British Airways - the real no-frills airline?

Contrary to what British Airways would like to have us believe, they may not be as “full service” as they make out. The Observer today revealed that 3/4 of the aircraft operated by British Airways CitiExpress do not have the necessary equipment to land in fog when visibility is reduced to less than 300m.

CitiExpress is a division of the legacy airline which primarily operates domestic routes. Their British-based low-cost competitors, who frequently come under the microscope for cutting costs, all have category-3 equipment fitted to their entire fleets.

Aircraft unable to land in category-3 conditions are most often diverted to fog-free airports or delayed at departure.

This week, British Airways were also criticised by the Air Transport Users Council for having one of the highest levels of “taxes, fees and charges” - additional costs which are added at the final stages of booking.