[youngbaz]

Whom did you e-mail to get this response regarding BA shareholders being able to ‘continue to use their discount code’?

There is a tranche of BA shareholders, myself included, who have been totally disadvantaged over this affair. Previously the ‘qualifying date’ for shareholder ownership in order to receive the 10% discount for the following year was, according to the shareholders’ website: ‘usually a date in November’. I duly bought a large tranche of BA shares on 1 November 2010, only for BA to announce, AFTER THE QUALIFYING DATE HAD PASSED, that the qualifying date for the 2011 discount was 31 October 2010! As with many private shareholders, the sole reason for the share purchase was the shareholder flight discount.

I accepted that I had been unfortunate, and would just have to hold onto the shares through 2011, until the new 2011 qualifying date, in order to start enjoying the discount in 2012. But a new qualifying date has never been announced.

Hence, although I’ve now owned the shares for nearly fifteen months, I don’t HAVE a ‘discount code for 2011’ that I can continue to use in 2012 – unless I’ve missed something along the way?

I’m therefore thinking an e-mail to whomever you wrote to pointing out this anomaly regarding some BA shareholders who owned shares well before the Iberia merger date might at least perhaps result in my obtaining a discount code.

Very peeved, as you might imagine, since I could just as easily purchased my shares one day earlier had I known!

[lloydah]

Mine came unannounced as an email from the shareholders discount scheme. I didn’t e mail anyone so presume all shareholders got the same.

[youngbaz]

Thanks, but since, as I said, I’m not actually in the shareholders discount scheme, I didn’t get that e-mail.

Do you still have a record of what was e-mail address it came from?

[lloydah]

.<a href="mailto:[email protected]“>[email protected] was the actual address but would expect you to be better served by http://www.iagshareholders.com where you’ll find links. Hope this helps.

[youngbaz]

Yes, thanks for that.

I have now e-mailed IAG shareholder services stating that I purchased my shares on 1 November 2010 on the basis of false information supplied at the time by BA and asking to be given an ex gratia 2011 discount code. We shall see I guess!

By the way, does there appear to be any obvious link between the discount code and your shareholder reference number? If there is, maybe I could try ‘generating’ my own!

[lloydah]

not a chance baz. They are completely different. But good luck with your enquiry.

[youngbaz]

Amazing!

Shot off a complaining e-mail to IAG shareholder sevices and got a response in under an hour apologising and giving me a discount code!

Great result BA, but why on earth didn’t I bitch BEFORE I booked two returns WTP to St Kitts week after next!

Thanks for the link lloydah.

[lloydah]

Enjoy! I’ll think of you as I’m stuck here for the next 2 months.

[youngbaz]

Ah … the catch now is I cannot see how to use the new magic discount code.

Tried going into bookings via the shareholder website (as requested by Shareholder services in the same e-mail) and entered the discount code in the ‘promotion code’ box – but not recognised.

Clearly I’m doing summat wrong here, since I guess there must be an entry link which gives the option specifically of entering a shareholder discount code? Or is it the case that the shareholder discount can only be applied to telephone bookings?

[youngbaz]

Sorry to trouble everyone, but job done!

Tried again. Somehow came in via a different route and the discount code worked fine!

Eureka!

[LuganoPirate]

I have recently heard from quite high up that apparently IAG are in a bit of a quandary over this discount scheme. If continued it will have to be offered to all shareholders – where such schemes are permitted by law. The discount could apply to BA flights only, no reaon why not, but then to all shareholders, not just ex BA.

On the other hand if discontinued it will upset quite a few people who may go on to sell their shares. After all airlines are not currently the best of investments at the moment.

This will have the “benefit” of removing many small shareholders but IAG does not have the largest of institutional shareholders, primarily as it does not pay a dividend. Could sacrificing the discount allow IAG to pay a small divi and attract more institutions?

My feeling from the discussion is that the discount will go but I hope I’ll be proved wrong.

[pixelmeister]

The cynic in me reckons that the initial stance will be that the discount will be withdrawn in a bid to provide cash to then pay a dividend. Just a case of whether the dividend actually materialises. What odds that an announcement coincides with end of year results ? I’ve maintained from the outset of this thread that the continuation of the shareholder discount solely for exBA shareholders was on shaky ground.

[RichHI1]

How do the JV agreements affect the Stockholder scheme? As their is suppsoed to be fully interoperable ticketing on say BA and AA flights UK-US?

[Eastbourneguy]

It’s that time of year again when the codes will no doubt expire at the end if December?

Does anyone have any idea what will happen then?

the IAG shareholders page refers enquiries to Computershare, who fail to respond to emails!!

[Binman62]

My understanding is that old codes continue as last year. Don’t think they are issuing any more as it was a BA benefit not an IAG one. These legacy rights to former BA shareholders have continued.

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