easyJet prepares for BA conflict over web service

NEWS Easygroup, the backer of easyJet.com, says it expects a battle with British Airways over a new travel price comparison service that encourages customers to buy cheaper flights. The new service is due for launch at the end of the Summer. Part of price comparison portal easyvalue.com, it will highlight a loophole which allows customers to reduce the cost of mid-week travel by booking 'back to back' fares. Instead of booking a costly midweek one or two day return, customers will be given the option of booking two return tickets, both incorporating a Saturday night stop over, and using only the outgoing portion of each coupon. James Rothnie from Easygroup claims that back to back booking could save customers up to 50 per cent. He said: "If you travel on a mid week return, airlines know you're a business traveller. They assume you are paying with a corporate card and charge a lot of money. Saturday night stay-overs are usually done by tourists who are price sensitive so prices come down." However, he does not expect the launch to go smoothly. "This is not illegal but we will be the first website to flag up this fare option to customers. We haven't had any legal challenges yet but we are anticipating them. If not legal obstacles then we think there will be technical obstacles from the airlines," he said. BA has already said it will take action against customers who break its rule of carriage. A BA spokesman told silicon.com: "Our rules of carriage do say a passenger buying a ticket must intend to travel. If any third party breaches those conditions we would consider legal action."