East Midlands Airport Parking

Sale of bmi Regional completed

The sale of the regional division of BMI to the UK consortium of investors, Sector Aviation Holdings Ltd. by IAG (British Airways) has now been completed in a deal that secures the future of the bmi Regional brand and business and sees the airline continue as an independent entity.

Future plans including the likely strengthening of the head office function at East Midlands Airport with the creation of up to 40 new jobs in sales, customer service and finance as well as maintaining the operating centre in Scotland.

Ian Woodley, who becomes Chairman of bmi Regional under the new regime, said: "We are continuing with the existing route network while BA will provide support during the transitional phase of the operation and we will be working closely with them to ensure as seamless a transfer as possible.

"I would also like to reassure our many customers, who will have naturally been wondering what the future holds during what has been a very uncertain period, that it is very much business as usual including the retention of the BMI brand and existing services.

"This is a great company with fantastic people and my colleagues and I are immensely proud to have concluded the acquisition of an organisation that is held in such high regard throughout the United Kingdom and beyond."

Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, said: "I very much welcome the fact that bmi Regional has found a buyer and that existing routes and jobs will be saved. It is also extremely positive news that up to 40 new jobs look likely to be created at East Midlands Airport following investment by the new owners."

Ken O'Toole, Chief Commercial Officer, MAG, owner of East Midlands Airport commented: "Today's news that jobs are protected and the airport's connections to Brussels and Frankfurt will be maintained is extremely positive.

"The airport is the region's gateway to Europe and preserving routes to major European hubs is vital. bmi Regional recognises the importance of global connectivity and, in turn, the benefits this brings to businesses in the region. We are now looking forward to working closely with the new owners, to build on the strong operation we already have at East Midlands Airport and develop the network further."

Ian Woodley and colleague Graeme Ross, who will oversee business development, know the business well, having founded its predecessor Business Air, which was sold to British Midland in 1996 while Robert Sturman, who has held a number of senior positions within the industry, is also part of the management team which had been in negotiation with IAG/BA, and previously Lufthansa, since the autumn of last year. He assumes the role of CEO.

Sector Aviation, the company acquiring bmi Regional, is being funded by Stephen and Peter Bond who have extensive aviation investment experience including Scottish regional Loganair and Alliance in Australia.

bmi Regional operates over 600 flights a week throughout the UK and Europe, many in partnership with SAS, Lufthansa, Brussells Airlines and Swiss and was recently voted the UK's most punctual airline for the seventh year in a row.

While the immediate future will witness little change to the day to day operations of the business, as Ian Woodley confirms, the new owners will be exploring new opportunities for bmi Regional: "It is very much our aim to develop the network in both the UK and Europe and with the future now secured and that uncertainty removed, we can look ahead with confidence," he said.

"These are exciting times and underpinning all that we are planning is the fact that bmi Regional's customers will continue to benefit from our convenient schedules, a wide choice of destinations within the UK and Europe and a high level of service and punctuality."

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Monarch Airlines Launches Winter 12/13 & Summer 2013 Flight Programme From East Midlands Airport

Monarch, the leading scheduled leisure airline, recently announced it was to launch a new UK base and flights from East Midlands Airport from 31 August 2012, with the introduction of four new routes. The airline is delighted to now be expanding its scheduled services for Winter 2012/13 and Summer 2013, with the addition of further new routes to Tenerife, Lanzarote and Ibiza.

Flights for Winter 2012/2013 from East Midlands Airport start from 28th October 2012 and will include the following services; all available to book via www.monarch.co.uk:

- **NEW ROUTE** Lanzarote - 2 x new weekly flights
- **NEW ROUTE** Tenerife - 2 x new weekly flights
- Malaga - 3 x flights per week
- Alicante - 2 x flights per week
- Faro - 2 x flights per week

New flights to Ibiza have also been added to the flight programme for Summer 2013.

Commenting on the new flights for Winter 2012/2013 and Summer 2013, Managing Director of Monarch Airlines, Kevin George said, "We have been delighted by the response to the announcement that we will be opening a new base and new flights from East Midlands Airport this summer. Demand for flights has been already been strong and it is great that hot on the heels of the launch, we are able to expand our network and add new routes to Tenerife, Lanzarote and Ibiza.

"The rapid expansion of our network from East Midlands Airport is testament to our commitment to provide choice, value and superior customer service to more and more customers in the Midlands."

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Monarch Airlines launch first flight programme

Monarch, the leading scheduled leisure airline, has today launched its first programme of flights for Summer 2012 from its new UK base, East Midlands Airport. The new scheduled flights will operate to key leisure destinations across the Mediterranean.

