British
Airways Ghana, has denied allegations that it is engaged in some
unfair trade practices or taking advantage of the hospitality of
Ghanaians.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed
by the Country Manager, Mrs Essie Anno Sackey, in reaction to
accusations by Alhaji Asoma Banda, Chairman of Antrak Group, that the
airline discriminates against Ghanaians through overpricing of air
tickets and excess baggage allowance for passengers on the Accra-Europe
route.
She explained that various factors were taken into
consideration by companies in the pricing of services offered and
determined what services to offer what markets.
“There are, for
instance, good commercial reasons why British Airways flies bigger
aircraft to Nigeria than to Ghana and is therefore able to offer larger
baggage allowances to passengers flying to and from Nigeria than it
does to and from Ghana”. Mrs Sackey stated that issue of baggage
allowance was constantly under review.
“Among factors that
affect airline fares are volume of travel, seasonal influences,
aviation fuel cost and aircraft type,” she said, adding that “British
Airways fares on the Accra-London-Accra route are very competitive”.
Mrs
Sackey said “it is most unfortunate that the letter that Alhaji Banda
wrote to British Airways International Manager on July 18, 2001, has
not received a response. “We in British Airways, Ghana, will, however,
be glad to obtain details of the fare comparisons Alhaji Banda has made
as we believe that such feedback from our valued customers will help
improve our service”, the country manager said.
Mrs Sackey said
the airline was pleased to address any concerns of the travelling
public and that such concerns should be directed to their Accra office.
Alhaji
Banda took a swipe at the foreign airlines for what he described as the
“unjustifiable and discriminatory overpricing of airline tickets and
the excess baggage allowance charged on passengers travelling to and
from Accra.
Alhaji Banda runs Antrak Airline, a local airline, which also flies along the coast of West Africa.
