British Midland, the second largest airline at London's Heathrow airport, on Friday announced it acquired British Airways franchise airline British Mediterranean. CEO David Richardson will retain his position and report British Midland CEO Nigel Turner. Turner, along with Sir Michael Bishop, chairman of British Midland, and the carrier's deputy CEO Tim Bye, have been appointed to British Mediterranean's board effectively immediately and all existing non-executive directors of British Mediterranean resigned on Friday. "The acquisition enables the BMI group to accelerate its strategy of expansion into medium-haul markets," Turner said. "BMED operates to 17 destinations in 16 countries and has no overlap with any current BMI route. Many of these destinations have restricted access to the market due to existing bi-lateral agreements. Synergies include BMED's Heathrow base and the fact that it operates IAE-engined Airbus A320 and 321 aircraft in a two class configuration."