Flights for Summer 2012 from East Midlands Airport will start from 31st August 2012 and will include daily services to Malaga, Alicante, Faro (Portugal) and Palma (Majorca) all available to book via www.monarch.co.uk.

Commenting on the launch of Summer 2012 flights and the new routes from East Midlands Airport, Managing Director of Monarch Airlines, Kevin George said, "We are delighted to launch our first programme of Summer 2012 flights from East Midlands Airport, providing greater choice to customers in the Midlands. The launch of operations from East Midlands accelerates the strategy we announced last year to focus on the development of our scheduled operations into key leisure destinations across the Mediterranean, the Canaries and North Africa.

"The new daily scheduled services to Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Majorca supports the airlines' determination to deliver an all-encompassing proposition; offering choice, value and superior customer service from all of the major gateways in the UK."

Ken O'Toole, Chief Commercial Officer, MAG, owner of East Midlands Airport said: "We are proud to have played a part in bringing new business to the region and we very much look forward to officially welcoming our new partners to the East Midlands in August.

"Monarch's decision to start up a brand new operation here in the East Midlands shows the strength and potential of the East Midlands market and we're keen to work with the airline to establish a strong home at the airport and play a part in helping the services to flourish."

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Start spreading the news...Jet2holidays' New York festive shopping trip is back!

3-star package holiday from £699 per person and flight from £415.89 return.

The region's ONLY direct flight from East Midlands Airport to New York.

7 March 2011: Package holiday specialist, Jet2holidays, has today announced the return of its hugely successful New York Christmas Shopping Break direct from East Midlands Airport - reintroduced following the overwhelming success of last year's inaugural trip.

The three night weekend break to the city that never sleeps, is available for £699 per person, including return flight, 10kg hand baggage and three-star hotel accommodation. Shopaholics can secure their festive package holiday for a wallet friendly deposit of just £60 per person.

Jet2.com's return flight to the Big Apple is also available from £415.89 per person, including taxes. The flight will leave from East Midlands to New York's Newark Airport for one shopping weekend departing on Thursday 15th November, returning Sunday 18th November.

Steve Heapy, Managing Director of Jet2holidays and Chief Commercial Officer of Jet2.com, said: "Following the huge success of our first ever transatlantic trip from East Midlands airport last year, we are delighted to be making our festive weekend shopping break available again. There has been overwhelming demand from East Midlands customers for this route to be reintroduced, as they enjoy the convenience of a direct service to the Big Apple. We recognise times are tough so want to make it as easy as possible for people to secure and plan ahead for this much anticipated break, hence launching these trips even earlier.

"There really is no place quite like New York in the run up to Christmas. Whether it's skating in Central Park, treating the kids in FAO Schwarz, soaking up the atmosphere in Times Square or taking in a Broadway show, I'd encourage people to book now so they don't miss out on a magical trip of a lifetime direct from their region."

Brad Miller, Managing Director, East Midlands Airport said, "Today's announcement of a second one-off shopping trip to New York with Jet2holidays is fantastic news for the airport and the region. Having operated from East Midlands Airport for the first time in 2011, it clearly reflects the strength of our relationship with Jet2.com. Last year's flight was incredibly popular and demonstrates the potential demand of the market between the East Midlands and the United States."

This special departure gives passengers the chance to experience all that New York has to offer, in the run up to Christmas and we are confident that the flight will again be a huge success.

Both Jet2holidays and Jet2.com customers can take advantage of the airline's generous 22kg hold baggage allowance - perfect for bringing back all those shopping bargains - which can be purchased at the time of booking.

To book holidays visit www.Jet2holidays.com or to book flights visit www.Jet2.com.

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East Midlands Airport's carbon partner scheme steps up a gear

East Midlands Airport has recently, implemented phase two of their carbon partner scheme, aimed at enabling on site partners to adopt low carbon vehicles and providing partners with a way to offset carbon emissions from their airside vehicle operations.

Phase one of the scheme was first launched to on-site partners, who operate vehicles airside, in 2010, to complement the airport's commitment of ground operations becoming carbon neutral by 2012. The scheme has allowed these companies to work with the airport to implement long term, low carbon vehicle options, through a welcomed eco-fund and offsets for any remaining emissions from ground vehicles.

Neil Robinson, Director of Sustainability East Midlands Airport said: "It's incredibly important to us to work with all partner companies based on site to share best practice and encourage innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions. Whilst, we are on track to hit our carbon neutral target in 2012, we think it is paramount to help other companies to be greener. The carbon partner scheme has been especially successful and all companies involved are pleased with the output of the scheme."

