The latest assault by British Airways on no-frills carriers is designed to hit them where it hurts – on fares.

The carrier’s low fare finder, launched today, lists the lowest prices available to all of its 150 destinations, then shows when to fly to bag those fares. BA already has one of the most transparent airline booking engines online, but this new tool nudges them head and shoulders above other airline sites.

British Airways has today increased its long-haul fares across the board by up to £40 per round trip.

The airline is adding £20 per round trip to all long-haul fares in World Traveller (economy) and World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and £40 per round trip to fares in Club World (business) and First.

The airline says it has also increased its change fees from £70 to £90.

Passengers on a British Airways flight have taken part in an emergency evacuation after landing in Barcelona.

There were reports of fumes in the Boeing 757′s cabin shortly after it landed at 0945 local time in Spain.

The 176 passengers escaped down emergency chutes and the emergency services were sent to the scene.

British Airways said its engineers were investigating the cause of the incident on the flight which had been scheduled to land at the airport from Heathrow.

British Airways passengers who are prevented from boarding an aircraft because of suspected swine flu risk being left out of pocket by the airline which will not allow them to rebook their ticket.

The carrier, which lost £401 million last year, has insisted that normal ticketing conditions will apply, which means that only those who bought expensive flexible tickets will be offered the chance to travel at an alternative date.

The decision at two separate mass meetings of GMB union members working at Heathrow, has increased the risk of a walkout during the height of the summer season, threatening the holiday plans of millions of Britons

While union leaders are desperately trying to reach agreement with BA, but they are coming under pressure from rank and file to call a strike ballot.