BMed presently too small to sell: new CEO

Flight International online news 09:00GMT: British Airways franchise partner BMed’s new chief executive says the carrier is not expecting to undergo a sale until it has expanded to a size which will interest investors.

Speaking to ATI at a Oneworld alliance event in Amman, David Richardson said the airline needed to reinforce its operation and clarify its relationship with British Airways.

“One of my objectives is to expand the airline to have more options five years down the line,” he says. “We’re way too small to be of interest to anyone or be in a position to float. I don’t see a sell-off in the short, or even the medium term.”

BMed is to take delivery of the first of seven new Airbus A321s, adding to its present fleet of seven Airbus A320s and A321s. After delivery of the first two in January and June next year, BMed will introduce the others at a rate of about one per year.

“It would have been easy for BMed to bumble along with the seven aircraft it has,” says Richardson. “We’re looking at the foundations to double its size.”

He says the London Heathrow-based airline is “more likely” to add to its present network of 15 Central Asian, Middle East and African destinations rather than simply increase frequencies.

“Frequencies will absorb some of the new aircraft but not all of them,” he states. BMed is looking to expand further into Central Asia and Africa, and two more cities are likely to be added next year, although Richardson says the carrier wants to avoid intruding on mainline British Airways routes.

BMed operates to Amman – the only Oneworld affiliate carrier to serve Jordan – and Richardson sees potential to extend BMed’s operation through a Royal Jordanian Airlines codeshare, now that the Middle East carrier has agreed to join the alliance.

He says that this could be useful for expanding BMed’s reach into sensitive areas such as Iraq, where the carrier would be reluctant to highlight its UK connections.

BMed has started a review of its links with British Airways in order to clarify its role alongside the flag-carrier. While BMed was “very profitable” last year and, says Richardson, could theoretically “stand on its own”, it is likely to remain as a franchise partner. He says the discussions with British Airways will help the airline to decide where it wants to be in five years’ time.