BA Lifts Saturday Night Restriction

British Airways has axed Saturday night stay and advance purchase restrictions on its domestic flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports. This follows a similar move announced in the United States by America West Airlines on March 25. As with all carriers, the Saturday night rule always has been the main barrier to business travelers accessing cheaper fares designed for the leisure market.

The rule changes, to be introduced on Friday, represent a savings of up to 70 percent on some journeys. The lowest day return between London and Manchester now will cost $99, down from a walk-up fare of $329.

U.K. travel managers greeted the BA initiative with enthusiasm, especially as they have just been hit by an indirect fare increase following the reduction of the airline's Fresh Approach booking payments to travel agents. "It is welcome to see some genuine price reductions on the back of the changes to Fresh Approach," said Kevin Watts, chairman of the Business Travel Liaison Group, representing the U.K.'s largest buyers. "It is a long time since I have been able to use the threat of moving to air when negotiating with the train company that runs the Manchester-London route."

However, it is low-cost carriers rather than train operators that are the prime target of BA's price-cutting strategy. EasyJet and Ryanair airlines never have imposed Saturday night restrictions on their fares. "We want to compete profitably and intelligently alongside the no-frills carriers by adopting what they do well--online bookings and pricing simplicity," said Tiffany Hall, BA head of U.K. and Ireland sales and marketing.

One restriction that will remain in place for the cheaper fares is lack of flexibility to rebook or cancel tickets, again in line with low-cost carrier policy. However, BA also is retaining the numerous frills that low-cost airlines do not offer, including catering and frequent flyer benefits.

More changes are expected as European airlines restructure their short-haul services in response to no-frills competition. Last month, SAS announced it will move intra-Scandinavian flights to a one-cabin service beginning June 1.