UPDATED 27.11.2023

Answer Id 12251   |  

Travel Latest Updates

Listed below is the latest staff travel and business related items

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27th November 2023 - Staff Travel online payment outage

The Staff Travel online system needs will not be able to process any online payments on Wednesday 29Nov -11pm until 4am 30Nov

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14th November 2023 - LIAT flights suspended with immediate effect

We have just been advised by LIAT that all their flights have been suspended with immediate effect. The expected date for the resumption of flights is 7th December. 

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1st November 2023 - Change to Staff Travel desks at Terminal 5 from Thursday 9th November 2023.

The Staff Travel desks at Terminal 5 will change from Zone A to Zone G, from Thursday 9th November. 

As per normal process, staff passenger should first use the Self-Service Kiosks and if they are not allocated a seat, only then to go to the Staff Travel desks.

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14July 2023 - Staff Travel Summer 2023 - Hints and Tips for travellers 

Staff Travel during the Summer Holidays

We are expecting our terminals to be busier over the next few weeks due to the Summer Holiday period.  

If you’re flying on Staff Travel, here are a few things which you should know to make your journey run more smoothly. 

 

Changing bookings and back up tickets

When using your staff travel concessions, we would recommend that you consider thinking about alternative travel arrangements should your travel not go according to plan.

​To help your trip go smoothly, research alternative ways to get to and from your destination and have a Plan B set up and ready. Outstations will be unable to help with back up tickets, so make sure you are prepared before you get to the airport.

The time of year which you choose to travel to certain destinations will often play a key role in whether or not you will be successful with getting on a flight.  

Book travel on other airlines

​Experiment with making a booking on 'Book personal travel on other airlines using myIDTravel. This tool provides information about which airlines fly the route that you are considering. By creating a booking, the system will indicate which nominees will be accepted by the airline. You can cancel and start again at any time before payment. We strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with the system and the process for making a booking. Make sure you check the relevant airline via myIDTravel under the heading ID Agreement to see what their guidelines are when travelling on them. Please do not leave back-up tickets until the last minute and allow plenty of time before travel to purchase your e-tickets in case of any e-ticket issue delays.

Listing on other airlines

​Allow time to make a flight listing, some airlines have a minimum requirement. Please refer to the Other Airlines listing guide page which is viewable on the Travel page/Staff and Duty Travel guides and FAQs.  Please note that you must only check in for one flight at a time, even if it is with another airline. When travelling on other carriers, please check their guidelines when travelling on their services via www.FLYZED    

Refunds

​Back up tickets which have been set up via myIDTravel and where all sectors are unused, these are fully refundable, including the myIDTravel service fee. All other airlines tickets purchased via the myIDTravel site, can only be refunded via this system.  

Multiple Bookings  

It is not permitted to make more than 1 booking for the same concession or use different concession, i.e. Basic or Premium Standby concessions: this adds to the airport staff workloads. If this does happen, there will be no applicable reimbursement of any unused ticket or reinstatement of the Annual Bookable Concession and it will be addressed.  

"Open Jaw" trips

​Consider travelling into one destination and returning from another. Some destinations have more than one airport and surface transport between them and can be simple to arrange. For example, Malaga (AGP) is only an hour and a half drive from Gibraltar (GIB)

Staff Travel Dress code

You must be appropriately dressed when using Staff Travel concessions. Colleagues (and nominees, including children) are expected to use their best judgement when deciding what to wear for their journey. Regardless of which cabin you are in, please think of our fare-paying customers and show sensitivity towards them. Today's customers often have a more relaxed approach to their own dress, and it's fair that BA colleagues should feel relaxed, too. Jeans, t-shirts and casual shoes are acceptable in every cabin provided that some basic rules are applied (see below).

If you are travelling long haul/overnight and want to change into sleepwear, please show sensitivity with this, too.

Unacceptable attire (in any cabin):

• Jeans with cut off/frayed hems or holes
• Overly revealing or sheer clothing, including bare midriffs
• Sportswear or Activewear
• Beach clothing (including swim wear/beach footwear e.g. any sort of flip flops, any V style sandals - slipping between the toes) 
• Clothing with questionable/offensive wording or graphics
• Shorts of any description (except for children)​

You and your nominees must be fully aware of the Staff Travel dress code. If the proper attire is not worn, you/and your nominees may be refused travel in the Premium cabins. It is your responsibility to make sure you and your nominee/s adhere to this dress code. If these guidelines are not followed, it will be fed back to the Staff member’s manager.

