BA charges £640 return on new Heathrow to Newquay route

Exclusive: Maiden flight on new route to Newquay is priced at £640 return for just 420 miles of air travel

British Airways will fly an Airbus A319 to Newquay five times a week (Getty Images)

On the day that British Airways launched its new route from Heathrow airport to Newquay in Cornwall, The Independent has found the airline is charging £640 return.

The price is for the first flight on Thursday 2 July 2020, returning a week later.

On the same days, BA has an economy fare of just £558 return for the 12,000 mile round trip to Hong Kong.

Passengers on the 70-minute flight to Newquay airport will have to pay extra for food and drink onboard – though they could upgrade to business class at a fare of £873 return.

The extortionate fare (BA)

In contrast, travellers on the 12-hour long-haul to Hong Kong will get complimentary meals and drinks, as well as inflight entertainment.

While no checked baggage is included for the Hong Kong fare, British Airways offers the most generous cabin luggage allowance: 46kg per person.

On the same dates, GWR will sell a “walk-up” train ticket from London Paddington to Newquay for £119 return – though cheaper rail deals will be available when advance booking opens.

BA’s rival, Flybe, has an air fare from Gatwick of £132 on the same dates, or from Southend at £187.

British Airways has assigned an Airbus A319 jet to the 210-mile route for five round-trips per week between 2 July and 7 September.

A spokesperson for the airline said: “We now have a range of fares available, starting from £90 return. As it is a new route it took a few hours for all our fares to appear online.”