bmi will launch a daily non-stop service from Heathrow to Tel Aviv on 13 March 2008. The route goes on sale on 6th December with economy fares starting from £243.60 and business fares starting from £881.60 including taxes and charges. The route will be operated by an Airbus A320 in a two class configuration, with 20 seats in business and 108 in economy.

The flight schedule has been specifically designed to offer passengers well-timed connections to bmi services to and from regional airports, including those in Scotland, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Durham Tees Valley and Belfast as well as Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.

Nigel Turner, chief executive officer of bmi said: “The launch of our Heathrow to Tel Aviv route is tremendous news as it allows us to serve next year a market we had identified as having potential for greater competition and one that fits ideally into our mid haul expansion strategy from Heathrow.

“We have every confidence that our presence on this new route will stimulate its competitiveness. We are committed to delivering a superior product, both on the ground and in the air as well as offering a range of highly competitive fares that will appeal to a wide range of markets.

“Tel Aviv is a key destination in the Middle East and its addition further enhances our ever-growing network of destinations in an area of economic growth and development.”

bmi has been able to enter the Heathrow to Tel Aviv market following the successful conclusion of bilateral talks between the UK and Israeli governments. bmi successfully applied to the CAA for designation as the second UK carrier permitted under the new agreement.

The launch of services from Heathrow to Tel Aviv will grow the total number of destinations served by bmi from Heathrow next year to 41. The full list of destinations is: Aberdeen; Addis Ababa; Aleppo; Alicante; Almaty; Amman; Amsterdam; Ankara; Baku; Beirut; Belfast City; Bishkek; Brussels; Cairo; Dakar; Damascus; Dammam; Dublin; Durham Tees Valley; Edinburgh; Ekaterinburg; Freetown; Glasgow; Hanover; Inverness; Jeddah; Jersey; Khartoum; Leeds Bradford; Lyon; Manchester; Moscow Domodedovo; Naples; Nice; Palma Mallorca; Riyadh; Tbilisi; Tehran; Tel Aviv; Venice; Yerevan.
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