British Airways is backing down on controversial charges for second bags and extra bag weight introduced in February, reducing the cost of taking an extra bag on board on long-haul flights from £120 to £75, and relaxing weight allowances.

The airline brought in the charges for second bags to streamline its booking process and speed up check-in. However, BA this week admitted to Times Online Travel that the amounts were "too high" at £240 for a return flight - about as much as a return ticket to Bombay in India, or a trip to New York.

A spokeswoman said that second bag fees will come down for travel after November 6. Long-haul extra bags will go from £120 to £75, short-haul from £60 to £30, and UK domestic from £30 to £20.

These charges refer to people who check-in at the airport, however for those who check-in online rates for second bags are slightly different, changing from £84 to £60 on long-haul, £42 to £24 on short-haul and £21 to £16 on domestic flights.

The spokeswoman said: "The policies were soft launched in February, and as often happens, some time was taken to trial the policy. Charges have been reduced as we recognised they were too high."

BA has also quietly increased the weight limit for bags taken on planes. In February it said the new limit would be 23kg in economy class. But this has been relaxed to 32kg, the previous weight maximum, until November next year.

The airline says that it is waiting until it is "completely settled in" at Terminal Five in Heathrow, due to open next year, before reinstating the 23kg allowance. After then there will be a flat £25 charge for anyone who exceeds 23kg, up to a maximum of 32kg.

Simon Warburton, editor of Air & Business Travel News, said: "The charges were way too high at a time when going through UK airports has been particularly tricky. It was yet another burden for travellers."

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