you can see they are batteling hard….
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BA cuts more European fares:
BRITISH Airways announced more fare cuts on European routes in its battle with the low-cost carriers. Prices will start from £99 return, including taxes, from London to Geneva, Frankfurt, Cologne and Dusseldorf and £109 return from London to Berlin, Munich and Hamburg.
The new fares cover 37 routes to Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with fares coming down by an average of more than 80%. The reductions include 20 regional departures operated by BA’s wholly-owned subsidiary British Airways CitiExpress.
The lowest air fare previously on offer by the airline required a Saturday night stay and advance purchase.
The scrapping of these restrictions means that there is a saving of £410 on a midweek return flight to Frankfurt, which now starts from £99 instead of £509 and a saving of £475 on a midweek flight to Berlin, which now starts from £109 instead of £584.
‘We are now offering full service at no-frills prices on 108 routes,’ said Tiffany Hall, BA’s head of UK sales.
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Link:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/business_story.html?in_revie…
By: carl727 - 21st July 2002 at 18:20
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
The point is had we never had the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet etc we would all be paying more. I worked in the travel industry for 10 years, when for the most part you had to use BA etc and tickets cost much more. Things started to improve when Ryanair and Virgin began Luton to Dublin the rest is history.
By: mongu - 20th July 2002 at 00:04
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 20-07-02 AT 00:05 AM (GMT)]Okay, I’ll make two points:
Firstly, those of us who don’t live in Britain, but places like the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, LGW and MAN are the only realistic options. LPL is a viable option for the Isle of Man, but for choice of destination I really need to fly to MAN or LGW.
Secondly, BA and Ryanair ARE comparable Kabir.
Both companies get you from A to B in exchange for a fee. To that extent, they are in the same market.
If poor people flew Ryanair and wealthy people flew BA, then I’d agree that market dynamics meant that the two carriers do not compete. However, I don’t think there is any discernible difference in socio economic classes between the two sets of passengers. If I’m flustered and in a hurry, all I want to do is get to where I’m going. I couldn’t care less which airline, which airport or which aircraft. Convenience, convenience, convenience is what counts for me personally.
Your argument seems to be that just because BA give you a doggy bag full of bits of bread pasted with cress and mayonnaise, that they are attracting different customers? I don’t agree, that’s all.
By: carl727 - 19th July 2002 at 22:00
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
i dont see why anyone “has” to use just MAN LGW or MAN
By: carl727 - 19th July 2002 at 21:54
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-07-02 AT 09:58 PM (GMT)]Ryanair uses 737-800s they are new. the series 200 are on the way out. I really dont think on a short European flight that BA’s service is much different, in economy, certainly so called “free” food is nothing special. Club is a complete waste of money on short flights and only really comes into its own on long-haul when the difference is noticeable.
By: KabirT - 19th July 2002 at 09:17
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
Mongu you are comparing it differently, if you compare it as airline was how can you compare it to BA? Ok so they do some competing routes and they might be better price wise than BA, but still BA will be the better one, service wise, class wise etc.
By: Bhoy - 18th July 2002 at 23:19
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
Yeah, mongu’s right. My Uncle had an interview in Dublin last year, and had to book a flight from Glasgow at short notice to attend it. It was cheaper to fly Aer Lingus (BA codeshare, as are the flights from LHR), than Ryanair. Add to that the fact that PIK is the middle of bloody nowhere, well, no, that’s unfair, but an extra 30 miles each way from the south side of Glasgow, it definately made more sense to fly ‘full fare’
By: mongu - 18th July 2002 at 20:52
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
I disagree Kabir. Ryanair and BA are directly comparable, to the extent that they fly some competing routes.
If I need to get from London to Dublin, I need to decide who I use. From a standing start in the City, I’d use Aer Lingus from LCY as a first choice, followed by BA at LGW or LHR. Maybe I’m not choosing entirely on price grounds, but I am also pretty sure the price difference isn’t as great as Ryanair would have us all believe.
By: Bhoy - 18th July 2002 at 15:14
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
Ryanair are replacing their 732’s with 737’s… wouldn’t call them old. But given the option, I’d probably still go with BA. (it’s those 752’s that do it for me, I may have mentioned before… RB211-535C’s… [drools])
By: KabirT - 18th July 2002 at 13:27
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
really you cant compare BA with Ryanair. BA is a proper world class airline while Ryan air is a low-cost carrier. Of course Ryanair will be cheap…have old planes, can never think of offering what BA offers etc.
By: greekdude1 - 18th July 2002 at 03:19
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
I agree with you, Mongu. Frequent Flyer mileage goes a long way in my book. I’m flying business class on Singapore airlines in one week because of my UA miles. And it’s true that they advertise those seats at that low price, but you have to get them so far ahead of time in order to ‘get them.’ The low-cost carriers do serve a good purpose, in competing with the big boys head on, and making them lower prices in most cases. Good on them for that, especially if they remain profitable in doing so. We do need more low-cost carriers in the industry.
GD1
By: mongu - 17th July 2002 at 21:27
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
Yeah, but:
1. BA Miles are great. What’s the Ryanair one called again?
2. BA flies to a proper airport; Ryanair leaves you having to negotiate through cow pats outside some unknown runway.
3. For those of us who can only use LHR, LGW or MAN (and at certain times, too) Ryanair is a non starter.
4. Of the 150 -odd seats, Ryanair will only sell 1 at 99p and 2 at £5. The rest will be similar prices to BA. That’s my experience on Easyjet to AMS, anyway.
By: andrewm - 17th July 2002 at 18:00
RE: BA Vs. low cost carriers!
LOL!
BA try so hard but fail!
Ryan Air advertise £5.00 one way in their booking system for some flights and with tax this comes to £32.
I know who I would rather travel with!
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July 17, 2002 at 4:34 pm