bmi, British Midland International, to Launch New Route From London Heathrow to Tripoli, Libya

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- One of Britain's leading airlines, bmi, is to launch a new, daily service from London to the Libyan capital, Tripoli.  Good connections from New York, Boston, Washington – Dulles, Houston, and Chicago are available with Star Alliance and code-share partners, Continental Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and United.  Connections can also be made with ease from Toronto, Canada and are offered in conjunction with Star Alliance member and code-share partner Air Canada.

The service from London Heathrow, operated by an Airbus A319, will begin on 1st December 2010 and is available to book now.  Flight BD469 will depart London Heathrow at 8:55 a.m. and arrive in Tripoli at 2:30 p.m. Flight BD470 will leave Tripoli at 3:15 p.m., arriving at London Heathrow at 4:45 p.m.

The Business Class cabin will offer a full Business Class service; including hot meals with a British twist served on all flights with a fully stocked bar service. The seating in the Business Class cabin will offer a 2:2 configuration, with the middle seat kept free to offer more space to work or just relax.

Customers in Economy will enjoy bmi's full service benefits such as a complimentary food service including a hot breakfast and full bar service throughout the flight.

Business Class customers and Diamond Club Gold and Silver members can take advantage of bmi's flagship international lounge, the Great British Lounge, at London Heathrow Terminal One. Star Alliance Gold members will also be offered complimentary lounge access.

Visitors to Tripoli, a vibrant oil city, will find much of its ancient charm still intact, including the Roman arch of Marcus Aurelius. Day trips can be taken to the sites of several Roman ruins and there are many beautiful beaches outside the city.

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive of bmi, commented:

"bmi's new route to Tripoli expands our existing services to and from cities of influence across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Our business customers in particular will find the new, daily service gives them even more choice between the US and Canada to Libya and offers convenient domestic and long haul connections via our Heathrow hub."

Notes to Editors:

British Midland International (bmi) is the second largest airline at London Heathrow, one of the world's leading international hub airports. Across its mainline route network bmi operates to Aberdeen; Addis Ababa; Almaty; Amman; Baku; Beirut; Belfast City; Berlin; Bishkek; Cairo; Damascus; Dammam; Dublin; Edinburgh; Freetown; Glasgow; Hanover; Jeddah; Khartoum; London Heathrow; Manchester; Moscow Domodedovo; Riyadh; Tbilisi; Tehran; Tripoli; Vienna; Yerevan.

bmi Regional operates to Aberdeen; Birmingham; Brussels; Copenhagen; East Midlands; Edinburgh; Esbjerg; Glasgow; Groningen; Leeds Bradford; Lyon; Manchester; Norwich; Zurich.

bmi is a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller.  Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Air India has been announced as a future member. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers over 21,200 daily flights to 1,172 airports in 181 countries.

SOURCE British Midland International