Emirates bows out as Virgin eyes bmi deal

Dubai flag carrier Emirates Airline has bowed out of a potential bidding war for British Midland International or bmi, the UK airline which Germany’s Lufthansa may be looking to sell. Emirates, the largest international airline, was among carriers including Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM said to have expressed interest for the loss-making bmi, as it moved to build its share of long-haul transfer traffic.Emirates is building up a fleet of 90 A380s with a total of 45,000 seats and a list price of $34bn, as it seeks to direct price-sensitive passengers through Dubai. But a spokesperson for the airline told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the carrier “is focused on its own growth, and has no plans to acquire bmi or any other airline." Etihad didn't rule out its interest, but told the newswire that "we never comment on speculation of this nature, except to say that we talk regularly and frequently to many airlines and a range of other businesses from all over the world about issues and opportunities." British airline Virgin Atlantic said Tuesday it was keen on combining with bmi and continued to monitor the situation. "We continue to have a close interest in a combination with bmi," Virgin said in a statement. International Airlines Group, formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, on Monday said it was still keen to get hold of bmi's coveted slots at London's Heathrow airport. Bmi controls about 11 percent of the take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, the world's second-busiest airport, making it second there only to BA, which has around 42 percent of the slots.Lufthansa has said that it is considering finding a partner for the loss-making bmi, and a source told Reuters on Sunday that it had mandated bankers to sound out a potential sale.