Online booking kills off BA call centres

British Airways is to close its four call centres in the Caribbean because of reduced demand and the growth of the internet, the company said today.

A centre in Jamaica will close on May 31, followed by offices in Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados on June 30, said Elvin Sealy, BA’s commercial manager for the south Caribbean.

“We have now moved forward into an era where the number of people wanting to do business by calling a small call centre have reduced,” Sealy said, adding that people now preferred to buy plane tickets online.

The Antigua and St Lucia call centres have ticketing offices, which also will close on June 30.

The call centre services will be consolidated into the carrier’s North American call centre in Jacksonville, Florida, Sealy says.

The closures will not affect British Airways' flights to the Caribbean.

The carrier has also closed call centres in Glasgow, as well as London and Toronto.

About 10 British Airways employees in the region were offered severance packages, Sealy said.