Long-haul passengers should not expect refunds as a result of the Office of Fair Trading action against British Airways, and trade and marketing figures ruled out any impact on consumer confidence in the carrier.
The Air Transport Users’ Council, which deals with complaints against airlines, said no one would be entitled to refunds.
Chief executive Simon Evans said: “There is nothing from the OFT to indicate passengers have been overcharged. I want to damp down any perception people might be entitled to refunds. People were offered a price and paid it.”
Advantage business travel director Norman Gage said: “I don’t see this damaging BA. If the airline’s problems had an impact [on traffic] it would have gone bankrupt years ago.”
PR Week editor and Travel Weekly columnist Danny Rogers dismissed concerns about the BA brand.
He said: “This is massively damaging financially, but a survey after the allegations came to light suggested people are more worried about BA losing their luggage.”