Dave

This is back to the argument that if you want the convenience of a direct flight then you will pay for it. I agree in part but for those of us that don't live within a reasonable distance of LHR/LGW area then our choices are limited - connect through LHR/LGW or via another European centre. A couple of years ago I was flying regurarily to Joburg. From EDI I had the choice of going through LHR with BA, VS or SA at a cost of around £2600. Alternatively I could go via AMS with KL for £1400. Guess which option my management insisted I took! As I debated at length with Merry it made little difference to me that BA offered a direct flight. For me it was a minimum of two which ever option I took. I agreed that the BA service was better than KLM's but not £1200 better! If I am being honest, had I been given a free hand I would have selected BA for purely selfish reasons (tier points, miles, etc). The reality was that my company was putting pressure on us to find the cheapest possible fares under the threat of withdrawing our right to fly Business Class on flights over 5 hours. That threat made us toe the line.

At the same time a colleague was flying to Buenos Aires a couple of times a month. His standard routing was STN (where he lived) - AMS - LHR - Buenos Aires - LHR. He never used the LHR - AMS tickets. Again he saved about £1500 on each trip.

I hope the EU do permit cross-border ticketing. After all that is what a single market is supposed to be about. The airlines will hate it and ultimately it could lead to further financial difficulties for BA and VS.

To a certain extend that already happens in the import car business. Virgin Cars for example will source, purchase and import you a car from the continent and deliver it to your home. European rules do not demand that you pick-up and drive the car personally so why should the same principle not apply to Airline tickets?