“Demand has returned, probably also because we revised our pricing policy. Still, the 40% revenue growth we recorded in January-November of this year has taken us by surprise. But given this growth trend, we also expect two-digit growth for next year,” said Emil Delibashev, commercial manager of British Airways for the Balkan area.
The airline’s Romanian growth rate was the fastest in the entire Balkan area, according to company officials.
Since the beginning of the economic crisis, British Airways has changed its pricing policy, advertising tickets at promotional prices both for the economy class and for long-haul (transatlantic) flights. The company sold airplane tickets that cost EUR174 for a return flight to London, all taxes included.
“If we are talking about business class tickets for the Bucharest-London route, I would say British Airways holds 65-70% of the market. The price of a Club Europe (business class) ticket to London is EUR727, all taxes included, according to company officials.
Most Romanians who fly to London go on to cross the ocean. Last year six out of ten Romanian passengers went on to take a transatlantic flight.
The biggest rise in demand for business class tickets has been for Buenos Aires, with demand rising 400%, followed by Los Angeles and Las Vegas, which rose by over 100%. Demand for tickets to New York went up 50%.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)