Starting 30 March, Brussels Airlines adds Newcastle to its extensive European network thanks to a codeshare partnership with bmi regional, the UK’s most punctual scheduled airline.

bmi Regional has launched a new service linking the two fastest growing regions in Norway - Stavanger and Northern Norway. The new routes mean Norwegians can now fly direct, non-stop to Harstad/Narvik Airport (Evenes) and Tromsø - important hubs for the Norwegian oil and gas industry - without having to connect via Oslo.

bmi regional will launch the first scheduled services connecting Stavanger with Harstad and Tromsø in northern Norway in January 2014. These services will be the first direct air link between the two fastest growing regions in Norway, and are important hubs for the Norwegian oil and gas industry.

When British Midland International was finally subsumed into International Airlines Group, owners of British Airways, in 2012 it was by no means clear that offshoot bmi regional would be able to make it on its own. Yet a little over a year later the airline has established itself as a niche carrier, offering scheduled passenger services across the UK and Europe. Here Breaking Travel News sits down with chief executive Cathal O’Connell to see how the journey from disposable subsidiary to standalone carrier was successfully made.

bmi regional has announced a deal to provide an Embraer 145 aircraft - with pilots, cabin crew and support - to Swedish regional operator Flyglinjen. Flyglinjen will introduce a three times daily, six days a week service between Kristianstad and Stockholm Arlanda using the bmi regional Embraer ERJ-145.

bmi regional will spend the week at Le Mans this year with tipped-for-the-top-spot endurance racing team, Murphy Prototypes. As the team’s official airline, the bmi regional logo will adorn the Murphy Prototype car at 24 Hours at Le Mans, the world’s oldest endurance racing event, held June 22nd-23rd in France.