BMI announced suspension of Tel Aviv flights

The scrapping is part of sweeping cost-cutting measures. The carrier is cutting at least 600 jobs and is reducing its fleet of jets
 
Britain's second largest airline bmi announced last week it would suspend its route between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv, effective January 9, 2010. The announcement came less than two years after the service was launched.
 
The scrapping is part of sweeping cost-cutting measures. The carrier is cutting at least 600 jobs and is reducing its fleet of jets, as well as scrapping loss-making routes to cope with falling demand in the growling economy.
 
bmi, which is the second-biggest carrier at London's Heathrow Airport and employs 4,500 people, will reduce the number of aircraft in its bmi Mainline unit by nine from the current 39. bmi departure leaves the route to El Al, easyJet and British Airways.
 
According to a statement released by the airline, the route is one of five, includingAmsterdam, Brussels, the Ukrainian capital Kiev and Aleppo in Syria to be suspended in an attempt “to improve the profitability of bmi.
 
The statement also said that the airline, which is owned by German airline Lufthansa, “will focus on routes serving oil, energy and emerging markets with a particular focus on business class customers and those visiting friends and relatives”.
 
bmi began flying to Israel on March 13 2008 with one daily flight, seven flights per week.
 
In March2009 an additional daily non-stop service from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv was added so that services from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv operated twice daily with a morning flight and an evening flight.
 
In recent months, the airline had been deepening its activity in Israel, and at times even carried more passengers on the route than British Airways. The last flight from Heathrow will be on January 9 2010 and from Tel Aviv on January 10 2010.