Syria Today | Q&A: Peter Spencer, managing director of bmi

Q&A: Peter Spencer

Managing director of bmi

What is your flight schedule for Syria?
We have non-stop daily flights between Damascus and London. We also fly from Damascus to Addis Ababa five times a week and between Damascus and Aleppo twice a week.

How is business in Syria?
Damascus is witnessing a remarkably high growth rate. Business has expanded so much in Damascus that we had to remove Ankara from the Damascus route and start operating non-stop daily flights to the UK. Since we changed our flight schedule last October, our business in Syria has increased even more than we thought it would. People don’t seem to be using any other airlines to travel between Damascus and Europe. The reason I am in Damascus is to start planning how we will accommodate all of our customers during the summer.

How has the global financial crisis affected your business in Syria?
Actually, bmi’s business in Syria has not been affected at all. We are experiencing a kind of depression in Europe at the moment, due to the financial crisis. For the airline business, this has meant a reduction in the number of passengers. People in Europe are now being very careful with their money and they are looking for the low fares, understandably so. We haven’t seen the same hesitation or downturn in passengers on the Syrian route at all. On the contrary, the number of passengers is increasing.

How is bmi competing with other carriers in the country?
The competition is very healthy. For bmi, it is about ensuring that you offer the customers value for their money. We provide a different service to other airlines. With us, you don’t have to take a camel trek for three hours into the Gulf just to fly to London which is another seven-hour flight. We have non-stop flights to London every day and we provide a comfortable service in business class at competitive rates. But it’s not only about the service in the sky, it’s also about customer convenience on the ground, like check-ins and lounges. Bmi provides a good service in this area as well.