The gov.uk link above specifies that it must be on one ticket or conjunction tickets. Simply putting a note in each booking/PNR referring to the other does not make them conjunction tickets.
Below is my correspondence. I was inclined to agree with you, but I wanted their ruling, so I explicitly stated that they were separate tickets, merely linked electronically. I then asked my local BA office to link the PNRs (which is pretty common practice) with a note on each referring to the other, and send a single email with the two ticket printouts one after the other, just to be sure I'd adhered to the requirement for a single flight summary, whatever that means, and had them confirm that they would be happy to refund the APD after I boarded the second flight.
Dear APD specialist at HMRC
I wonder if you can answer a question about whether I can reclaim the Air Passenger Duty from British Airways in the following case.
· My father has booked us to fly on British Airways from London to Buenos Aires on Ticket A.
· I am based abroad, and am flying into London on British Airways from Tel Aviv on Ticket B, landing 2 hours before the onward flight to Buenos Aires.
· British Airways are happy to link the two tickets together electronically, make notes on each ticket referring to the other, and send a flight summary showing the complete journey including Tickets A and B.
In this case, am I eligible, according to section 4.4 of the HMRC notice on APD (no. 550), to get a refund on the APD, as a passenger in international transit? What else do I or British Airways need to do before the APD can be refunded?
For your ease of reference, here is section 4.4 [redacted]
Thanks
frb98mf
Dear frb98mf,
From what you say, it would appear that British Airways have been able to amend your booking to create a connected ticket.
Provided that British Airways are able to make the link in their system and see the flights as being connected, then they should not account to us for any APD on your journey (as they will identify you as being exempt)
APD is structured so that it is payable by the operator of the aircraft, i.e. airline, so in this case I would advise that you contact BA to confirm whether they have indeed created a connecting ticket and ask them what you need to do to secure any refund from them.
I hope that this will be of use.
Best regards,
APD specialist at HMRC