British Airways rebrands short-haul economy fares

BA has confirmed the new branding for its three short-haul economy fare types, under the names Basic, Plus and Plus Flex. The new names follow on from the announcement of the simplification of short-haul fare types last month (see news March 21). Hand baggage only fares are now known as Basic fares, and offer the standard hand baggage allowance, seating allocated at check-in (or paid-for seat selection), and flight changes for a fee plus any difference in fare. The new Plus fare (which was temporarily known as With Checked Bag) includes a 23kg baggage allowance, free seat selection from 48 hours before departure, free flight changes on the day of departure up to one hour before the scheduled flight time, and no change fees (although a fare difference may apply if the flight is changed before the day of departure). Finally the new Plus Flex fare (which had been known as Fully Flex) is fully refundable, and offers the 23kg baggage allowance, the free flights changes on day of departure, no change fees, and seat selection at the time of booking. On UK Domestic routes Fully Flex fares will be known as Business UK, and will include lounge access and priority boarding. Club Europe fare are not affected by this announcement. Note that BA is currently rolling out the new fare branding across its website, so readers may find that some routes still show the old fare names. In terms of the new price differentiation between Basic and Plus fares, a look at several routes suggests customers should expect to pay on average £15 more each way for a Plus fare. ba.com Mark Caswell