BA starts summer price war

British Airways is starting a price war that is expected to be followed by other scheduled and budget airlines this summer, as it slashes air fares for 7 mln one-way tickets in Europe starting from next week.

The cut will see the cost of Larnaca-London drop to CYP 65 plus taxes, a price that is expected to be matched by other European carriers, while troubled national carrier Cyprus Airways will probably be obliged to follow the trend.

A Cyprus Airways official said that “we are studying the whole BA price structure and will weigh all the pros and cons of the offer before we proceed with any change.”

Other airline officials contacted by the Financial Mirror said that they are waiting for “instructions” from their head offices, while many are doing “quite well” as regards their seat-load factor, meaning that sales are quite healthy.

Though BA’s reduced one-way fare is half the cheapest return fare of CYP 130, an official at the airline said that the normal one-way fare to London sells for CYP 156.

The reduced fare comes into force from next Wednesday, May 3, and is valid for fares on board the franchise operator GB Airways as well, that flies from Paphos and caters mainly to tourists and a large part of the expat community.

“This new pricing will be available for a high percentage of seats on nearly all flights,” the BA official told the Financial Mirror adding that the fare reduction is within the airline’s spirit of cost-cutting.

“There will only be a small surcharge for those wishing to change the dates on their tickets, but short-haul destinations, such as London-Paris will start from GBP 29, including taxes.”

“We are not concerned about any competition from low-cost carriers, while safety and security are two strong features that our customers expect from us,” the BA official said.