The airline is also introducing a £15 fee for long-haul tickets booked by telephone from May 1. The internet booking fee is likely to be about £1. A BA insider admitted that it might become cheaper to buy a ticket through a travel agent than to book online.

The move was condemned by the Air Transport Users Council, which said BA appeared to be bumping up the price of tickets by adding taxes and charges.

James Fremantle, the council’s industry affairs adviser, said: “This is a ridiculous move by BA. If everyone selling goods over the internet brought in a booking fee there would be uproar. An airline should be no different from a shop when it comes to selling goods.” BA said the new fees were part of its policy of charging all customers the costs of their chosen booking method.

Ian Heywood, BA’s sales manager, said: “Our customers will continue to be able to find our cheapest fares online. Some of the other fares will go up and others will go down. There is a cost attached to all selling channels, including the internet. Customers will choose the level of service that they require and will have the choice of where they buy their tickets.”

BA announced last week that it was reducing the commission it pays to travel agents to zero. Most travel agents are likely to respond by charging a service fee for booking tickets. This means all BA passengers will pay booking fees.

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