Hike in charges force British Airways to review India strategy

Global airlines to oppose the increase in airport charges

August 29, 2012 09:57 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 11:10 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

A British Airways plane comes in to land behind a tail fin at Heathrow Airport in London, Friday, Oct. 29, 2010. British Airways has reported its first profit for two years,  a half year profit of 158million  pounds (252million US dollars). (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A British Airways plane comes in to land behind a tail fin at Heathrow Airport in London, Friday, Oct. 29, 2010. British Airways has reported its first profit for two years, a half year profit of 158million pounds (252million US dollars). (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

British Airways, on Wednesday, said it was reviewing its India operations strategy in the wake of the massive hike in airport charges at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here.

Revisiting strategy

“With the massive hike in airport charges, which are very high, we have been left with no other alternative but to revisit our strategy and assess route profitability,” Christopher Fordyce, British Airways' Regional Commercial Manager (South Asia), told journalists here.

When asked if the airline would pass the hike on to the passengers, he said he could not say anything on the issue at the moment but passengers would be affected.

International airlines such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic are understood to have formed an alliance to oppose the hike in airport charges, with some of the impacted airlines having gone to court on the issue.

Mr. Fordyce said as many other cities were also developing new airports, they would also, presumably, follow the Delhi airport’s route of imposing high airport fees.

“Airport development is important but the price escalation should also be taken into account as passengers will be affected due to it,” he added.

In-flight menu

He also announced the re-launch of British Airways in-flight menu to suit the taste and choice of Indian fliers, in collaboration with Oberoi Flight Services (OFS) on its flights operating out of Delhi and Mumbai airports.

“India is a key market for BA and we are committed to serving best-in-class onboard our flights from India. “We are now launching a refreshed menu, specially created and launched for Indian customers is one of our continuous endeavour to improve their in-flight experience,’’ Mr. Fordyce said.

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