British Airways will close its Hamilton office in December and relocating to Bermuda International Airport in a bid to reduce costs.

British Airways General Manager Philip Troake said the move is simply a business decision as BA does not maintain a BA office in any city centre in North America and the last BA office in the US was closed in 1998.

The lease of the BA office on Front Street will also be expiring this year.

?These are challenging economic times. We are anticipating that our fuel bill for the year 2005-2006 will be ?1.6 billion, a 30 percent increase from 2004-2005 when our fuel bill was ?1.1 billion, so we have to find economies of scale,? Mr. Troake said.

When BA relocates to the Airport it will be expanding its hours of operation to accommodate those who wish to continue face to face booking arrangements. Mr. Troake said BA customers have a variety of ways to make travel arrangements, either through online bookings, a travel agent or using the toll free 800 number.

?The Internet is a popular tool to distribute our product. With 25 percent of our bookings sold over the Internet more people are using this method. On one flight this week 40 people went online to check-in and get their boarding pass. By going online customers can book a flight from their own home at their leisure. Since the BA website (www.ba.com) was revamped in July it has become very user friendly.?

The last day of operation for the BA office in Hamilton is December 16 and all six staff members have been invited to work at Airport.