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11:46 am, November 4, 2009
Bmibaby cuts jobs at Manchester Airport

By James Chapelard

Low cost carrier Bmibaby said today it planned to make 54 pilots and 82 cabin crew redundant at Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff airports.

The airline said the restructuring programme will enable it to concentrate on core operations and activities and to adjust existing schedules and frequencies to maximise their potential. Up to 45 jobs are at risk at Manchester including 20 pilots, eight cabin managers and 17 cabin crew.

It follows revelations earlier today that the airline will end services from Manchester to Malaga and Alicante this month. It's unclear at this stage whether further routes will be cut from Manchester.

Bmibaby is reducing its fleet size by five aircraft in 2010 from the current 17. It said the move comes against a background of “the worst economic recession in recent times” and record losses in the aviation industry.

However part of the restructuring programme will create the capacity to add to the number of destinations it will serve next year from Manchester Aiports Group-owned East Midlands Airport.

The news is in sharp contrast to the announcement earlier this week that rivals Ryanair had posted an 80 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to E387m for the six months to September 2009.

Crawford Rix, managing director, Bmibaby, said: “Since the launch of Bmibaby we have established ourselves as a leading player in the low cost airline market. However the aviation industry is facing its toughest time ever – it is experiencing record losses and remedial action has to be taken. Bmibaby is no exception to this.

“We have to focus our efforts and activities on routes and services that we believe are the best fit for our business. We believe that having identified and by concentrating on the core business areas and reinforcing our efforts, we can ensure that Bmibaby continues to provide its customers with the best possible competitive fares as well as an attractive range of business and leisure products.”

As a result of the restructuring programme 10 pilot and 15 cabin crew positions will be created at East Midlands Airport. Another 22 management and support positions may go at Bmibaby's head office and at the airports. Bmibaby has today commenced discussions with staff and union representatives with a view to minimising job losses wherever possible.

From Manchester airport Bmibaby flies to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast International, Bordeaux, Cork, Faro, Geneva, Ireland West Knock, Jersey, Lisbon, Lourdes, Newquay, Palma, Perpignan, Prague and Toulouse.

Comments? jchapelard@crain.com