Radical shake-up for European fares

British Airways today announces a radical shake-up of its short-haul air fares with one-way all-inclusive tickets starting at just £29 - less than the cost of a Premiership football ticket. All non-changeable economy tickets will be scrapped with air travellers able to change their flights, no matter what they have paid for the ticket, up to midnight the day before departure.

British Airways' Commercial Director, Martin George, said: "We operate in a very competitive market and are determined to be the first choice for air travellers, who want low prices, flexibility, and a superb flying experience.

"We have slashed our one-way fares by up to 50 per cent and will have over seven million plane seats a year, to more than 65 destinations, available at these new prices. 

"This is not a short-term gimmick, but a long term commitment to our millions of customers to offer irresistible low fares every day of the year.   There are no hidden extras and air travellers will receive the same excellent standards of service that are the hallmark of British Airways.

"Customers will now be able to easily compare prices for themselves between British Airways and the airlines offering lower standards of service and I can assure the public that it is our intent to offer the best value for money in the market."

The airline has increased the flexibility of its lowest priced tickets in response to feedback from its customers who increasingly need to change their flight bookings at short notice due to altering schedules.  The move increases the number of changeable tickets on sale by 15 million a year.

All customers flying within Europe can take advantage of the following benefits flying with British Airways:

More flights to Europe from London every day than any other airline
Convenient airports
Complimentary food and drink
Facility to check-in online 24 hours before take-off
Facility to print a boarding pass before arriving at the airport*
Free and generous baggage allowances
Facility for families to pool baggage allowances without charge
Free carriage of golf clubs and skis
Free debit card usage when paying for flights
Free seating allocation

British Airways has reduced its one-way prices for flights within the UK and Europe by an average of 70 per cent compared to 10 years ago.  

Travel on British Airways within the UK and Europe for less than:
· A tank of petrol
· A hair cut
· A computer game
· A pair of jeans
· A dozen red roses
· A massage
· A football strip
· A pair of cinema tickets with popcorn
· A pair of shoes
· A premiership football match ticket



Notes :Changes to short-haul economy tickets will incur a competitive £30 administration fee per transaction (£50 for flights to Tel Aviv), with the exception of flights to Russia where tickets remain non-changeable.  Customers can visit www.ba.com, telephone the airline (an additional service fee may be required) or visit their travel agent to make changes.  The changes apply to British Airways mainline services only. *Online boarding passes are accepted for travel on all routes from the UK to Europe and from more than 30 European airports for travel to the UK.

Source : British Airways