BA Cheaper than easyJet/Ryanair

[clifford]

I was looking to book a cheap return flight Rome-London for next August, and checked fares with FR, U2 and BA.

I expected the LCC's to be quite a bit cheaper than BA, but to my surprise, the BA fare was Eur57 each way ($20-30 cheaper for similarly timed flights), and they were from FCO and LHR, rather than small, inconvenient or out of the way airports.

Admittedly, the BA fare is completely without any frills, but so are the LCC's. An added bonus for BA is that I can use their airport lounges, and there are even a few avios to be gained.

 

[dajop]

Not that surprising, with the HLO/no seat selection basic fares they have been aggressively chasing the LCCs (some would say turning into LCC themselves..). Wonder how long before they decide to remove lounge access on these fares as well .....

 

[samh004]

I was reading elsewhere this morning about someone having a completely different experience. I'll highlight this thread to them.

 

[UP4014]

I guess if BA are cheaper and you're looking for the cheapest then BA wins, the passenger wins.

 

[clifford]

I guess if BA are cheaper and you're looking for the cheapest then BA wins, the passenger wins.

I would have paid more, if necessary, to fly FCO-LHR-FCO, as both airports are very convenient for me. LGW, STN, LTN, SEN and CIA, et al, are very inconvenient for me.

 

[Mattg]

In my opinion, BA's product is not dissimilar to a LCC product anyway. Interesting to see that they're now pricing their fares accordingly!

 

[MartinMemo]

I have seen ba cheaper or close enough a few times, but typically my £50-100 Ryan air flight which includes bulk head, priority, fast track etc. Would cost £200-350. A perfect example being London to Budapest next weekend. £100 on Ryan air with everything, £350 on BA with nothing. The 'loyalty' rewards aren't worth that amount of extra money in economy and all my recent Ryan air flights have been great. But back to the original post, yes I've seen ba fares the same or cheaper. Usually on routes where they have say 6 or 8 flights a day to the completions 1 or 2. Or the new/seasonal summer routes to places like Spain or Italy.