I f you are a stockholder of the parent company of British Airways, you are most likely quite happy with the financial performance of shares of its stock over the past six years; but if you are also a frequent flier, there is some bad news for you.
According to text from an e-mail message by Sarah Billington — who is the manager of shareholder services at International Consolidated Airlines Group, which is the parent company of British Airways — received by FlyerTalk members, the British Airways shareholder discount scheme will end on Thursday, January 31, 2015:
Dear Shareholder
I am writing to advise you that from midnight on 31 January 2015 the shareholder discount scheme for former British Airways shareholders will come to a close.
Since the merger in January 2011 we have been reviewing the discount scheme. It was kept open to former British Airways shareholders, but it has not been available to former Iberia holders or new IAG shareholders. It has never been available to institutional shareholders, who own the majority of our shares.
After continuing with the discount for almost four years, with the recent announcement of our intention to resume dividend payments we feel it is the right time to close the scheme. We will of course continue to offer competitive prices via ba.com and hope that you will continue to support British Airways’ business.
However, you will still have the opportunity to book flights using the shareholder discount between now and midnight on 31 January 2015. Flights can be booked 355 days in advance.
Whilst we appreciate that this will come as a disappointment to some of you, in reality the take-up of the discount was extremely low and feedback from shareholders has been that they value a dividend more. We hope that in light of the dividend announcement you will continue to support us as a valued shareholder.
Your Shareholder Reference Number:
Your Discount Reference Number:Valid for bookings made on-line at www.iagshares.com until 31 January 2015 for 355 days in advance.
Should you have any queries regarding your discount code you may contact 0870 702 0110, please note the advisors on this number are unable to assist with flight booking queries.
Yours faithfully
As of December 12, 2014, the stock price per share of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG.L) is 456.80 pence — it was as high as 493.00 pence within the past month — which is closing in on its record high of 574.00 pence in February of 2007…
…and according to the aforementioned e-mail message, you may be receiving a dividend payment on your investment in shares of stock, which could potentially be better than the discount of ten percent off of the base airfare.
The shareholder discount has existed for greater than fifteen years, as evidenced by this discussion on FlyerTalk.
