UK airlines slash prices

Major British airlines have slashed airfares to India and other holiday destinations to attract customers who have largely preferred to spend Christmas and New year holidays at home due to the economic downturn.

Major airports such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow have reported a sharp fall in the number of people going abroad for holidays during the Christmas-New Year season.

To attract customers, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have slashed prices by up to 25 per cent to their lowest levels since the 1980s. These include tickets to New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Prices of tickets to India have dropped significantly following last month's terror attacks in Mumbai. BA has cut prices to Delhi by 121 pound to 359 pound, to Mumbai by 91 pound to 329 pound and to Kolkata by 71 pound to 359 pound.

Both BA and Virgin sought to outdo each other on competing routes, while others such as Lufthansa and Emirates are also cutting prices amidst fears that the economic downturn will lead to plummeting ticket sales.

British Airways and Virgin have already cut its fuel surcharge by a third last week. BA announced its sale with flights to more than 75 destinations coming down in price. A return flight from London to New York is now just 259 pound.

Virgin Atlantic's offers include Dubai from 298 pound, Los Angeles from 338 pound, Delhi from 359 pound, Mumbai from 329 pound, Orlando in Florida from 308 pound and Chicago from 288 pound.

Source:hindu