British Airways is to slash the price of thousands of tickets to summer holiday destinations as part of a new initiative to wrest back customers from its no-frills rivals.

The national flag carrier is to reduce its lowest return fares from Gatwick airport to 38 destinations by up to £30 - although the move was immediately greeted with scorn by Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, Ryanair.

Under the new structure, BA's return prices to popular destinations such as Venice, Barcelona, Prague, Naples and Nice will start at £69. Short trips to Dublin and Jersey will come down by £10 to £59.

A BA spokeswoman said: "We operate more flights from Gatwick than any other airline. This is partly about competing with low-cost carriers and partly simply about offering better value for money."

The fares will be available only on midweek flights and must be booked 28 days in advance. These restrictions drew a critical response from Ryanair, which said the "very stringent terms and conditions" meant BA was still failing to compete with no-frills operators.

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