British Airways today launched a change to its fare structure on key routes within the UK to give business travellers and holiday makers lower fares, greater flexibility and more choice.

From 5 April Saturday night stay and advance purchase restrictions will be scrapped on all domestic routes in and out of London, representing savings of up to 70 per cent on some journeys.
New lower year round fares have been introduced with prices from £69 for a return to Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow and £79 for a return to Aberdeen. A wider choice of lower fares will be available, the earlier the booking is made. A further £5 discount is available on tickets booked on ba.com.

Travellers will also be able to mix and match fare types to get the best possible fare - for example a business traveller can combine a cheaper fixed outbound flight to Edinburgh with a flexible return, paying £199 instead of £309 saving £110.

The fare structure will be less complicated with simple trade up steps based on choice of flight, flexibility and availability, enabling customers to trade off their needs versus price.

This is the airline’s first competitive response to the no frills carriers following last month’s announcement of a major package of measures, designed to return the airline to profitability.

Tiffany Hall, British Airways Head of UK & Ireland Sales and Marketing said: “We want to compete profitably and intelligently alongside the no frills carriers by adopting what they do well - online bookings and pricing simplicity. We will mix it with what we do well providing a great network with frequent flights, as well as delivering world class customer service.

“The scrapping of pricing restrictions means that many of our business and leisure customers will benefit from lower domestic fares and increased flexibility as well as more frequent services between London and Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle than our competitors.

“In addition our customers have a full range of booking and check-in options, more hand baggage allowance, complimentary catering and bar service, choice of seat, Executive Club benefits and excellent customer service and service recovery.”

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