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BA Enhances its short haul economy fare structure

BA Enhances its short haul economy fare structure

Old Mar 10, 2016, 6:05 am
  #361  
 
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Originally Posted by PeacefulWaters
More a free lemon biscuit, I'd say.
More or less the same thing on most of my BA flights!
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 6:42 am
  #362  
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Originally Posted by EvilDoctorK
Indeed it seems there has been such a thing as a free lunch for the moment .. no obvious downsides that I can see .. seems to be a genuine enhancement .. I had definitely expected they would be putting a bigger price gap in between HBO and the rest, but for now at least that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm not sure that I agree with this.

Based on my (albeit small) sample size on a UK domestic route it appears that there have been increases in both the base HBO fare and the price difference between HBO and WCB.

As it is undoubtedly more comprehensive than my own I'll stick to quoting C-W-S's research from up-thread on the non-LGW routes. From that the base fare on at least that route has increased ~17% (GBP46 to 54). The average HBO-WCB difference seems to be 27% (Average increase of GBP2.70 based on the difference before the changes as being GBP10, which was what I always recall seeing it as on the routes I took. Am willing to be corrected on that though as my sample size isn't large).

Therefore I think the saying still stands as taken together these increases would indeed buy a light lunch, while even taken separately you could get a significant quantity of the lemon biscuits!
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 6:46 am
  #363  
 
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Well things do have settled down somewhat, after yesterday.

On the BA routes ex both LGW and LHR there do now seem to be wider delta's between HBO and WithCheckedBag; for LGW I'm seeing £15-£20 extra for the privilege, for LHR its now more like £20-£30.

£60 extra return over HBO is getting very hard to justify compared to the previous typical £20. Which presumably will trend to more bags on board not fewer

The clever thing, if you will, is illustrated for me on the VIE route. There is only one Gatwick flight, but 5 or 6 from Heathrow. I do not need the flexibility going out but it seems I must pay for it if I want it coming back (bar splitting in to two singles). And technically, LGW is now more expensive than it was but I actually won't get any more flexibility as no 2nd flight!
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 6:54 am
  #364  
 
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Originally Posted by littlefish
The clever thing, if you will, is illustrated for me on the VIE route. There is only one Gatwick flight, but 5 or 6 from Heathrow. I do not need the flexibility going out but it seems I must pay for it if I want it coming back (bar splitting in to two singles). And technically, LGW is now more expensive than it was but I actually won't get any more flexibility as no 2nd flight!
That's a good point and something I thought about earlier. If you're flying from an airport that only has one flight a day (or maybe every other day!) the increased flexibility on the day is pretty irrelevant.

What is important to me (as someone who doesn't really care where I sit nor need check in a bag) is price on the HBO fare...and that has gone up on my main route. If BA are making an extra 9 EUR on every ticket, that's a hefty profit going their way.
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 6:57 am
  #365  
 
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On my routes from London - BHD and DUB, the differential is now between £15-£25 whereas before it was £10-£15
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 7:04 am
  #366  
 
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My regular LHR - ORY looks to be the same as before the change
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 7:09 am
  #367  
 
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My GLA-LHR and occasional LHR-BRU have remained the same price difference between HBO and WCB (£10 and £15 respectively).
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 8:05 am
  #368  
 
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LHR-OSL on some dates in June, for example seems to have exactly the same fares today as it did when I booked a flight there on about 6 March. Certainly, this doesn't look like the mass revenue grab from a captive customer base that "BA enhances short haul fares" could lead one to think.

