Airlines create online travel agency

British Airways has joined forces with ten other airlines to set up a Web-based travel agency.

Customers can compare prices from Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines Group, British Midland, Finnair, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa and SAS.

The offering will compete directly with the likes of lastminute.com and ebookers, but one existing company which already has an online presence was not concerned about another player entering the online travel market.

Alexa Clark, marketing director at thomascook.com, welcomed the venture. He said: "We have been offering travel over the Internet for the past three years and see the competition as a good thing for the market."