Long standing partner of the airport, bmibaby was the first company in the scheme to invest in green vehicles, with the introduction of an electric vehicle. To support this low carbon choice, the airport, Leicestershire County Council and the Midlands Plugged in Places scheme, supported by Cenex, the UK's first Centre for Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell technologies, have worked together to introduce four POD Point electric vehicle charging points in an airside location close to the airport's apron.

Erik Fairbairn, CEO of POD Point Ltd said: "We are delighted that POD Point EV charging points will be part of a successful ground operations carbon reduction programme. Providing the infrastructure for electric vehicles shows a clear, long-term commitment to lowering carbon emissions, and it has been a particular pleasure to see an airport going down this route in addition to purchasing offsets."

More recently, the airport has teamed up with Carbon Footprint Ltd, to implement phase two of the scheme, where carbon emissions from vehicles operating on the airport's aprons are offset through an environment project in Turkey. The project was specifically chosen by the airport and on site partners involved in the scheme, as it provides both social and environmental benefits. The Keban Project is a small scale hydropower project with a total installed capacity of 5 MW; consisting of one turbine with an estimated net power supply to the grid of 31,686 MWh per annum and an annual emission reduction of 19,510 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This unusual project, certified to the Verified Carbon Standard, also provides remarkable social benefits, as the reservoir provides a home to a local sustainable trout fishery, which in turn supplies a fish restaurant, situated on the banks of the reservoir.

Neil Robinson continued: "We are very excited to be supporting such a worthwhile project in one of our most popular holiday destinations and are pleased to see that the project has all round sustainable benefits for members of the local community."

John Buckley, Managing Director of Carbon Footprint Ltd said: "East Midlands Airport has offset their ground vehicle emissions using a high quality project. Whereas, perhaps in the past some other businesses may have 'just purchased carbon offsets', EMA has put in place a programme of carbon reduction initiatives and made firm commitments to continue reducing carbon emissions. Within the airport sector, these actions mark East Midlands Airport out as sustainability leaders."

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Industry Recognition for Jet2.com - Best Short Haul Airline in the Globe Travel Awards

26 January 2012 - Leading leisure airline, Jet2.com is celebrating after being crowned Best Short Haul Airline at the coveted Globe Travel Awards 2012.

The annual Globe Travel Awards are regarded as the pinnacle of the travel industry calendar with travel agents and industry professionals nominating and voting for the most deserving travel companies across eight different categories. The cream of the British travel industry gathered at Grosvenor House hotel in London for the ceremony where Jet2.com proudly beat bmi, British Airways, easyJet, Iberia and Lufthansa to win the Short Haul Airline category.

Steve Heapy, Chief Commercial Officer of Jet2.com, said: "We are delighted to be named Best Short Haul Airline at the Globe Travel Awards beating the likes of British Airways and easyJet. This award follows a string of other award wins in recent months, making this a real highlight for us and a great start to the New Year. This industry recognition is also a fantastic testament to the on-going commitment of Jet2.com staff who make it possible for passengers to travel to some of Europe's finest destinations.

"The secret to our continued success is the fact that we take real pride in listening and responding to our customer needs. We know that with stretched finances, customers want good value for money now more than ever. Our great value flights offer allocated seating, a generous 22kg baggage allowance and a friendly service which is why our loyal customers come back time and again."

This is the latest in a flurry of awards received by Jet2.com who scooped best airline for Mainland Spain and Balearics, as well as the Canaries following a short-haul airline satisfaction survey by Which? magazine. It's also recently picked up Best Low-Cost Airline in the Scottish Passenger Agents Association Awards and was voted runner up in the Best Short Haul Airline category of The Telegraph Travel Awards. Sister company and package holiday expert, Jet2holidays has also had its share of the glory in recent months after being named Best Tour Operator to the Iberian Peninsular and Canary Islands at the British Travel Awards. To book with the award winning travel companies, visit www.jet2.com and www.jet2holidays.com

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All Inclusive Takes Top Spot in 2012 For East Midlands Holidaymakers

10 December 2011 - Leading leisure airline, Jet2.com, and package holiday specialist, Jet2holidays, have today launched an in-depth What's Hot 2012 report into the key travel trends for the year ahead. The report combines research findings from more than a thousand holidaymakers with customer data and their considerable travel expertise, to provide an insight into how people will holiday in 2012.

What's Hot 2012 reveals 'Where' the hot destinations will be, 'Why' people are planning certain types of breaks, 'Who' people will be travelling with and 'How' they are planning their holiday.