However, if the gap between HBO and fares with a bag continues to widen, those of us who have to check a bag because of what we carry will not buy HBO, we will buy elsewhere. We are in a minority, so BA won't care.
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 9:27 am
  #369  
 
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Originally Posted by benjyyy
On my routes from London - BHD and DUB, the differential is now between £15-£25 whereas before it was £10-£15
For LON-DUB on a random date in May I see

£10 each way difference on LHR flights
£15 each way difference on LCY flights

I'm pretty sure the LHR difference has been like that since HBO fares were launched .. wouldn't swear to whether the difference on LCY has been £15 always, but it could well have been ?

err though when I look later in the year it might be £10 on both .. confusing myself now ! ... either way though I don't think the premium has moved much , if at all .. no clue on the base fares but they look there or thereabouts the same
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 9:33 am
  #370  
 
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Originally Posted by flatlander
LHR-OSL on some dates in June, for example seems to have exactly the same fares today as it did when I booked a flight there on about 6 March. Certainly, this doesn't look like the mass revenue grab from a captive customer base that "BA enhances short haul fares" could lead one to think.
It sounds to me as if BA have combined the roll out of the new fare model with a number of relatively small price changes on some routes. These would probably have happened anyway and are not a direct consequence of the new structure.

I imagine administratively it is easier to file changes in base price on selected routes at the same time as you file wholesale changes to all routes. It is also more customer friendly to do this at one go rather than have ever changing prices.

As long as BA keeps its prices competitive, I view this as positive and welcome the added flexibility for my normal with luggage fares. Shame CE misses out on this.

Last edited by FrancisA; Mar 10, 2016 at 9:45 am
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 9:35 am
  #371  
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Originally Posted by EvilDoctorK
For LON-DUB on a random date in May I see

£10 each way difference on LHR flights
£15 each way difference on LCY flights

I'm pretty sure the LHR difference has been like that since HBO fares were launched .. wouldn't swear to whether the difference on LCY has been £15 always, but it could well have been ?

err though when I look later in the year it might be £10 on both .. confusing myself now ! ... either way though I don't think the premium has moved much , if at all .. no clue on the base fares but they look there or thereabouts the same
On this route it was, and is dynamic. So if you look at 18 March you'll see £25 on both airports, but a number of BA flights with no HBO fares - very common on Fridays - since they've sold enough of those and in any case they're dealing with "distress customers". Then if you move into the middle distance it falls to £15 or occasionally £10. That hasn't changed any time recently, and is all about having a low enough fare to attract people at the different price points.
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 9:52 am
  #372  
 
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Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
On this route it was, and is dynamic. So if you look at 18 March you'll see £25 on both airports, but a number of BA flights with no HBO fares - very common on Fridays - since they've sold enough of those and in any case they're dealing with "distress customers". Then if you move into the middle distance it falls to £15 or occasionally £10. That hasn't changed any time recently, and is all about having a low enough fare to attract people at the different price points.

You learn something new etc. etc... yes indeed if I look for next week I can see some £25 premiums for HBO ( on LCY flights) , though also some £10 on LHR ... Interesting .. I didn't realise the premium / difference was dynamic
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 9:53 am
  #373  
 
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Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
On this route it was, and is dynamic. So if you look at 18 March you'll see £25 on both airports, but a number of BA flights with no HBO fares - very common on Fridays - since they've sold enough of those and in any case they're dealing with "distress customers". Then if you move into the middle distance it falls to £15 or occasionally £10. That hasn't changed any time recently, and is all about having a low enough fare to attract people at the different price points.
Fair enough. I only have anecdotal evidence from before the change - maybe I was always booking a bit more in advance
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 10:22 am
  #374  
 
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An interesting point is that it appears that codeshare flights have also changed in line with other SH fares.

e.g. my corporate travel system is showing a NCL-DUB EI operated BA codeshare with a V2 fare basis and therefore a 'Standard' fare with free on the day changes
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Old Mar 10, 2016, 10:24 am
  #375  
 
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I'm finding differences of up to £30 on routes like LHR-MXP and LHR-BUD and, while I fully admit to be nowhere near as knowledgeable as a lot of you guys on these routes, that seems high to me. I have a sneaking suspicion there is a subtle fare increase being slipped in here...possibly only on certain routes but I still think it's there.
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