BA is selling flights at ‘CONCORDE prices’: Airline is charging £463 for London-Newcastle ticket and more than £1,000 for return to EU hotspots to ‘deter’ Easter getaway passengers from ‘flying rather than cancelling flights’
- British Airways is selling domestic flights for extraordinary prices over next fortnight during Easter holidays
- Airline is effectively blocking sales on Heathrow to Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Inverness routes
- High costs labelled ‘Concorde prices’ because the price-per-mile is higher than top fares on supersonic jet
British Airways is selling economy seats on domestic flights for extraordinary prices during the Easter holidays – including £463 for a London to Newcastle single – in an apparent attempt to discourage Britons from travelling.
The airline is effectively blocking sales on short-haul routes from Heathrow to the likes of Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Inverness by charging extortionate prices, which then suddenly plunge after the Easter weekend.
The high costs have prompted claims that BA is selling flights at ‘Concorde prices’ because the price-per-mile is even higher than the top fare on the legendary supersonic jet that flew between London and New York until 2003.
The lowest weekday fare for London to Manchester on BA over the next fortnight is £259 on both this Wednesday and next Tuesday. The cheapest overall is £115 this Saturday, followed by £135 on Saturday, April 16 – but the most expensive is £362 both today and Thursday. However, the price falls to £47 after Easter, on Wednesday, April 20.
In comparison, if taking the train, an off-peak single for an Avanti West Coast service from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly is £68.60 and an anytime single is £184.70. National Express coaches cost as little as £8.90.
Even more extreme examples can be seen when looking further afield – with a BA return from London Gatwick to Paphos in Cyprus priced at £1,086 return per person when leaving this Thursday and returning a week later.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline today: ‘Like several airlines and airports, BA is suffering from a severe lack of staff due to Covid. Crews and pilots are having to isolate at home. This is having a major impact on its ability to run the frequency of flights it had planned.
‘So BA is effectively putting up prices sharply to act as a deterrent so that it reduces the likely number of passengers who will be affected by future cancellations. If more crews return earlier than expected, then BA will be in the lucky position of having earned more per seat than it had forecasted for.
LONDON HEATHROW TO MANCHESTER (BRITISH AIRWAYS): The lowest fare for the London to Manchester BA route over the next fortnight is £115 this Saturday, followed by £135 on Saturday, April 16. The cheapest weekday is £259 on both this Wednesday and next Tuesday, April 12. It then falls to £47 after Easter, on Wednesday, April 20
LONDON HEATHROW TO NEWCASTLE (BRITISH AIRWAYS): On the Heathrow to Newcastle route, the cheapest BA flight over the next fortnight is an eye-watering £316 on Wednesday, April 13. The priciest BA flight over that period is £463 on seven different days, including today. This is compared to just £39 to fly to Newcastle with BA after Easter, on Tuesday, April 19
LONDON HEATHROW TO ABERDEEN (BA): The cheapest London-Aberdeen BA flight over next fortnight is £224 on Tuesday, 12 April. The most expensive BA flight over next fortnight is £427, today. Meanwhile the cheapest rival rival flight over the next fortnight is £47 on Sunday, April 17 with easyJet, from Luton. The cheapest BA flight after Easter is £50 on Tuesday, April 19
LONDON HEATHROW TO INVERNESS (BA): On the Heathrow to Inverness route, the cheapest fare over the next fortnight with BA is £399. This price then drops to just £52 the day after Easter Monday – Tuesday, April 19. In comparison, over the next fortnight, the cheapest flight from a rival airline is £39 from Gatwick via easyJet on Tuesday, April 12
‘The cocktail of problems for BA and other airlines is also deepened by the higher oil price and the resulting cost of fuel. It’s an expensive time to be running an airline – all in a year when many of us in the sector were predicting a stronger bounceback post-Covid. Strong demand is there from consumers – but some airlines and airports are having major difficulties delivering anything like a decent quality of service.’
The issue was first reported by The Independent over the weekend, and at that stage the lowest fare for the 151-mile journey from Heathrow to Manchester up to the end of East was a whopping £415, equating to £2.75 per mile.
