bmi regional: niches and new routes. Newer equipment will be needed soon

bmi regional's plans to enter the Norwegian domestic market, together with its recently commenced contract flying for Flyglinjen in the Swedish domestic market, highlight its ability to find new regional niches. Seven of its top 10 international routes are monopolies and it has announced 11 new routes in just over a year since its sale by IAG to Sector Aviation Holdings in Jun-2012.

bmi regional's target is to be profitable in its second full year of operations and its chairman said in Jun-2013 that it was fast approaching a cash neutral position. Not surprisingly, this implies that it is loss-making, and that it will benefit from a focus on unit costs: CASK is king in the airline sector. Once it does start to generate cash, it may consider its fleet replacement options. Not only is the fleet ageing, but also the size of its Embraer jets (50 seats and fewer) are a challenge in matching the unit costs of competitors.