Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive of bmi, British Midland International, spoke to Business Telegraph recently about the airline's performance

Has moving bmibaby's base to Belfast City Airport been a success?

It has proved to be the right strategy for the bmi group to focus on Belfast City and having both airlines operating from the same airport in Belfast also makes business sense.

Positive developments have encouraged us to enhance bmibaby's destination portfolio and we recently added a new service to Stansted and seven new routes from Belfast City Airport.

How have recent changes at Heathrow affected bmi?

bmi has benefited considerably. bmi is now the largest airline operating out of Terminal 1 at Heathrow and the once-crowded corridors and departure gates have been redesigned and the quality of air travel through Terminal 1 is much more satisfactory.

Our arrangements at Heathrow now make it easier to transfer between different bmi routes.

In the last few months, bmi has opened new routes that extend convenient linkages for international travel.

In total, bmi now has direct services to 32 worldwide destinations and that is without making any allowance for the other services available through our partners in the Lufthansa Group of airlines.

We remain a British carrier with a British identity. In addition there are synergies and economies of scale for us by being part of the Lufthansa Group from which we can definitely benefit.

How is bmi coping with the recession, spending cuts and fuel costs?

The trading environment in the UK is currently very challenging; the UK economy is lagging behind other leading countries in Europe and disposable income has decreased - both ultimately affect consumer confidence.

Therefore, the trading environment for the airline industry is challenging.

This is not helped by the Government increasing taxes and BAA increasing their domestic passenger charges which we vehemently oppose. The owners of Heathrow have increased the charge to over £20 per departing passenger - an increase of nearly 50%.

As a result, we have launched an official complaint and this process is under way, so we hope the decision will be reversed.

We are extremely thankful to the Northern Ireland community and the private sector for their support with our campaign against the steep increase in domestic charges by BAA.

In bmi we also await with interest the decision of the Treasury on the possible easing of APT (air passenger tax) on air travel affecting Northern Ireland.

The decision of the Irish Government to greatly reduce the APT charges sets an example that should be copied for Northern Ireland. I do not see a large-scale effect on our operations from Belfast due to the abolition of APT in Dublin.

However, one thing clearly seen in other countries is that lower taxes attract business and attract growth.

In the medium term, I see a disadvantage for Northern Ireland if the current APT structure remains - ultimately it could encourage more airlines to fly from Dublin.

How does Northern Ireland rank in bmi priorities?

We are committed to Northern Ireland and recognise the role we play in providing high quality and reliable air services for links with London and the wider world. bmi is a critical link in that air-bridge which takes people to their customers and brings customers to the providers.

The business community and bmi are mutually interdependent. This is a relationship which is built on our efforts to maintain high quality services internationally.

Northern Ireland is in business, not just business as usual, but business that is competitive and competing on a world stage. The local economy now has the potential to fight off the fears of a deeper recession and build a sustainable and successful expansion. Success for Northern Ireland is now the objective and we share this objective.

One thing seen in other countries is that lower taxes attract business and attract growth