      

Before you arrive at the airport:

• Make sure your Flight Choices for travel are upto date, including options for lowest/split cabin choices and jump seats. For staff passengers/nominees travelling alone, airport teams will not have time to ask you your preferences. We have had a number of staff passengers miss out on seats due to this. If you complete Flight choices and then change your flights, you will need to complete Flight choices again for each flight. The link to flight options can be found via Manage my Booking in the Staff Travel pages.

               If the preferred cabin is not available, this could result in non-acceptance on the flight.  

              Selecting a Jumpseat may result in you being onloaded into a jumpseat ahead of a cabin seat.

However, if a cabin seat becomes available nearer to flight departure, you may be reallocated into a cabin seat.  

               If travelling with young children, you may not get the option to split across cabin/flight and in order to be accepted for the flight, you may all be accommodated seats in economy.

• Complete your APIS and regulatory information before travelling via Manage My Booking
• If possible, check-in online
• If you have been able to check-in online, when asked if you wish to check- in bags, please select the heading not sure, it will then be easier for you if you wish to change your booking if the flights are busy or you need to re-book for another flight on the same day.   

 

At the airport-  Heathrow Terminal 5:

Arrive at the airport 3 hours before your departure time

• Use the automated touchpoints for check in and printing boarding passes
• Our Staff Travel desks are limited, so leave enough time in case there are queues
• Once you’ve been given a boarding pass, please follow the signs to drop off your bags
• If you have not been allocated a seat at the automated check in touchpoints and are on Standby/Waitlist, please go to the Staff travel desks in Zone E.
• Clear security no later than 35 minutes prior to boarding

Heathrow Terminal 3 staff check-in

• Use the automated touchpoints for check in and printing boarding passes
• If seats have been allocated, then go to bag drop
• If seats have not been allocated, go to the Staff check-in counter in Zone B (Desk B40)

London Gatwick staff check-in 

• Use the automated touchpoints for check in and printing boarding passes

• If seats have been allocated, then go to bag drop

• If no seats have been allocated, then go to any counter service to check-in.

Unable to manage bookings online

If you are unable to manage your booking online and travel is urgent, you can contact the Staff Travel office via the numbers below:

Market

Window

Local Summer Time

Local Winter Time

Contact number

UK/ ROW

03:30 to 20:00 GMT

04:30 to 21:00 BST

03:30 to 20:00 BST

  44 (0) 207 949 3081

India 

09:00 to 01:30 India Time

09:00 to 01:30 India Time

09:00 to 01:30

India Time

  0 124 412 0708

US

03:30 to 20:00 GMT

23:30 to 16:00 EST

22:30 to 15:00 EST

  1-800 782 3387

Lounge access:

Irrespective of the passenger's ticketed cabin of eligibility, lounge access is not a permitted benefit.

However, if a BA serving or former employee (or their nominees who are travelling) is a BA Premier, Gold or Silver Executive Club card holder and is travelling on a staff concessionary ticket, access is granted into British Airways owned or Oneworld lounges only in line with the entitlement of their tier of the Frequent Flyer Card. This includes guest entitlement - a guest of the cardholder may be travelling on the same or a separate rebate ticket. This is the only exception.

It is the staff members responsibility to make sure they and their nominees are fully aware of the Staff Travel guidelines when using Staff Travel concessions.

 

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28 June 2023 - Advance Passenger Information 

In preparation for the busy summer season, we are looking to confirm staff passengers as soon as possible on flights where there is capacity which will enable you to check in earlier. However, to ensure you are ready to fly and to help the operation, it is essential you complete your Advanced Passenger Information (APIS) where necessary before you arrive at the airport.

For staff passengers who are travelling alone, it is mandatory to complete your seat preferences before arriving at the airport.

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13June 2023 - myIDTravel - new booking system

BA wants to make travelling easier for you. That’s why they have introduced a new interline staff travel booking website, called myIDTravel.

From today, you can use this exciting platform to book travel on other carriers.