Extraordinary prices on British Airways flights in Easter school holidays
London Heathrow to Newcastle (1h10m flight)
- Cheapest BA flight over next fortnight: £316 (Wed 13 Apr)
- Most expensive BA flight over next fortnight: £463 (Seven days, including today)
- Cheapest rival flight over next fortnight: N/A
- Cheapest BA flight after Easter: £39 (Tue 19 Apr)
London Heathrow to Aberdeen (1h35m flight)
- Cheapest BA flight over next fortnight: £224 (Tue 12 Apr)
- Most expensive BA flight over next fortnight: £427 (Today)
- Cheapest rival flight over next fortnight: £47 (Sun 17 Apr, easyJet, from Luton)
- Cheapest BA flight after Easter: £50 (Tue 19 Apr)
London Heathrow to Inverness (1h40m flight)
- Cheapest BA flight over next fortnight: £399 (Every day for next fortnight)
- Most expensive BA flight over next fortnight: £399 (Every day for next fortnight)
- Cheapest rival flight over next fortnight: £39 (Tue 12 Apr, easyJet, from Gatwick)
- Cheapest BA flight after Easter: £52 (Tue 19 Apr)
London Heathrow to Manchester (1h flight)
- Cheapest BA flight over next fortnight: £115 (Sat 9 Apr)
- Most expensive BA flight over next fortnight: £362 (Today and Thu 7 Apr)
- Cheapest rival flight over next fortnight: N/A
- Cheapest BA flight after Easter: £47 (Wed 20 Apr)
The newspaper’s travel correspondent Simon Calder described these as ‘deterrent’ fares and compared it to when Monarch did the same in 2017 shortly before its collapse in an effort to stop passengers booking amid attempts to save the airline.
There is no suggestion that BA is facing financial ruin, but the airline appears to be unable to meet its planned schedule and therefore wants to reduce the number of passengers who could be affected by cancellations.
Other examples found by MailOnline of extortionate BA pricing on UK domestic flights include the Heathrow to Inverness route – a one hour and 40 minute journey for which the cheapest fare over the next fortnight is £399.
This price then drops to just £52 the day after Easter Monday – Tuesday, April 19. In comparison, over the next fortnight, the cheapest flight from a rival airline is £39 from Gatwick via easyJet on Tuesday, April 12.
As for the Heathrow to Newcastle route, the cheapest BA flight over the next fortnight is an eye-watering £316 on Wednesday, April 13. The priciest BA flight over that period is £463 on seven different days, including today. This is compared to just £39 to fly to Newcastle with BA after Easter, again on Tuesday, April 19.
A further example is on the Aberdeen route, for which the cheapest BA flight over next fortnight is £224 on Tuesday, 12 April. The most expensive BA flight over next fortnight is £427, today. Meanwhile the cheapest rival rival flight over the next fortnight is £47 on Sunday, April 17 with easyJet, from Luton. And the cheapest BA flight after Easter is £50 on Tuesday, April 19.
It comes as travellers embarking on overseas trips today faced chaos as flights were cancelled and cross-Channel rail services were hit by major delays.
Airlines are suffering from staff shortages related to coronavirus sickness, leading to flights being grounded.
Eurotunnel warned its vehicle-carrying Le Shuttle rail services from Folkestone, Kent to Calais, France were delayed by three hours due to ‘a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel’.
The travel disruption is affecting many families heading abroad for the Easter school holiday, which is the first since the UK’s coronavirus restrictions for international travellers were dropped.
EasyJet cancelled 62 flights scheduled for today , after axing at least 222 flights across Saturday and Sunday.
Some holidaymakers reported being stuck abroad with no explanation or alternative route home offered by the airline.
A spokesman for the airline said: ‘As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses easyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness.’
Passengers travelling from Manchester Airport this morning again faced huge queues this morning amid mass disruption
Passengers queue in a departures area of London Gatwick Airport this morning as families head on Easter getaways
People queuing to check-in at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 today as travellers embark on overseas trips
Travellers complained about delays at London Heathrow Airport T2 today as they waited for bags and immigration checks
The airline attempted to limit the impact on passengers by focusing cancellations on routes with multiple daily flights.
The spokesman added that the number of cancellations ‘represents a small proportion’ of the total of 1,645 planned for today.
British Airways cancelled at least 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport today, although it is understood that only a handful were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages.
The total includes many flights axed due to the airline’s recent decision to reduce its schedule until the end of May due to rising coronavirus cases.
It also suffered chaos on March 30 as flights were cancelled due to an IT meltdown.
The airline said: ‘Aviation has been one of the industries worst hit by the pandemic, and airlines and airports are experiencing the same issues rebuilding their operations while managing the continuing impact of Covid.’
Passengers at Heathrow and Manchester have reported long queues in recent days.
MailOnline has contacted BA today for comment on the high prices for the flights over the next fortnight.
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