British Airways has announced plans to introduce a lower fare for passengers carrying only hand baggage on a select number of flights from London Gatwick.
The new fares will be introduced on 26 February, and will see prices for passengers not checking in luggage decrease for selected short-haul flights to Europe and North Africa. One-way fares to Turin, Italy, and Amsterdam, Netherlands will start at £39; fares to Jersey will reduce to £45, Dubrovnik, Croatia to £49 and the Tunisian capital, Tunis to £69.
The new fares will be between £9 and £15 cheaper than the equivalent ‘checked baggage’ fare, depending on the destination.
BA’s operations director at London Gatwick, Peter Simpson, said that the new fares were to give people “more freedom to choose the kind of flying they want”, but he was quick to stress that passengers who choose to check in luggage will be charged the same fares as they are now:
“Many British Airways customers on Gatwick short-haul breaks choose not to check in a bag as they’re already taking advantage of our generous two-bag hand luggage policy. Those who still want to check in a bag will simply pay the same price they do now.”
The move will coincide with the arrival of five new Airbus A319s which are to be transferred from Heathrow to Gatwick’s short-haul fleet, furthering BA’s flying capabilities from Gatwick whilst capacity is in short supply at Heathrow.