| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 17/04/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 4 |
| Copyright: Other |
Internet sale
Internet sale
British Midland to run on-line auction with lastminute.com
British Midland to run on-line auction with lastminute.com
BRITISH Midland is to run its next 10,000-seat on-line auction with lastminute.com rather than its previous partner QXL.The airline has already operated two auctions with QXL, the second of which ends on April 21. The new auction with lastminute.com, which includes flights to 30 European destinations, kicks off on the same day.
A British Midland spokeswoman said: “We haven’t said we won’t work with QXL again. We are just trying out a different site. Lastminute.com is renowned for offering last-minute deals at good prices.”
She refused to say whether lastminute.com had agreed to charge the company less commission than QXL, claiming that the terms of its agreements were commercially sensitive. On-line auction specialist QXL said it had a good relationship with British Midland and it hoped to do more auctions with the airline in the future.
Meanwhile, lastminute.com claims to have expanded its supplier base by 80% to more than 2,000 partners since last December. It said its new partners include scheduled airlines, hotels and tour operators.