Perks per Share

LSE: BAY

British Airways

Shareholder flight discount

What shareholders got 10% offDiscontinued 200 shares or more

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

The flight discount survived BA’s merger with Iberia, but only for the old BA shareholder group. IAG later closed it, citing low use and the planned return of dividends. Earlier terms included holiday coupons and different companion limits.

  1. The scheme closed

    IAG’s letter gave holders until midnight to make their last discounted bookings, for flights up to 355 days ahead. This was a booking cutoff, not a requirement to finish travelling by January. The letter survives as a reproduction in London Air Travel’s December 2014 report. IAG subsequently paid its first dividend in December 2015.

  2. The merger did not end the discount

    BA and Iberia completed their merger on 21 January. BA shareholders received one IAG share for each BA share on 24 January. BA’s website still offered discounted bookings to holders who met the October 2010 threshold, now including eligible shareholders worldwide.

  3. The holding date in the later terms

    The later terms required 200 BA shares held on this date. You also had to be registered for electronic shareholder communications.

  4. A temporary 15% discount

    BA raised the discount for online bookings made in December 2008. You needed 200 shares on 7 November 2008, and travel had to start in the UK.

  5. Eight companions and online booking

    The 2008 rules covered return leisure journeys from or within the UK, priced in sterling. You could bring eight companions and had to book online. The booking window ran from January to December 2008.

  6. Five companions and a mailed coupon

    BA said the scheme was in its fourteenth year. Holders of 200 shares on 8 November received a coupon for 2005 bookings, covering five companions. The discount applied in all travel classes, including First and Club World, on journeys from or within the UK. You could book through BA’s shareholder phone line, a BA Travel Shop or its shareholder website.

  7. Flight and holiday coupons

    The earliest archived FAQ we found gave the shareholder and three companions a discount on one BA flight and one BA Holiday a year. Later terms covered flights only and excluded packages. The sources do not show when the holiday coupon ended.

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

  1. 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. 2. Travel on the same bookingYou and your companions had to book, pay and travel together on every flight.

You entered the shareholder reference and discount reference numbers sent to you by email. BA could check your eligibility.

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 surviving terms give no minimum holding period or expiry date.

Qualifying ownership date
Former claim deadline
Scheme ended

Practical notes

Why are “2011” terms still online?

BA’s surviving 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.