BMI baby are one of the many 'low-cost' airlines that fly to many destinations across Europe. The flight that I took was from East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire UK to Charles de Gaulle Airport at the centre of Paris. It was scheduled to take approximately 50mins and was booked as part of a package holiday to disneyland paris with Ledger travel (owned by Airtours). (I cannott, therefore, comment on the booking of the flight, as the travel agent did this for us). The outward flight was scheduled for about 11am and the return for about 4pm.
I believe that tickets for the flights that we were on cost approximately £60 each way including taxes, but this may have differed depending on when and how the ticket was booked.
CHECK IN
The staff at check-in were very helpful and check-in was a very fast process. Three baggage windows were open and the staff were polite at all times. There was no fancy logo on the check-desk and the staff 'uniform' was just a blue t-shirt,
but I never thought that things like that were particularly important.
We gave the man our passports and tickets and he gave us a choice of available seats, we could all sit together. We were given a boarding pass and went through to the departure lounge. We then went through the usual procedure of boarding which was very effeicient.
THE PLANES
At this price, I did not expect to fly in an amazing and immaculately clean plane...all that I expected was a relatively comfortable seat on an average plane.
The actual plane that I boarded was of a much better quality than I expected. (I'm afraid I have no idea what make or class it was). There were two rows of seats with a central isle and three seats on each side. Customers were boarded from both ends of the plane, making the boarding process very efficient. There was a member of staff at each door to direct us to our seats.
The on-board facilities were adequate. there was a toilet at each end of the plane and the toilet was clean. There was an in-flight magazine and refreshment trolley (though you had to pay for the refreshments) and we were offered duty-paid perfume. For a 40/50minute flight the facilities were everything you would expect.
PUNCTUALITY
The outward flight set off on time to the minute. We arrived in Paris (Charles de Gaulle, without a doubt one of the most ridiculous airports I have ever visited, I will post a review of this soon on the site) fifteen minutes early :) the whole flight taking about 40mins at the most.
The return leg of the journey was an altogether different story! As I have already mentioned, the BMI baby planes are safe, but they are also small and this makes them easy victims of bad weather. A storm might only slightly affect a Jumbo-Jet, but it will toss a small plane around like a penny in a tumble-drier....as fate would have it there was a huge storm over the UK on this particular day. This meant that, whilst the plane was ready to go at the airport, there was no way it would be abe to land int he UK. As a result of this we were delayed by 2hours and fifteen minutes, sat in the departure lounge of the airport from hell!
The flight was then announced only 10minutes before it was due to leave...cue the mad rush for security clearance! (I don't know if this was the fault of BMI or the airport). The security scanner then broke, not the fault of BMI but still VERY frustrating, and we were left to run through the departure lounge at light speed!
Still, with all of that commotion taken into account I would still use BMI baby again. A two our delay may be excessive, but for the price paid i still find it hard to complain. I woul dmuch sooner save a couple-of-hundred pounds and sit in the airport for a couple of hours than pay the cash and leave on time. But I do understand why people would sooner pay the extra cash, its all down to whether or not you are prepared to accept the lesser servce for the massive savings.
THE ON-BOARD STAFF
The on-board team consisted of three air stewardesses. They were very polite and showed me to my seat on both legs of the journey. They carried out a safety demonstration to recorded message and were able to show use the actuall equiptment that was on the plane and how to operate that exact equiptment, not like some of the safety videos I have seen on flights before where very general instructions are given for many types of aircraft.
The staff went up and down the plane throughout the flight to sell light snacks and drinks (see next section) and they were always polite and well mannered. One of them did, however, ask if I was over 14 as I was sat next to the emergency exit (I am nearly TWENTY!) and I haven't heard the last of it since!!:)
On our way off of the plane the staff thanked us for travelling with BMI baby. The staff might not have had the 'perfect' uniforms on like on more expensive airlines, but they were friendly and polite, which I think is a lot more important.
THE FOOD
There was a good selection of inflight food and drink to choose from, but it was very expensive. It cost me 75pence for a SMALL can of coke, half the size of the normal cans you get in a newsagents or vending machine. A cup of tea was £1.10, I will definately take my own food and drink if I travel with BMI baby again.
SAFETY
In order to maintain the incredible low fares that BMI baby offer, something has to give. Obviously these things can;t compromise safety, and this is reflected in the pilots. The pilots themselves are regular BMI pilots who fly the BMI baby planes as well as the much more expensive BMI flights.
The technical safety of the planes must also not be doubted. In order to fly in the UK a passenger jet MUST have a permit to fly and this is much like a car MOT. The permit is renewed every year so, regardless of the age of planes, they should all be safe. A big company in a competitive market will not take stupid gambles on plane safety just to save a few quid, I never once doubted the safety of the plane or the knowledge of the in-flight staff.
OVERALL My experience with BMI baby was very good. Even considering the substantial delay on the return leg, I would not hesitate to fly with them again. They offer substantial value for money for a fast, comfortable and effective service. If you want perfectly dressed staff with brilliantly presented check-in desks and amazingly modern planes then the service probably isn;t for you, but for the short-distance traveller who just wants to get from A to B in a hassle free manner BMI Baby is perfect.
Hope this helps you decide who to fly with in future. If there is anything else you need to know then please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can!
Alex:)
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Jan 17th, 2005
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