NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
MAY/JUNE 2012
News AIRLINES
BA’S SURCHARGE-FIXING FINE REDUCED
BRITISH AIRWAYS HAS been fined £58.5 million by the Office of Fair Trading for colluding with rival Virgin Atlantic to fix passenger fuel surcharges. The fine was £63 million lower than the original £121.5 million
figure the OFT agreed with BA in 2007. Virgin will not be fined because it acted as a “whistleblower” in the case and brought it to the attention of the OFT. The level of BA’s penalty was slashed due to “a number of factors”, said the OFT. “These included legal developments regarding penalty setting
for competition law infringements and the fact that the overall value added to the OFT’s investigation by BA’s co-operation was greater than had been anticipated at the time of the original agreement,” said the OFT in a statement. BA and Virgin “co-ordinated” surcharge prices on
long-haul flights to and from the UK between August 2004 and January 2006 by sharing “pricing and other commercially sensitive information”. Ali Nikpay, senior director of cartels and criminal enforcement at the OFT, said: “This decision brings an end to this investigation and sends out a strong message that co-ordinating pricing through the exchange of confidential information between competitors is unlawful. The size of the fine underlines that it is important for companies to take steps to ensure they have an effective compliance culture. The fine would have been higher still but for the co-operation provided by BA throughout the OFT’s investigation.” Three former BA executives and one current member of staff
were prosecuted over the issue by the OFT two years ago, but the trial collapsed when the prosecution decided to offer “no evidence”.
IN CONVERSATION…
Gerard Clarke Following the launch of Hong Kong Airlines’ all-business class Gatwick-Hong Kong service, UK general manager Gerard Clarke talks to Buying Business Travel editor Paul Revel
with our forecasts. The Club Classic product is popular with the SME market, where we’re seeing strong forward bookings. Club Premier sees more late bookings. We’ve joined the Guild of Travel Management Companies, and we’re already engaging very productively with the TMC market.
There’s a lot of competition on the
London-Hong Kong route – what's the strategy behind this new service?
There is competition, but Hong Kong Airlines offers a
gateway to its extensive China network via our Hong Kong hub. The timetable is designed to offer connections into the key markets in China – we’re ramping up frequencies and opening up second- and third-tier destinations. China is where UK plc is going – and we’re helping them get there.
AIRLINES
EASYJET REACHES NEW TECH DEAL WITH TRAVELPORT
8 1
EASYJET HAS REACHED a new deal with Travelport allowing its flights to be sold worldwide through the technology firm. The new expanded contract will allow all agents connected through Galileo GDS and Travelport Universal API to book flights with the no-frills carrier. The two
companies said agents should also benefit from “enhanced
functionality to improve the booking process”, including the sale of the airline’s ancillary services. Andrew Hodges,
Easyjet’s director of sales, distribution and business, said: “Travelport’s extensive global footprint provides us with an efficient distribution channel for distributing our popular low-fares, including the Flexi fare, especially to the
managed corporate travel market.” Easyjet signed its first agreement with Travelport in 2007, which was the first time the carrier had allowed third- party distribution of its flights. Travelport’s UK and Ireland regional director Simon Ferguson added: “This
revised agreement extends the scope of the distribution we are able to provide Easyjet .”
Does Gatwick work for you as a business
travel airport?
Gatwick is investing a huge amount of effort and resource to ensure the airport becomes a viable and easier alternative to the UK’s already overly-congested main gateway. The North Terminal has recently been upgraded and the facilities are ideal for the business traveller. It was an obvious choice for us, with priority fast-track lane and great lounge. And Club Premier passengers can also use the Sofitel arrivals lounge. As well as the London chauffeur service for our Premier passengers, there’s an excellent rail network, including City Thameslink.
How is business on the new route? Traffic has seen steady, healthy growth in line
All passengers on the LGW-HKG route get a 96kg luggage allowance – have you had any feedback on this?
Reaction has been great. It’s proving ideal for SMEs doing business
and visiting tradeshows in Asia, and the MICE market. It’s also popular with inbound Chinese business customers. Another bonus is we give this allowance to London passengers transiting through HKG to any point on our Asia network, and vice versa. We’re also competing on price – for example, Club Classic compares favourably with premium economy fares on the route, but offers a full business class service.
What else is new for Hong Kong Airlines ? We recently launched multiple daily services to Taiwan, and now
serve Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taichung from our Hong Kong hub. We plan to launch a new scheduled service between Hong Kong and a major city in Fujian province from mid-June. This will bring our China portfolio to 15 destinations. We’re evaluating our route expansion carefully. We would ideally like to launch new scheduled services to Europe, Australasia and India.
• Editor’s report on all-business service and inaugural trip to Hong Kong at
www.buyingbusinesstravel.com
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