British Airways raises ‘prices’ for frequent flyer tickets

British Airways has increased the number of frequent flyer points that travellers need for European flights – though the airline insists it still has “an industry-leading proposition”.

According to the travel loyalty website Head for Points, the airline has “quietly” added what appears to be a flat-fare surcharge of 750 Avios points to every one-way booking.

While there is no direct cash equivalent of the value of Avios points, by some valuations the move is akin to adding between £6 and £10 to every trip.

For a short hop such as London to Amsterdam or Dublin, the change represents a rise of 19 per cent; to Barcelona or Berlin it is 12 per cent; and to Athens or Istanbul, nine per cent.

On a return Avios booking with a domestic segment, eg Edinburgh to Heathrow to Rome, it will add 3,000 points to the cost.

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These figures apply to the “Reward Flight Saver” pricing on BA, at which passengers pay a cash fee of £17.50 in economy and £25 in business. While the airline offers a range of points/cash combinations, this is generally regarded as optimum value for the passenger.

Flights of 2,000 miles or more are unaffected; British Airways offers domestic connections at no extra cost on longer routes.

Rob Burgess, the founder of Head for Points, said: “At a time when cash prices are likely to be very weak, especially this winter, it is hard to understand the rationale behind ramping up Avios prices.”

He said BA’s cash fares for short-haul flights have been falling for years.

“When I started Head for Points, a Club Europe sale fare under £250 return was something to go crazy about. We now see Club Europe under £150 in sales, I think the cheapest return flight we’ve covered recently was £114,” he said.

“Similarly, you never, ever saw an economy ticket under £59 one-way. Now they are £25 at times. If anything you should be seeing the Avios requirement going down.”

Mr Burgess speculated that the increase may be in response to a new passenger fee at BA’s main base, Heathrow. The “exceptional regulatory charge” of around £8.90 is to meet fixed costs at a time when the airport’s business has collapsed by over 90 per cent, and is not expected to be a permanent fixture.

The 750 Avios increase applies equally to flights from London City and Gatwick, even though they are unaffected by the Heathrow levy.

One respondent on Head for Points said: “Bad form, BA, bad form. The devaluation may be minor in scope. But you shouldn’t do this without giving your customers a heads-up ahead of time.”

The Avios scheme, which also applies to British Airways’ sister airline, Iberia, is administered by IAG.

A spokesperson for IAG Loyalty said: “We strive to offer choice and value with our reward flights and have introduced more ways to combine Avios and cash – the largest range we’ve ever offered.

“We keep our pricing under review and while we’ve made some changes to our short-haul Reward Flight Saver pricing we continue to offer an industry leading proposition to British Airways’ Executive Club members.”