In addition to the national findings, key East Midlands statistics include:

Escaping economic gloom and Olympic overload:
- Talk of a double dip recession plus the current Eurozone crisis isn't stopping people from jetting away in 2012. In fact, there is a determined desire to escape from it all with 33 per cent of respondents from East Midlands stating a holiday is vital to their health and wellbeing, and a quarter saying they are prepared to sacrifice other treats throughout the year for their much needed break.
- Luxury breaks are also proving very popular, with double the amount of holidaymakers booking budget busting trips to 5 star luxury resorts than in previous years.
- Surprisingly, despite all the hype around the Olympics and Euro 2012 at home, the thoughts of a summer of sport makes 67 per cent of people from East Midlands want to escape on a beach holiday.

Savvy holiday choices:
- With the rising cost of living and many families feeling the pinch, All Inclusives are set to be the holiday of choice for East Midlands families in 2012, mainly because this kind of holiday allows people to budget effectively and set the total cost, and pay for their break, upfront. Jet2holidays has seen continued growth in this sector - 60 per cent of family holiday bookings are for All Inclusive packages.

It's Viva Espaa, Dalaman and Crete:
- The long-term love affair with Spanish hot spots including Alicante, Ibiza, Majorca and Malaga, soars into 2012 with 30 per cent of sun seekers saying they are heading to the Iberian Peninsula for their main holiday.
- Dalaman (Turkey) and Crete are also seeing a peak in interest, with 22 per cent planning an escape to these Eastern Mediterranean resorts.

A taste for culture:
- Tasting local life is the main driver for couples on both 2012 beach and city escapes, with 67 per cent deliberately choosing a destination to savour its authenticity, from sampling traditional delicacies to joining in local customs.
- Shopping and partying are taking a back seat when it comes to city breaks. Culture and sightseeing instead take priority for almost half of all planned trips. Istanbul's Blue Mosque, Prague's St George's Basilica, Rome's magnificent Coliseum, and Budapest's Houses of Parliament are amongst the must-see landmarks in European cities, tempting East Midlands travellers to seek out a more mind-broadening break.

Bonding breaks:
- Multigenerational holidays are set to increase in popularity as an increasing number of families are seeing the financial and childcare benefits of travelling with other family members, particularly grandparents.

Steve Heapy, Managing Director of Jet2holidays and Chief Commercial Officer of Jet2.com, said: "The travel landscape is changing with socio-economic factors meaning travellers want something different from their holidays. Whether they can switch off best by relaxing on a beach or find it more refreshing to explore a new city and culture, we are always monitoring and listening to our customers to review destinations and schedules accordingly.

"2012 is certainly set to be an interesting year but it's encouraging to see that the majority of people are still making it a priority to jet away on a much needed foreign escape, despite the current turbulent financial climate in the UK and ongoing Eurozone crisis."

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays offer flights and package holidays to over 50 exciting city, sun and ski destinations. Those looking for great value trips for 2012 can visit www.jet2.com or www.jet2holidays.com

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Thousands flying this Christmas from East Midlands Airport

20th December 2011

With less than a week to go until Christmas Day, thousands of people will be packing their suitcases, ready to travel through East Midlands Airport.

It is expected that approximately 80,000 people will be travelling through the airport between Thursday 22nd December 2011 and Monday 2nd January 2012 , a 2.5% increase when compared to the same period in 2010/11. The Christmas getaway begins on Thursday 22nd December 2011, with approximately 8,300 passengers set to travel in and out of the East Midlands region. The busiest day for the airport this Christmas is predicted to be Monday 2nd January 2012, with 10,000 passengers travelling.

Winter sunshine is attracting the majority of travellers to Tenerife, Lanzarote and Alicante, closely followed by Dublin and Belfast, this year's top Christmas city breaks.

Brad Miller, Managing Director, East Midlands Airport said "Our predicted figures this Christmas are encouraging with over 2,000 additional passengers travelling during the 12 day period, a 2.5% increase on last year. In addition to the expected increase in the number of people travelling over Christmas and New Year, we are forecasting a 4% increase in passenger figures for December, welcoming over 210,000 passengers throughout the month."

On Christmas day, flights will operate to and from Malaga, Lanzarote and Tenerife, in addition to passengers returning from Barbados and Gran Canaria in the early hours of Christmas morning.

In the run up to the festive period, the airport is advising all passengers to check security restrictions before arriving at the airport. Passengers travelling with Christmas gifts and decorations are advised to check security restrictions before travelling. Gifts such as perfume and alcohol should be placed in hold baggage, as liquids of more than 100mls are not permitted in hand baggage. Passengers carrying presents in their hand luggage are advised to leave them unwrapped, as they may need to be inspected as part of the security screening process.

