Originally Posted by
nbevan
I also remember that someone said they had success with this, but as it is not in line the letter of the rules, I would not be too optimistic.
I add to the chorus that this is in the "letter of the rules"; I did it on a leisure trip with the family, and AA did process an SWU upgrade on it without charging for the APD difference, since no APD was due to begin with. However it had to go through AA tariff to get it done. The original ticket was issued by a TA, the flight summary included the inbound connecting flight, and the record properly annotated with inbound PNR, ticket number, and relevant HRM rule.
The exact rule that applies when you have more than one ticket can be found in
HM Revenue and Customs Reference Notice 550 paragraph 4.4:
The connected flights must be detailed on the same ticket or conjunction tickets to qualify for the exemption. Tickets can only be regarded as conjunction tickets if:
[...]
b. where they are in separate booklets:
each refers to the other and states that they are to be read in conjunction, or
there is a summary of the flights constituting the passengers journey including the flights in question.
Although the flights may meet all the other criteria for determining whether two flights are connected, they will only qualify for the exemption if the connection is evidenced on the ticket or a flight summary.
So if the itinerary/invoice has the connecting segments (and the ticket numbers in remarks for good measure), the connection will qualify for the exemption. The issuance of the second ticket needs to be manually overridden (no tax GB6).