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BA defends itself against AITO anger
British Airways has responded to criticism from AITO over its handling of the ash cloud crisis.
The association, which represents independent tour operators, has written to the Lords committee voicing its anger over the airline’s refusal to reimburse operators for looking after BA passengers during the ash crisis (see earlier story on TravelMole).
In a statement issued today, BA defended itself and expressed its disappointment at AITO’s actions.
“We’re enormously grateful for the support the trade has shown us in recent months,†said the statement.
“However, we are disappointed that AITO has taken the opportunity to criticise BA in respect of issues arising from the airspace closure, clearly a situation that was entirely outside BA’s control.
“The volcanic ash affected the entire travel industry. It was an unprecedented situation. There were no winners.â€
It said the ash cloud disruption had cost BA £100 million at a time when the aviation industry is facing its most difficult period in its history.
“During the volcanic ash crisis, we worked tirelessly to get airspace reopened and BA CEO, Willie Walsh, led the first flight by a British commercial airliner back into the sky to collect data on the presence of ash in UK airspace.
“We allowed customers who were affected to get a full refund or rebook onto another flight and paid for the hotel accommodation and reasonable costs for thousands of people who were stranded. “We accepted our responsibility towards our customers and have paid out millions to cover our duty of care.
“We sell seats to the travel trade at discounted rates, which tour operators then package with additional services and onward sell to their customers at prices they determine.
“Whilst we are happy to return the cost of the flight to the trade’s clients, by their very nature, travel trade companies also have a relationship of their own with their customers and obligations of their own to those customers.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to say that we were overwhelmed with positive feedback from the trade about the way we handled the ash crisis. We continue to thank them for the support they have given us over recent times.â€
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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