3 ms·
British Airways is notorious for having an unfavorably skewed ticket price to YQ surcharge ratio. Part of the reason they do this is because it allows them to
by kchoudhu 11y ago
British Airways is notorious for having an unfavorably skewed ticket price to YQ surcharge ratio.
Part of the reason they do this is because it allows them to book revenue for "free" award tickets: since your miles only cover the ticket component of the package and none of the fuel surchages, they can wring money from passengers who would otherwise be dead weight on the balance sheet.
I recently booked an award ticket on BA metal (I know, mistake -- but it was an emergency) that cost me something like $500 in fuel surcharges and assorted taxes. As it turns out, in airline speak free doesn't actually mean free.
- briandear 11y agoSome airlines actually apply those 'free' ticket taxes as if the ticket were a full, unrestricted ticket -- which award tickets are not. I've had good luck with United though. A miles ticket from Europe to the US generally costs me between $90-$100 in fees. Not too bad considering the same one way might cost $1000-$2000. British Airways seems to operate like British airports: a constant attempt to scrape every last cent (and goodwill) from passengers.
- kchoudhu 11y agoFor nearly a decade, I lived in New York and managed to avoid BA for all my travel needs. I recently moved to Doha and am working remotely for my company, with occasional trips back to the motherships in NY and London. Unless I fly ME3, BA is all that works for me. Alas.