British Airways is an airline based at London Heathrow. Its shares became shares in International Airlines Group (IAG) when it merged with Spain’s Iberia in 2011.
This scheme has endedBA’s shareholder flight discount ended in January 2015. Buying IAG shares does not qualify you for this old scheme.
History of the perk
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The scheme closed
IAG ended discounted bookings at midnight on 31 January 2015. Holders could still book flights up to 355 days ahead; they did not have to finish travelling by January.
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A temporary 15% discount
BA raised the discount from 10% to 15% for shareholder bookings made online in December 2008.
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Five companions and a mailed coupon
BA’s 2004 offer covered the shareholder and up to five companions booking and travelling together. Holders of at least 200 shares on 8 November received a coupon for bookings made during 2005, for leisure journeys from or within the UK.
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The first shareholder coupons
BA’s first coupons covered tickets issued from 1 December 1991 for journeys begun by 30 November 1992. Individual shareholders needed at least 200 shares on 14 November 1991. Each holder could use one coupon a year for 10% off a published BA fare or 5% off the basic price of a BA Holidays package. The flight offer covered leisure travel in every cabin, including Concorde.
Company story
A reward for loyalty
Lord King, BA’s chairman, said shareholders had asked for fare discounts ever since privatisation. He presented the scheme as a reward for their loyalty and a way to encourage the company’s owners to try its services. He also said it would protect revenue and profits, preserving shareholders’ interests as dividend recipients.
After privatisation
BA received more than a million share applications when it was privatised in February 1987. A 2021 study in Business History puts the number of investors at about 400,000 a year after flotation, down from more than a million. BA reported that its half-year pre-tax profit fell from £320 million to £185 million in 1991, the year the discount began.
Different verdicts
Head for Points judged the discount rewarding for travellers who paid for premium tickets themselves, but poor for economy passengers. London Air Travel described it as popular with private shareholders and said frequent flyers could save enough to cover their investment. BA gave a different account when it announced the closure: it said take-up was “extremely low” and shareholders preferred a dividend. BA said the planned return of dividends made it the right time to end the scheme.
Sources: British Airways Investor, Winter 1991 ; Business History, 2021 ; Head for Points, 2014 ; Business Traveller, 2014
What shareholders got
Shareholders received 10% off eligible British Airways leisure fares, excluding taxes and surcharges.
The fare, not the whole bill
You paid taxes, fees, charges and surcharges in full, so the total bill fell by less than 10%.
Who could travel
The discount covered you and up to eight companions on the same booking.
Which flights qualified
BA’s own scheduled flights and its franchise airlines Comair and Sun-Air qualified. A booking with a codeshare or oneworld partner flight did not, even if it carried a BA flight number.
Avios
You could earn Avios on qualifying flights. The discount did not apply to Avios redemptions, Avios & Money bookings or upgrades paid with Avios.
Who qualified
You needed at least 200 British Airways ordinary shares on 29 October 2010.
You also had to register for electronic shareholder communications.
Shares held through a broker
In 2004, BA’s free nominee service, British Airways Investor Services (BAIS), let you hold shares electronically without certificates and receive all shareholder benefits. For other broker or ISA holdings, your broker or plan manager had to apply for the coupon, confirming your eligibility, address and portfolio number. The later online terms do not say how brokers obtained the booking references. We did not test any broker’s service.
Previous claim process
You entered the shareholder reference and discount reference numbers sent to you by email. BA could check your eligibility.
- 1. Book through the shareholder websiteYou followed the booking link on IAG’s shareholder site. Phone bookings, ticket desks and travel agents could not apply the discount.
- 2. Travel on the same bookingYou and your companions had to book, pay and travel together on every flight.
Exclusions and limits
Excluded: Hand-baggage-only fares; Flight packages with hotels, car hire, excursions or parking; Applying the discount after booking.
The offer could not be combined with other discounts.
Dates
The former terms did not specify any minimum holding period or expiry date.
- Qualifying ownership date
- Former claim deadline
- Scheme ended
Practical notes
Why are “2011” terms still online?
BA’s shareholder discount terms page is headed “Shareholder Discount 2011” but gives no expiry date. The heading does not mean the scheme ended that year, and the page being online does not mean you can still use the offer.
Could you change or refund a discounted ticket?
The normal fare rules still applied. If a permitted change raised the fare, you kept only the original discount. If it lowered the fare, you got the difference back. The discount had no cash alternative.
Could new IAG shareholders join?
The closure letter says the scheme stayed open to former BA shareholders after the merger. It never extended to new IAG shareholders or former Iberia holders.