The entry of British Midland Airways Ltd. (BMI) into the Israeli aviation market is affecting fares. British Airways plc (LSE: BAY) has announced that it is cutting its World Traveller Plus fare on the Tel Aviv-London route to $1,177 and the World Traveller fare to $603. Fares to follow on destinations in the North and South America and the Far East have also been cut. World Traveller Plus class is unique to the airline, and it wants to attract business class passengers to it, in part by cutting fares.
British Airways cut its World Traveller Plus from Tel Aviv to New York by $100 to $1,689, and to San Francisco to $1,931. The World Traveller fare to New York has been cut to $993 and to San Francisco and Los Angeles to $1,173. World Traveller Plus fares from Tel Aviv to Singapore have been cut to $2,058 and to Sydney to $2,718. World Traveller fares to Tokyo have been cut to $1,447 and to Shanghai and Hong Kong to $1,441.
British Airways Israel country commercial manager Yael Katan said that World Traveller Plus was intended for business passengers who work for companies that requires them to ply tourist class. She said that the class was also intended for tourists who want more leg room.
On Monday, BMI announced that it would begin flights between Heathrow and Ben Gurion Airport in March 2008. Flights will leave London at 12:50 pm and land in Tel Aviv at 20:00, local time. The return flight will leave the next morning. Fares will range from $751 to $1,221 for tourist classes and $1,403 to $2,740 for business class. BMI will compete against British Airways and El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) on this route.
Low-cost airline ThomsonFly makes six weekly flights to the UK: three to Luton, north of London and three to Manchester.
On Monday, El Al announced that it was raising fares to all destinations because of the erosion in the dollar.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 21, 2008
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