I have been complaining for years about BAA's advertising prices at
shops in its airports as being the same as in the High Street. Which
High Street? Certainly not the ones I shopin. The prices at BAA shops
are way ABOVE High Street prices. Even their Duty Free / Tax Free are
above the normal High Street prices. Its about time BAA was taken to
court for misleading the public. The wholly owned Spanish BAA is one
of the worst of 'Rip Off Britain.'

The Times has a major article about the rip off scams that BAA are
allegedly pulling at every airport it owns. See:

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/article2344055.ece

Millions misled over airport pricesBen Webster, Transport
Correspondent

BAA, the airport operator, has misled millions of passengers about
prices at shops and bars in its terminals, according to the
advertising watchdog.

It has been forced to withdraw leaflets claiming that passengers are
paying the same prices as in their local high street.

The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against the
leaflets after finding that prices at airports were substantially
higher. It found that passengers paid the same as at outlets in the
City of London and the West End, where rents mean retail prices are
the highest in the country.

A glass of house wine at a bar at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted cost
40 per cent more than in bars run by the same company in regional
towns and cities. BAA makes almost half its revenue from retailing and
has frequently been accused of focusing so heavily on maximising
income from shops that it neglects airport facilities and fails to
tackle the causes of delays.

One BAA leaflet, entitled Guide to Stansted Airport, stated: "The
price of all food and drink sold in BAA airports is matched with the
UK high street, so you won't pay a penny more than you' re used to."

The leaflet listed airport food and drink outlets. A second leaflet,
entitled Taste, stated: "Don't forget, our caterers are committed to
matching the price of all the food and drink they sell within their
airport stores against their high street equivalents." BAA told the
ASA that it had contracts with retailers which demanded price parity
with the high street. It claimed that prices at each airport were
compared with the local high street, or, in cases where the retailer
did not have a branch on that high street, with the nearest outlet.

snip ...

CJB.