A British Airways employee has been caught selling their free flight benefits on eBay in what amounts to a major breach of the airline’s rules surrounding its highly desirable concessionary flight benefits.
Often known as ‘non-rev’ benefits because they are sold on a non-revenue basis with employees only required to pay government taxes on the fare, these free flights are one of the most important benefits for airline staff.
Non-rev tickets are, however, restricted to the airline employee and their immediate family, as well as a small number of friends who have to agree to abide by strict rules, including onboard dress codes and inflight behavior, to ensure that they don’t cause the airline any embarrassment.
Flying on a standby basis, non-rev travelers only get to fly if there is a spare seat onboard their chosen flight, meaning that it can be a pretty stressful experience and something that can take some getting used to.
One British Airways staffer has, however, been caught selling access to their non-rev benefits on eBay for more than £600 (US $796) for three months of access to their travel benefits as a form of ‘buddy pass.’
“Essentially as a member for British airways I have discounted flights and a stand by list where individuals can fly standby on a flight,” the eBay listing explains. “The standby flights you are only required to pay the tax for a ticket price and you can travel anywhere you like where British airways fly.”
“I have 3 spaces available on my staff travel and I charge 600£ for 3 months on there,” the listing continues. “Now you will also have to pay separately for the flights you take and we will keep in contact at all times to let you know what to do and I will be booking the flights for you.”
Buyers would also have access to what the seller describes as ‘Hotline’ tickets, which aren’t free but are sold at a discount and offer a guaranteed seat onboard.
Airline staffers are usually held responsible for the behavior of their of anyone who travels on their non-rev tickets and can have this benefit removed without warning if the traveler is reported for causing any problems.
Unlike regular passengers, non-rev ticket holders can be bumped from their assigned seats at a moment’s notice and must be willing to move to accommodate fare-paying customers.
Airline workers are accustomed to casual acquaintances asking to get access to non-rev benefits, but many employees are loathed to let anyone apart from people they know and trust extremely well fly on a non-rev ticket because of the stress and problems it can cause.
Last year, Delta Air Lines told staffers that it would eliminate cheap ‘buddy pass’ tickets for their friends and families as part of major changes to the travel perks the Atlanta-based carrier.
Buddy pass rules differ from airline to airline, but at present, Delta currently offers employees eight buddy passes per year that they can gift to friends and family members who aren’t a nominated ‘companion’.
In 2025, however, Delta plans to slash the number of buddy passes it makes available to employees to just four, and in 2026, the buddy pass program will be completely eliminated.
Apart from getting paid, Delta employees have consistently told the airline that deeply discounted flights are the most valued benefit the carrier offers staff, and the airline says it has decided to ‘sunset’ the buddy pass program based on employee feedback.
Like British Airways, employees at Delta also have access to a ‘Fly Confirmed for Less’ program, which allows staffers to buy confirmed tickets at a slightly reduced price – typically around 15% cheaper than what the airline sells the same ticket to regular customers.
British Airways did not comment on the eBay listing, but the airline investigates reports of non-rev tickets being sold, and anyone caught breaking the rules could face disciplinary action.
