Ashes cricket means hot fares from BA

The batting of Kevin Pietersen or the bowling or Andrew Flintoff could bring massive fare reductions, for fliers between England and Australia as the latest Ashes contest gets under way this month.

For one of the five tests, national carriers British Airways and Qantas are teaming up to offer fares to Australia based on innings scores, with the number of seats determined by the amount of runs scored by the opposing team.

For the second npower Test at Lord’s (July 16-20), the price of flights will be determined by Australia’s first innings, with availability of seats determined by England’s reply.

For example, if Australia are bowled out for 230 and England make 395, there will be 395 seats available from each airline at £230 – an amazing reduction on a typical fare of £730.00

From July 21, customers wanting to fly with British Airways can visit ba.com while Qantas customers should check on Qantas.com.

British Airways’ consumer sales manager Simon Brooks said: “If it’s anything like the previous Ashes, we expect to be bowled over with interest from customers! The Ashes is a highlight in the sporting calendar, and now there’s an extra reason to get behind your team.”

Stephen Thompson, executive manager international sales at Qantas Airlines said: “There’s always a traditional friendly rivalry between the Brits and Aussies during the Ashes, and this promotion will ensure the second npower test is even more of an exciting showdown.”

In the previous Ashes in 2005, British Airways offered 367 seats at £373 when Australia scored 367 runs for 373 against England in the final test. Flights were sold out within 30 minutes.

For qualifying travel periods please check each airline’s website from July 21. For further information on British Airways go to ba.com, and for further details on Qantas visit qantas.com.

* Flights are only available in British Airways’ World Traveller cabin and International Economy on Qantas. The minimum return fare will be not be less than £125.

The Ashes runs from July 8 to August 24, fixtures are:

1st npower Ashes test, July 8-12 (Cardiff)
2nd npower Ashes test, July 16-20 (Lord’s)
3rd npower Ashes test, July 30-August 3 (Edgbaston)
4th npower Ashes test, August 7-11 (Headingley Carneige)
5th npower Ashes test, August 20-24 (The Brit Oval)