Because the company is attempting to artificially restrict capacity on flights with available seats, British Airways is refusing to sell tickets for any of its short-haul flights from its Heathrow hub that are scheduled to depart up to August 8th.
In an effort to discourage passengers from booking a flight, BA began to “hate sell” tickets late last week by only providing the most expensive rates. Now, however, BA has taken things a step further by taking all of its short-haul flights out of service from Heathrow, according to London Air Travel.
The ban has been implemented because the airline wants to preserve space for travelers whose flights might be abruptly canceled. Due to personnel shortages and the contentious capacity limit at Heathrow Airport, British Airways continues to cancel flights.
The parent company of BA disclosed on Friday that the airline was experiencing higher-than-normal sickness rates, which was affecting its “operational resilience” from its primary hub at Heathrow.
Due to a “difficult operational environment” at Heathrow, the airline has already reduced its capacity to just 69% of pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, since May, BA has reduced 18% of its daily schedule due to continuous resource problems.
British Airways continues to contact passengers with flights already booked up to August 7 in an effort to persuade them to cancel their travel plans in addition to limiting ticket sales.
In emails sent to travellers who have flights scheduled during the upcoming year, the airline offers a voucher if they decide not to fly. Additionally, short-haul travelers now have the convenience of changing their departure date without incurring any fees to a future date.
In a statement, British Airways said it was limiting ticket sales as a direct result of a request from Heathrow Airport. A spokesperson told us: “As a result of Heathrow’s request to limit new bookings, we’ve decided to take responsible action and limit the available fares on some Heathrow services to help maximize rebooking options for existing customers, given the restrictions imposed on us and the ongoing challenges facing the entire aviation industry.”