The platform also makes it easier to book and list for flights with airlines we already have agreements with.

myIDTravel does not replace the booking system for booking travel on BA for you and your nominees and is only used for booking with other carriers.

The service fee for using myIDTravel is also less than it is with our current provider. And if you don't travel or use the tickets, both the tickets AND the fee are fully refundable.

Our current provider, Lime, will be available until the end of this month (June) . For tickets on any of the new airlines, listed above, you must use myIDTravel, however for airlines we had existing agreements with, you can use either myIDTravel or Lime.

Using myIDTravel, you will be able to purchase tickets for your parents, even if they are not on your nominees list, on all Oneworld carriers, including BA. Please make sure you list your parents to your Potential Nominee list on Concessions Online to be able to use this feature.

There is an FAQ document attached as well as other documents with regards to the new carriers, booking instructions, listing guide, etc.

If you experience any technical issues with using the new system, please email myidtravel@ba.com and a member of the team will get back to you.

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29 March 2023 - Staff travel during the Easter holidays - HAL strike

Heathrow has informed us that it is paying close attention to passenger numbers during this period and will not permit us to exceed its cap. We therefore have no option but to embargo staff travel on our flights departing from Heathrow on 31 March and 1 and 2 April for anyone who has not been confirmed.

This embargo only affects travel on departing flights from Heathrow. Staff travel can continue to be used for inbound flights into Heathrow and for flights departing from London Gatwick, London City and all other worldwide airport locations on the above dates. 

What this means for Staff Travel

If you have been confirmed on your flight departing from Heathrow on 31 March, 1 April and 2 April, we will do what we can to ensure you can travel as planned and you can come to the airport as normal. 

If you are on the wait list for a flight departing Heathrow on 31 March, 1 April or 2 April and have not been confirmed, you will not be able to travel on these dates so please do not travel to the airport and re-list for an earlier or later date.

We are not able to accept any new bookings for travel on these dates. 

We’re aware that those of you who were hoping to travel on these days will have been looking forward to a break, and we’re very sorry that HAL’s industrial action is having an impact on your travel plans. It’s important to note that this is a 10-day strike and we’re only embargoing staff travel on three of those 10 days. The reason we’ve enacted the embargo on those days is because our customer numbers are already at the level of the Heathrow-imposed cap and we’re not permitted to take on further customers. 

Please note:

Former staff who were due to travel on 31^st March will not be able to have their ABC extended.

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22 March 2023 - Children over 24 years 

From 4 April 2023, children over 24 to be classed as “Child over 24”.

Currently when your child reaches age 24, they are denominated (if they are on your nominee list), you then need to renominate them as a Travel Companion and they then occupy their own nominee slot. 

Children over 24 can now have the new relationship of ‘Child over 24’. They will still need to occupy an individual nominee slot. Whilst travel on BA should be straightforward, we remind you that most interline carriers will not recognise a child who is over age 24.  Also, all nominees need to be nominated for a minimum 12 months to be eligible to travel on other carriers.

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15 March 2023 - Infants no longer take up a nominee slot

With immediate effect, infants (children under age 2) will be able to travel on your concessions without taking up a nominee slot. This applies to your own children under 2, as well as those of your nominees.

To do this, simply add the details of the infant(s) as a potential nominee. you do not need to select them as a current nominee when you use Staff Travel, they will show under the 'Select Passengers' option on Staff Travel page.

Please remember, you can only travel with one infant per adult.

If you have already added your infant as part of your 'children under 24' nominees, you can leave them here and you don't need to un-nominate them as all of your children under 24 can be listed under one nominee slot. 

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2 February 2023 - Flight Choices 

If your choices are not updated for each flight of your itinerary, including when you change flights, you may find yourself or your nominees disadvantaged. Make sure your flight choices are up to date including options for split cabin, flight and jump seats. Airport staff will not be asking your preferences and if you have none, seat selection is likely to move onto the next staff listed. The link to make your choices is found on manage my booking on the staff travel online booking site.

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25 January 2023 - Service dogs

BA no longer carries pets in the cabin (PETC). BA will now only carry Service Animals (SVAN). A service dog is one that has been trained to assist a person with a disability or medical condition and has been determined as being able to travel safely in the aircraft cabin. For further details of this process, please refer to BA website.

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