BA: Online distribution is marginal cost saving

TravelMole Fast Conference Special: BA says the cost savings of taking direct bookings through ba.com over bookings through agents were marginal. Speaking at the TravelMole Fast Conference, BA head of corporate sales, Ian Heywood said: “The cost difference is not that much and also there is a huge market you are not attracting by cutting out agents.” He was responding to a question from moderator, Jeremy Skidmore over whether the primary driver for BA of pushing sales through the web was the cost savings. Mr Heywood added: “Why would we want to limit the channels through which our product is available. We are not going to go down the Aer Lingus route of only selling through the website.” In the audience was Cendant Travel Distribution Services’ Nicky Harrison, who asked whether BA knew the true cost of online distribution. Mr Heywood said that problem was that no two accountants would agree on what costs to be included. He also said that he thought marketing costs were part of the cost of online distribution. Report by Ginny McGrath For information on future TravelMole Fast Conferences, please visit www.travelmole.com/fastconferences, email [email protected], or call +44 (0)20 7691 3292.