BMI announced plans to increase its services from Heathrow to Mumbai, India to a daily service and to introduce a three-times-weekly Heathrow-Jeddah service, following the successful launch of its Heathrow-Riyadh service earlier this month.

bmi launched a three-times-weekly service between Heathrow and Riyadh on September 1, 2005 and has seen strong bookings in both standard and premium classes. It launched four-times-weekly Heathrow-Mumbai services in May of this year.

At a press conference in Riyadh marking the launch of the Riyadh services, bmi chief executive Nigel Turner said:

"We have been delighted with the welcome we have received in Saudi Arabia, not just from the authorities but from the market. It is clear there is a real appetite for service from a British carrier on this route.

"If booking patterns continue in line with our early experience, we will look to expand our services into the Kingdom in 2006, with a three-times-weekly service from Heathrow to Jeddah.

"At the same time, we expect to increase our Mumbai services to daily. Despite strong competition between the UK and India, as a result of deregulation, we have experienced positive results to date and expect to strengthen our relationship with India further in the future."

Earlier, Nigel Turner had confirmed bmi's plans for future expansion of its long-haul network, which now includes destinations in the US and the Caribbean (from Manchester) and Mumbai and Riyadh (from London Heathrow).

He said,

"The long-haul arena is a key strategic imperative for bmi. We hope to expand our services to Saudi Arabia and to India in 2006. In addition, we continue to press for the introduction of open skies between the UK and the US, allowing us to fly from Heathrow to the States."

It is bmi's second long-haul route from Heathrow, where it is the second largest operator, accounting for one in six of all flights, adding to its Heathrow-Mumbai service which launched earlier in the year.