BA says web bookings increase is due to agency fees
British Airways has said its internet bookings have increased because travel agency fees mean that it is cheaper to book direct with the airline.
The airline says that last Monday (July 1) was ba.com’s busiest day so far – with 4,712 customers booking their tickets online.
BA head of e-commerce Simon Parks-Smith said: “The high growth of customers using ba.com to book directly with British Airways is resulting from a combination of major changes to the way we sell our tickets.”
He added: “Our new shorthaul fares are very attractive and competitive and the introduction of service fees for bookings made through offline channels means that customers are able to the get the cheapest fares by booking online.”
He said that the website had also benefited from the introduction of the Fare Explorer booking engine.
The reductions BA has made to Fresh Approach payments means agents have little choice but to charge fees if they want to make a profit. See our previous story.
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