press release

British Airways' Best Customers Express Their Concerns

Customers seek assurances on cost-shifting, content fragmentation

Radnor, PA., 26 February 2007–The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) today transmitted a Customer Signatory Letter to British Airways’ (BA) Chief Executive Officer William M. Walsh as well as an Industry Position Paper. The unprecedented customer letter was signed by 117 major BA corporate customers from the UK, continental Europe, North America and Asia. The Position Paper was peer-reviewed by some 150 European travel industry participants.

“As major British Airways' customers, we are writing to express our profound concern about your airline’s reported intentions to undermine our existing corporate travel procurement process by imposing new surcharges and withholding content from the Global Distribution Systems…You are directly threatening the loss of your most valuable customers by imposing costs already included in the price of our tickets and hampering technology that is critical to the efficient functioning of our modern corporate travel programmes,” states the Signatory Letter.

The Industry Position Paper illuminates other critical issues, "Airline.com websites are absolutely not the answer for corporations. Exclusive content on such websites directly undermines the integrity of corporate travel programmes."  

The customer Signatory Letter can be accessed at http://businesstravelcoalition.com/advocacy/statements/131.htm.

The Industry Position Paper can be accessed at http://businesstravelcoalition.com/advocacy/statements/127.htm.