The fate of BMI British Midland will help to shape the consolidation of Europe’s airlines. So who might want to buy it?

The most obvious candidate is Germany’s Lufthansa, which has just under 30 per cent of the UK airline. Sir Michael Bishop, founder and chairman of BMI, owns half the shares, while the remainder is held by Scandinavia’s SAS. Sir Michael has an open option to sell his shares to Lufthansa, which in turn has a six-month call option on his shares from mid-December.