Cheaper BA flights if you only have hand luggage as airline takes on budget rivals
British Airways is to follow budget airline rivals by charging less if passengers travel with just hand luggage. BA said the cheaper fares – which will initially be on flights from Gatwick Airport to 5 European destinations (Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Jersey, Tunis and Turin) – will give passengers ‘more choice’. The size of discounts will vary depending on the route but will range from £9 to £15.And BA said that holidaymakers who travel with luggage they wish to check in will not pay more to compensate for the lower ‘hand baggage only’ fares. BA is doing this in order to try to compete with Ryanair and Easyjet that charge more for passengers to check in baggage, effectively charging less for those who don’t. The director of Gatwick for BA said many holidaymakers already use the two-bag hand luggage policy. BA is looking at pleasing price-sensitive customers.
Cheaper BA flights if you only have hand luggage as airline takes on budget rivals
- BA plan to take on budget airlines who have been offering the service
- Holidaymakers will be rewarded with a discount if they opt out of hold luggage
- It will be available at first on five short haul journeys from Gatwick
By LARISA BROWN (Daily Mail)
20 February 2013
British Airways is to follow budget airline rivals by charging less if passengers travel with just hand luggage.
The airline said the cheaper fares – which will initially be offered on flights from Gatwick Airport to five European destinations – will give passengers ‘more choice’.
Holidaymakers who travel with luggage they wish to check in will not pay more to compensate for the lower ‘hand baggage only’ fares, the airline said.
It is a move likely to be viewed as an attempt by BA to compete with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet that charge more for passengers to check in baggage, effctively charging less for those who don’t.
Peter Simpson, director of Gatwick for British Airways, said: ‘The introduction of our hand baggage only fare is all about giving our customers more freedom to choose the kind of flying they want.
‘Many British Airways customers on Gatwick short-haul breaks choose not to check in a bag as they’re already taking advantage of our generous two-bag hand luggage policy.
‘Those who still want to check in a bag will simply pay the same price they do now.’
The flag-carrier said it will initially offer a discount for those travelling with just hand luggage from Gatwick to five short-haul destinations including Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Jersey, Tunis and Turin in Europe.
The size of discounts will vary depending on the route but will range from £9 to £15.
Passengers can start benefitting from the lower fares from Tuesday (February 26), with starting prices ranging from £39 one-way to Amsterdam to £69 one-way to Turin.
Bob Atkinson, a travel expert at Travelsupermarket.com, said it was a great opportunity for passengers to have the full ‘BA offering’ of food and reward points while being handed a ‘generous hand luggage allowance’.
He said: ‘This is an interesting move for BA which is clearly looking at other ways to position its offering to price-sensitive customers.
‘However passengers who take up the offer to travel without checked luggage will still benefit from a generous hand luggage allowance plus free on board food and drink.’
The move comes after Dutch airline KLM decided to begin charging customers who check in luggage on short-haul flights.
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British Airways Is Using Cheaper Fares To Compete With Budget Airlines
British Airways is to offer cheaper fares on selected routes to passengers who travel without checked luggage.
The airline says the fares – which will initially be offered on flights from Gatwick to Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Jersey, Tunis and Turin – will give its passengers “more choice”, and is likely to be viewed as an attempt to compete with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet.
“The surprise is not so much that BA has made this move, but that it has taken so long to do so,” said Nick Trend, Telegraph Travel’s Consumer Editor. “It appears to be a reaction to commercial pressure from its no-frills rivals, which quote lower headline fares because they don’t include the cost of checked bags. This can make BA’s fares look expensive and so less attractive by contrast.
“BA says that the new fares are about giving it customers ‘more freedom to choose the kind of flying they want’, but they are also about giving British Airways the freedom to make its fares look cheaper.”
He added that those passengers who do check a bag into the hold could eventually end up paying more.
“Airfares are so variable that, within a few weeks, it will be impossible to know whether BA passengers without hold luggage are getting a better deal, or whether those who check in their bags are being charged extra,” he said.
But Peter Simpson, director of Gatwick for British Airways, claimed that passengers who check in a bag will not be expected to pay extra to make up for those who choose the cheaper fares.
“It is all about giving our customers more freedom to choose the kind of flying they want,” he said. “Many British Airways customers at Gatwick choose not to check in a bag as they’re already taking advantage of our generous two-bag hand luggage policy. Those who still want to check in a bag will simply pay the same price they do now.”
The new “hand baggage only fares” go on sale next Tuesday (February 26), with starting prices ranging from £39 (one-way to Amsterdam) to £69 (one-way to Turin). BA said that, depending on the route, the fares are between £9 and £15 cheaper than usual.
The announcement by BA — which axed free meals on some flights in 2009 in a bid to cut costs — follows KLM‘s decision to begin charging customers who check in luggage on short-haul flights. KLM’s policy will be effective from April 22.