ENDS

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Ryanair announces 6 new routes at East Midlands

to Almeria, Barcelona, Chania (Crete), Corfu, Rhodes & Zadar (Croatia)

RYANAIR, the world's favourite airline, today (1 December) announced that it will add six new routes (36 in total) at East Midlands from summer 2012 - to Almeria, Barcelona, Chania (Crete), Corfu, Rhodes and Zadar (Croatia) - which will increase Ryanair's traffic at East Midlands to over 1.8 million passengers p.a. and which will sustain 1,800 local jobs.

Ryanair celebrated this further expansion of its East Midlands base by releasing 1 million £9.99 seats for travel across its European network in December and January. These low fares are now available for booking on www.ryanair.com until midnight on Monday (5 December).

Ryanair's six new low fare routes from East Midlands to Almeria, Barcelona, Chania, Corfu, Rhodes and Zadar go on sale on www.ryanair.com tomorrow (Friday 2 December).

Ryanair's Dara Brady said: "East Midlands today celebrates six new routes from April 2012. These new flights go on sale tomorrow.

"With a total of 36 low fare routes from East Midlands this summer, passengers can beat the recession by choosing Ryanair's guaranteed lowest fares and no fuel surcharges to exciting destinations all over Europe. Ryanair's 1.8 million passengers will sustain 1,800 jobs locally in East Midlands in 2012.

"To celebrate these six new routes from East Midlands, Ryanair is releasing 1 million seats on sale for just £9.99 for travel across Europe in December and January. Since these seats will be snapped up fast, we urge intending passengers to book them immediately on www.ryanair.com".

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East Midlands Airport wind turbines receive Green Apple Award

East Midlands Airport is celebrating after being awarded a Green Apple Environment Award for the fifth consecutive year, at a National presentation held on Monday 14th November 2011 in the House of Commons.

The airport was recognised by the Green Organisation, an independent environment group, for environmental best practice, commending the airport's achievement in successfully installing two commercial scale wind turbines on site - a UK airport first.

The airport worked with turbine manufacturers and the Civil Aviation Authority for nearly three years to complete a comprehensive feasibility and planning process, producing a robust safety case that allowed the airport to become the first in the country to install turbines of this scale on the airport site. Each of the turbines measure 45 metres including the rotor blades, which have a radius of 15 metres and together they will produce 5% of the airport's electricity, enough to power 150 houses.

Neil Robinson, Director of Sustainability, East Midlands Airport said: "We are delighted to have won a Green Apple Award for the fifth year running. We truly believe our environmental projects are leading the way for airports and have championed a number of UK, European and World firsts in the past six years.

"Receiving external recognition for the wind turbines project is a great accolade, as the knowledge we have gained and are now able to pass to other businesses, both in the aviation industry and further afield, will undoubtedly help to create a sustainable future and benefit the environment."

The wind turbine development, launched in May 2011, added to the renewable projects the airport has implemented over the past six years and also contributes significantly to the airport's "Inspiring Young People" programme, at the Aerozone, the airport's on site education facility.

During UK Climate Week, earlier this year, the Aerozone hosted the first North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) Climate Summit. This event was attended by young people from across the region, providing them with an understanding of Climate Change and how the emissions of a business can be reduced.

The Green Apple Environment Awards were launched in 1994 by The Green Organisation and have become well established as one of the most popular environmental campaigns in the world. The awards, now in their eighteenth year, are well established as one of the major environmental recognition schemes, both in the UK and internationally.

ENDS

For more information contact:

EMA Press Office
Tel: 0845 108 8542
Email: pressoffice@eastmidlandsairport.com

Notes to editors:
-
- In 2006, East Midlands Airport was the first UK airport to commit to making its ground operations carbon neutral by 2012.
- East Midlands Airport was the first European airport to offer WebTrak, an online facility to view aircraft operation in the Airport's airspace.
- East Midlands Airport was the first UK airport to plant a 26 hectare willow farm that will provide fuel for a bio-mass boiler in the terminal building by 2012.
- East Midlands Airport is the only UK airport to successfully retain the environmental management system ISO14001 since 2002.
- More information on the progress of East Midlands Airport's carbon neutral commitment can be found in the Manchester Airport Group's 2010 sustainability report: www.magworld.co.uk.
- East Midlands Airport was awarded a Community Mark, the Mayday Carbon Positive Award and was crowned the Carbon Positive Pioneer for the East Midlands region in the 2011 BiTC awards
- East Midlands Airport was highly commended in the Sustainable Business of the Year category of the Environment and Energy Awards 2011
The airport promotes environmentally sound choices amongst customers, by encouraging passengers to offset carbon emissions from their journey through the airport's website and by providing good transport links to and from the surrounding areas.

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