What is the British Airways Staff Travel allowance?
 

Hello all, I need some advice. I have had a DEP offer from BA, but if I take it, I will be walking away from a great job with a 15k (pounds) bond to repay.

The only reason that I am even contemplating such a move is the staff travel that I will have access to. However, at the moment I don't know the complete details of what you get and after how long. If anyone could help it would be much appreciated.

Regards

after 6 months - unlimited Id90 travel
immediately - 1 free firm club ticket (subject to space etc) just pay taxes and fees per yr.

After 7 years - 1 free standby first ticket.

As soon as you start with BA you get access to what are called 'Hotlines'. These are confirmed tickets that you can give to anyone, you can book these 20 times a year. This gives you approx 10% off the ticket price.
Then after 6 months you get access to the 'ID90' tickets which gives you 90% off the full fare , so for instance you can get to New York for about £140ish. These are not confirmed and you only get on if there is space on the aircraft. If there are others staff travellers on the same flight who gets on is determind by date of joining for those on the same priority.
There may be others who have a higher ticket priority than you but have a later Date of joining and they would still get on ahead of you. It can get quite complicated but I think they are simplifying it next year.

For European flights these days due to stupid amounts of tax the Hotline is often only £15-30 more than the ID90 so if you definatly want to get there then that is better to go for. Also Lowcosts and even people like Lufthansa are sometimes cheaper than BA staff travel round Europe.
Where it comes into its own is longhaul, then it is a lot lot cheaper. But there is still the tax. A New York Return costs £140, the fare there is £100 and back it is £40. Out of the UK there is £70 tax and back only £9 tax!! Ridiculous!

Thanks very much for your replies, 3Greens and 747-436.

When you say 1 free club ticket, is that 1 free pa including spouse & kids? Also, if I choose not to use them, can I give them to parents and the inlaws?

With many thanks again.

It's 1 free including spouse and kids but if you don't use them they're lost, you can't give them away. If you have your spouse and kids as nominees then you can't have anyone else on your staff travel so your parents get zip. In-laws were never permitted broadly speaking.

JJC,

If you are joining BA just for the staff travel perks then you are joining for the wrong reasons especially if you have a 15K bond to pay...However, if you join for other reasons then it will definitively be worth it...

Good Luck.

BA Staff Travel
 

BOAC / BA have always maintained that Staff Travel is a concession, not a contractual right, and can be withdrawn at anytime. They are about to introduce a new scheme w.e.f 01.04.09 which effectively shafts their older pensioners by cutting them off from what was expected to be a life time concession in retirement. Wee Willie Walsh will brook no criticism or discussion on the subject and doesn't even answer letters. Go to
http://bastafftravel.*************/ ( Nb. not http://www.pprune.org/terms-endearment/www....... ) to read the anger that is growing. You will all retire eventually - be warned.

With regards to the ID90 tickets, are you able to buy ID90 First/Business also. If not do they upgrade FO/Capt subject to availability and seniority etc?

The answer to all those questions at the present is no. Under the new scheme you'll be able to buy a business class ticket at three times the normal ID90 rate, but it'll still be subject to availability and if you don't get into business class you don't get a refund. Captains and FOs get no special treatment. You need to understand that every single department in BA eyes the flight crew with jealousy and any attempt to grant privileges to pilots would lead to such an uproar from the other departments that management will fight tooth and nail to avoid granting anything. Welcome to the BA world where we are all equal.

murg
 

Interesting blog murg, but if the author thinks that limiting serving staff to 6 ID90's a year is going to gain "public" support he/she had better think again....
then again I too think the "new" proposals stink

Hand Solo

Are you saying under current system Capt/Fo are travelling normally in economy when using ID90? Apart from their annual entitlement I mean

A friend of mine whose father is a BA Capt lead me to believe that you could travel in First on ID90 but perhaps this was just if the purser or flight deck upgrade you on board?

It just seems crazy as I have flown on BA several times ID90 and the crew were kind enough to offer me a Club seat and my own airline allows me to buy unlimited ID90 business which is normally just 50% more than the economy ticket.

I thought we had an average deal in my own airline but maybe better than I thought

One day, people will realise that working for BA is not quite so rosy as everyone assumes.

No unlimited free standby tickets I'm afraid. In fact your 'travel companion' cannot even come away on a trip with you, because you must be travelling with them in order for them on the same ticket, in order to get them an ID90 standby ticket. So unless you are married/living together, you can never take someone on a trip using staff travel. (The exception is Christmas). This policy is supposed to be changing for 2009 though, so that you can nominate any two people and they can use your concessions with or without you. Finally after nine years in the company, I'll be able to start making proper use of my travel concessions!

VP - thats exactly what I mean. Unless you blag an unofficial upgrade from the crew on the day then you are down the back of the aircraft.

taralluccio
 

Oh how I, Hand Solo and GS-Alpha wish..

The cheapest buy is usually the ID90 ( certainly for flights ex-UK), which often works out as being comparable to "firm" fares with the LoCos on the same route - I've just bought tickets for my March commute with EasyJet - they are cheaper than doing an ID90 with BA on the same route.

As for upgrades, no, not automatic, even when in uniform, even with seats available up front, you will only get upgraded on an ID90 if you are dealing with "sympathetic" crew. When you head down the back it does lead to some surprised comments from the general public about how BA treat their staff - BA's solution would no doubt be to ban travel in uniform.

you're saying that even when dead-heading you don't get business/first?!!!

I honestly was under the impression that BA guys were well looked after in this respect. In my airline whe we are dead-heading we are booked in Y and upgradeable to F/J depending on availability - and everybody still complains about this! Although we don't get paid for dead-heading so I suppose its six of one half a dozen of the other!

vp
 

Ah but don't confuse ID90 with deadheading.....
When deadheading (Duty) the entitlement is club, ID90 (offduty) = economy.

Yes. No

Captains only get ID61 tickets. They used to be free. Then they cost £10 per sector. Now they are ~£19 sector. Costs increased to cover taxes apparently, but the tickets themselves are supposed to be for 'jump seats'. How can you tax a non-revenue seat?

Welcome to Britain and the BA Way!

Still, I'm supposed to feel lucky-they're £11 cheaper than an ID90 on the route I commute.

And AFAIK - no doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong - ID61's are only valid on Internal UK Flights...commute to/from anywhere else (e.g. mainland Europe) and it's an ID90.

And why you should pay full wack when you're squeezed onto a non-revenue seat, particularly the Flight Deck Jumpseat, is beyond me..

Correct wiggy.

I should have added: Mainline UK services only for ID61s.

BA Staff Travel
 

Reply # 8 You can buy rebate tickets for F/C - at a price - if qualified, and Captains are, but not FO's (but maybe SFO's are ? ) Captains holding Ey. tickets are not upgraded unless it suits the check in staff to do so for their reasons, and they will upgrade their friends first and you'll never even know. The new scheme will allow for purchase of tickets for a Premium Cabin at 3x the regular price, but there will be no refund if not seated in the cabin you have paid for, you can still end up in row 86Z. Tough.