AIRLINE bmi swung back into the black yesterday with pre-tax profits of £2.1m, despite fuel cost rises.

In the year bmi expanded to include year-round services at Durham Tees Valley Airport and launched extra flights to London Heathrow from the airport, it achieved a return to profitability ahead of expectations.

The profit compared with a pre-tax loss of £9.8m in 2003.

Bmi chairman Sir Michael Bishop said: "A robust approach to controllable costs and an ability to compete effectively in exceedingly tough market conditions has had a positive impact on our trading results."

Bmi group, which includes low-cost carrier bmibaby, carried 10.5 million passengers last year - an 11 per cent rise on the 2003 figure of 9.4 million.

Planes were 70 per cent full last year - an improvement on the 2003 figure of 67 per cent. Group turnover increased from £772m in 2003 to £830m last year.

Last year saw the introduction of services from Manchester to North America and the Caribbean.

Bmibaby carried 3.2 million passengers last year - a 16 per cent increase on the 2003 total of 2.8 million.

However, there were fewer business cabin passengers using bmi scheduled services at Heathrow and that affected the group's final figures.