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British Airways Slims Down Fares and Food on Most Scottish Flights

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 06:00 CST

By ALASTAIR JAMIESON CONSUMER AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

BRITISH Airways is to slash fares and scrap free food and drink on most of its flights to and from Scotland in a shake-up aimed at challenging low-cost airlines and rescuing its loss-making regional business.

The cost of flying will be as little as GBP 25 each way under the new plans, which affect more than 50 daily flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton and Paris.

The revamped operation, which has been given two years to turn around annual losses of more than GBP 30 million, will be rebranded BA Connect from its current name, BA CitiExpress.

The airline's plans come amid changing consumer trends. Many companies are no longer buying the business class or full-fare economy tickets which once made traditional carriers profitable.

But industry experts expressed scepticism that BA Connect could properly take on no-frills airlines such as EasyJet because of its historically high costs and slower, smaller aircraft - including turboprops and 49-seater jets. "There isn't much precedent for offering very low fares while flying these smaller planes," said Alex McWhirter of Business Traveller magazine. "EasyJet and Ryanair use bigger, faster planes. And it is hard to sell the low-fares message while also offering services which business travellers need."

Smaller planes also mean only a handful of seats will be available for GBP 25, with many costing nearer GBP 100 each way.

David Evans, managing director of BA CitiExpress, said: "The restructuring of the regional business will set us apart in this fiercely competitive market. We have an innovative service promise for business and short-break leisure air travellers, offering year- round, one-way prices that match the no-frills airlines and the added service promise and resources of an airline of British Airways' size and stature."

New routes from Scotland were unlikely in the short term but Edinburgh could gain more flights, he said.

Scotland to London services are currently unaffected by the plans; Heathrow and Gatwick shuttle flights come under BA's main operation, which still offers complimentary catering, while London City flights operated by BA Connect will also retain free food and drink. "We want to make the London to Scotland product consistent," said a spokesman. Flights operated by Loganair are also unchanged.

Business class will be scrapped on BA's one remaining European route from Scotland - Edinburgh to Paris - and from all other regional services. Only European flights to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City will retain the premium Club Europe cabin.

Industry experts raised the prospect of further cutbacks amid fears yesterday's move is a "trial run" for scrapping complimentary catering on all short-haul routes. Many BA travellers to Heathrow have only just witnessed the return of free food after the industrial dispute at Gate Gourmet last August which left BA flights without proper catering for several months.

Rival carriers heralded the decision as a vindication of their decision to introduce buy-on-board services. Mike Rutter, chief commercial officer at Flybe, said: "BA cannot fully implement the low-cost model as it must address both its cost and fleet base. Flybe has consistently surpassed BA on head-to-head services and hugely increased passenger numbers on routes which BA has pulled out of - a great example being Belfast City to Glasgow where we have achieved a 125 per cent increase in passenger levels."

Bmi scrapped free catering on its flights last August, slashing costs but prompting a slump in passengers. "We are doing better business than before because the costs are much lower," insisted Nigel Turner, the chief executive.

Not all customers will benefit from lower fares. A search by The Scotsman yesterday revealed the lowest all-inclusive one-way fare from Edinburgh to Bristol was currently GBP 35 - only GBP 10 more than the new price promised by BA Connect. EasyJet's lowest equivalent fare on the route was only GBP 17.99.

Yesterday's announcement effectively means that BA is once again running a no-frills operation - something it has not done since it launched low-fare airline Go in 1998 under the stewardship of charismatic businesswomen Barbara Cassani.

Restructuring CitiExpress - whose biggest bases are Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Bristol - will not involve any route closures or job cuts among the 2,000 staff. The regional business uses a 50-strong mixed fleet of BAe146, Dash 8-300, Embraer 145, and RJ100 jets, but has been struggling for some time in the face of a fierce assault from the no-frills carriers. BA has already closed its operations at Belfast, Plymouth, Leeds-Bradford and Cardiff and announced it is pulling out of a number of routes from Manchester.

Bookings for the new regional services can be made from 1 February, with BA Connect starting on 26 March.

Source: Scotsman, The

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