British Midland has rebranded itself BMI British Midland in a £15 million sterling (€23.6 million) exercise marking its introduction of transatlantic services from Britain.

Coinciding with the rebranding, about 140 baggage staff yesterday walked off the job for 24 hours. They rejected a package linked to sale of Midland's luggage handling services to GHI Group. The airline said an agreement had been reached with the ATGWU, which was endorsed by the Labour Relations Commission, but rejected by workers on Wednesday.

While three flights to London from Dublin were cancelled yesterday, a spokesman said this was due only to extreme fog at Heathrow airport.

He said there would be no redundancies. Workers would receive a once-off transfer payment and all would retain their existing salaries and conditions. Staff would also retain travel privileges.

The chairman of the privately owned airline, Sir Michael Bishop, claimed it had maintained its market share on its Dublin routes last year, but increased profitability.