BMI British Midland and Virgin Atlantic may announce new route and codesharing deals within the next few months, but a proposed merger has "run into the sand", BMI says. The airlines have been in talks for the past four to five months on ways to co-operate, including joint marketing, joint lobbying, route sharing, codesharing and sharing airport facilities. A merged airline would be able to compete on equal terms against Virgin rival British Airways by combining BMI's European and domestic network with Virgin's long-haul operation - it would also bring Virgin the ability to expand its services by using BMI's London Heathrow slots. But although the airlines may still collaborate in other ways, a formal merger was dismissed earlier this month, the airlines say.
Source: Flight International
