British Airways Cuts Fares From Scotland Budget Service Connect Will Take on easyJet and Ryanair

By JAMES MORGAN and DAVID CROW

BRITISH Airways is to launch its own “budget airline” service to compete with easyJet and Ryanair for the lucrative UK and European business and city break market.

BA Connect will fly from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness, with single fares starting from as low as GBP25 on some routes.

It will replace BA’s existing regional service, CitiExpress, currently losing about GBP30m a year due to competition from the budget airlines.

The new BA Connect fares, which begin on March 26, will be up to 40per cent cheaper than CitiExpress on existing routes, including Glasgow to Manchester, Edinburgh to London City, and Edinburgh to Paris.

Restricted and non-changeable tickets will disappear, with all tickets, no matter how little they cost, being changeable for a fee of GBP30.

The routes and timetables will be almost identical to those operated by CitiExpress. But business class travel on the services will be scrapped. BA Connect will have a single cabin class and all passengers will have to pay for meals.

Frequent fliers will still be able to access the business lounge and priority seating, by buying a BA Connect Plus package, with fares starting at GBP110.

David Evans, BA CitiExpress managing director, 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, oneway prices that match the nofrills airlines and the added service promise and resources of an airline of British Airways’ size and stature.

“The move is a direct response to changing customer needs and the challenges that have emerged in the marketplace since the creation of CitiExpress.”

Yesterday, BA would release only three examples of the new BA Connect fares. Singles from Glasgow to Manchester will start at GBP25, a saving of 50per cent on the CitiExpress price. The new low fare for Inverness to Gatwick will be GBP35, GBP7 cheaper than CitiExpress and GBP10 more than the easyJet fare for the same route. Glasgow to Birmingham fares will start at GBP29, the same price as CitiExpress.

BA Connect will also aim to compete with Ryanair and easyJet for the lucrative market in European City breaks. BA Connect will offer cheap flights direct to the major airports in Barcelona, Paris, and Milan, from Birmingham and Manchester.

BA’s previous no-frills airline service, Go, was sold to easyJet in 2002. Since then, easyJet’s passenger numbers have quadrupled to 24.3 million, while BA has cut its UK regional fleet from 92 planes to 52 planes.

EasyJet is considering a plan to win more business travellers from BA by introducing lounge access, priority check-in and allocated seating, and by allowing travel agencies direct access to its reservations system.

BA CitiExpress has 2250 employees, but a spokesman said no jobs would be lost in the changeover.