plane was scheduled to depart at 13.55 from Amsterdam ( Schiphol) We already checked in via internet. This procedure was de longest online check in I even had to do, but ik worked fine. We could pick out our preferred seats and print the Boarding passes. When we arrived at Schiphol we walked to a check-in counter to drop our bags. This was quickly done.

Boarding started at 13.30 and the plane was filled in no-time. We departed Schiphol around 14.00 via Runway 18C. The flight itself was short ( 40min). The seats on the plane G-DBCK where comfortable an not hard, as I read in some flight experiences. More then enough legroom is offered, I could fully stretch my legs. Further some snacks of drinks are NOT included in the standard economy tickets. This was confusing, the crew came by with drinks en snacks, but a lot of passengers thought it was free, but instead they had to pay for it.

After a very smooth landing at Heathrow we could leave the plane,and walk to the border for a passport control. This was fast and we just had to wait around 5 minutes for our luggage. So nothing to complain about.

For me this was a very good fligh with BMI !

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (11/02/2010 19:37)

DUB-LHR-DUB Economy. Online check-in was the usual breeze and being able to check in for both legs of the journey was very helpful. This was my first BMI flight since the introduction of the new flexible economy class.

I didn't take that opton but there seemed to be a good number of pax who did. The primary difference between this and business is that the seats (Airbus 319) are configured 3-3 throught the aircraft thus depriving pax of the extra personal space that went with business class.

The meal service is now only a warm panini or sandwich with snack and drink. Biggest surprise of all was the very limited range of snacks available for purchase in the main economy cabiin. The most substantial offering is a packet of nuts. I would have no difficulty in purchasing a sandwich as the only food available in lounges tends to be cakes , biscuits, crisps, nuts, crossaints, none of which are particularly filling.

Boarding was by row with the option of boarding at will for Diamond Club and economy flexible pax. It was very well organised at both airports. Both aircraft were Airbus 319 and had nice blue leather seats. Seat pitch was good and unlike some carriers, there is sufficient length in the seat belt to fit my girth with room to spare. The cabin was impeccable and crew gave all pax a warm welcome. There were no delays and the captains kept us well informed of flight times, progress, etc. Both flights landed on time and cabin crew bade us a warm farewell.

A very pleasant flight experience (albeit with a restricted level of catering) in clean well presented aircraft. Fares were excellent value too.

kathcake10 flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A320-200 (all economy) (01/01/2010 15:49)

I recently travelled on BMI on a short haul trip to Edinburgh. Luckily we had self-service check in which meant we didn't have to take our place in the normal queues. The line for check in was very long, and would probably have taken around 20 mins-half hour to get through. When flying with other airlines I have not seen a line as long as this one was.

The gate didn't open at the time it was supposed to and ended up opening around 10 minutes later. The queue for boarding wasn't too bad however and it was relatively quick to get on the plane. On my return again the boarding was very quick and I found no problem with this. The flight left well on time, in fact it was about 5 minutes early, which is definitely a positive. When taking my seat on the plane I found it to be very uncomfortable an quite hard, like there was some wood directly under it. There is very little leg room on cheap flights such as these which unfortunately can be a negative if you need to stretch your legs.

As we were only flying for a hour I didn't order any breakfast but the hostesses were coming around with small snacks and hot/cold drinks for passengers quite quickly.

The toilets were very small, as is expected on a airline restroom, but they were clean and didn't smell at all.

There was no entertainment offered on this flight, for example no head phones, TV programmes etc which may have made it quite boring for some people. Although the flight was too short for a film, a general short tv programme may have made the journey more interesting.

The flight back was delayed by 5 hours but I have to say this was not BMI's fault. Thanks to the snowy conditions planes were delayed for hours, and they did offer a £5 food/drink voucher to make up for this delay.

Overall for a no thrills cheap airline, BMI offered what it said on the tin! Basically it go you from A to B without giving you much back in return.

freshairways flew bmi Economy (short haul) (23/09/2009 13:40)

We flew to cyprus on a BMI A321 (G-MIDC) the flight was very good The seats were not very comfortable but their was plenty of legroom. service was very good also very good value. there was no inflight entertainment showing althoguh there was earphone jacks and tv screens.

Why_use_a_silly_name? flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (01/04/2009 15:43)

A characteristically underwhelming flight from a once class-leading airline. Forty minute queue at VCE to deposit suitcase despite having checked in on-line; there being no fast baggage drop, or even a slow one. No food whatsoever available at any price on the flight; cabin crew said that a two-and-quarter hour flight sector was not long enough to serve sandwiches - and these are the people who used to serve a full cooked breakfast between LHR & GLA.

Why_use_a_silly_name? flew bmi Economy (short haul), on a A319-100 (01/04/2009 15:19)

A characteristically underwhelming flight from a once class-leading airline. Forty minute queue at VCE to deposit suitcase despite having checked in on-line; there being no fast baggage drop, or even a slow one. No food whatsoever available at any price on the flight; cabin crew said that a two-and-quarter hour flight sector was not long enough to serve sandwiches - and these are the people who used to serve a full cooked breakfast between LHR & GLA.

PatJordan flew bmi Economy (short haul) (18/03/2009 00:16)

bmi operate a two cabin service on short haul flights. Diamond Club members are automatically seated in the forwardmost rows in economy. These are often business class seats in a 2-3 configuration with A and C being the most spacious.

Occasionally on single cabin flights, the business cabin is allocated to economy. On a recent LHR-MAN flight I was delighted to note that the first few seat rows were 2-2 configuration with very wide seats (and huge pitch). This particular aircraft was an Airbus but I am unsure of the exact model.

Boarding domestic flights from BMI's London Heathrow lounge is a very short step, but Dublin flights incur a long trek thgough a succession of metal tubes.

All but the lowest Diamind Club tier levels get complementary food & drink in economy, a very nice touch.