BRITISH Airways is replacing its computer reservations
system BA Link with an on-line booking program in a move that could force more
agents to use the Internet.
BA Link, developed more than a decade ago for retailers who
did not have access to the global distribution systems, will be shut down from
October 1. Rollout of its replacement – British Airways Reservations On-line –
starts this week. BAROL sits within the existing BA trade extranet, which
agents can sign up to free.
BA commercial development manager of leisure sales Kevin
Stewart said it made sense to invest in web technology rather than old systems,
which would be expensive to maintain.