BRITISH Airways has defended claims by sceptical agents that
its new package of reduced fares is a red herring.
The airline announced new business and first-class fares to
coincide with its new remuneration scheme, due to start on April 1 (Travel
Weekly January 15).
But some agents have claimed that BA artificially inflated
prices just before it announced the reduced fare structure and consequently,
the new fares don’t represent savings at all.
Chertsey-based Scheduled Air director David Hall said: “Prior
to Christmas, British Airways Club Class return fares to Los Angeles were
around £5,640 plus tax, this being £310 cheaper than the current fare.
“The savings BA is offering from April 1 are not that
special at all. BA is for all intents and purposes just reducing the fares to
what they were prior to Christmas.
BA general manager field sales Ian Heywood said: “Fares did
increase last year but it would be purely coincidental if the new fares are
similar to old ones.
“Getting rid of commission was never done to make money. It
was done as a way of saying the structure is out of date and we wanted to put
something in that was more appropriate. But it has helped reduce our costs,” he
said.