Sir - The question of fare levels - in which the public should take a great interest - is an important issue.
There is talk about a "low-fare philosophy" and Ryan Air is operating to Glasgow, the second-densest route in Europe, at fares lower than those established for many years.
British Eagle International broke the British European Airways monopoly in the early 1960s with services to Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but was not allowed to reduce fares. It does not appear that the big airlines have a low-fare philosophy. What they do, is offer fares at a discount, to suit themselves when they want to sell seats, but the core fares remain high, as do their costs.
The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) made losses of £500 million the year before it was privatised and, clearly, the shares were sold cheaply. Having been a vastly over-manned and high-cost operator, it was re-organised, and well managed in places.
It would be nice to think that one aim of this was to provide low-fare services by British Airways. Since then, of course, Virgin Atlantic has taken over the role of British Eagle and Laker Airways, in trying to perpetuate low fares.
What is needed is a low-cost airline, run with the genuine intention to make a profit, but based on low fares and adequate standards of comfort - especially on long haul. Seat pitch does not matter on a short trip, but it does on long-haul flights and it is there that the economy-class passenger needs more attention.
Spending millions on improvements for first class passengers, with Virgin competing with BA for the Carriage Class customers, against the background of an airline such as Air France, receiving large state subsidies, is a nonsense. It does not serve the UK, or European, public and needs a clear understanding of the position to make any sense of it.
HAROLD BAMBERG
Sunningdale, Berkshire, UK
Source: Flight International
