BA to move sales on to internet

British Airways said it was planning to move a "substantial" amount of its sales on to the internet.

British Airways said it was planning to move a "substantial" amount of its sales on to the internet.

The switch in emphasis to internet sales will involve a major res-structuring of the airline's sales business.

BA wants to move half its £4.5 billion sales online by 2003.

BA's sales over the Internet at present are in "single figure" percentages, the group said.

Some of the sales would be expected to come from foreign currency, hotel hire and car hire, in addition to flight sales.

BA said: "We are reviewing our current internal e-commerce organisation structure.

"It is our intention to move ahead with changes which will pull together our e-commerce functions into one dedicated unit.

"This restructuring underpins our commitment to remain at the forefront of e-commerce initiatives and to develop an enhanced unit which can deliver innovative new products to the market quickly."