Buying only ONE checked bag on a 2 passenger cash booking

[ThriceForgiven]

Silly question.

On a 2 pax cash booking for either Iberia/BA, is there a way to purchase a checked bag for ONLY ONE PASSENGER instead of both? At all stages I’m unable to select only one bag, but rather a cost per person for adding both. I’m BA Silver but my +1 is Bronze.

1) I could buy the tickets WITHOUT checked bags, but fear it may be more expensive to add them subsequently? Currently I’m being charged GBP 20 per person per leg, so GBP 40 I wouldn’t need for the second passenger – I’m uncertain if it’ll cost more to add a bag per leg afterwards though.

2) The other option would be to buy two separate individual tickets, with only one incl. checked bags and then deal with the hassle of not being on the same ticket (forfeiting seat selection, lounge access, etc. as a result of my status not to mention any issues with disruption)

Any input appreciated – thanks.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

So these would be economy basic BA fares?

It would be 2 that applies.

Everyone on the same bookings needs to be identical so it’s not possible for one person to be HBO and the other to have a paid baggage.

On separate bookings Bronze would get seat selection from 7 days before the flight and with your silver you’d be able to guest your +1 into the lounge.

[ThriceForgiven]

BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

So these would be economy basic BA fares?

It would be 2 that applies.

Everyone on the same bookings needs to be identical so it’s not possible for one person to be HBO and the other to have a paid baggage.

On separate bookings Bronze would get seat selection from 7 days before the flight and with your silver you’d be able to guest your +1 into the lounge.

Thanks for your response – I take it that this option is cheaper than adding two on the same ticket + buying just one checked bag? It has been a while since I last do it and there’s no way to do a dummy booking unfortunately…how much would it cost?

Agree re the lounge though the Emergency Exit seat selection wouldn’t be a possibility.

[marks7389]

You can do dummy bookings – just follow the normal process through to the pricing stage (but obviously don’t enter and submit any card details!). If you meant you can’t check baggage costs without having a confirmed booking, this gives an idea:

https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/airlines/british-airways-baggage-fees/

£30-£55 each way for short haul from Heathrow. So if the extra is £20 per leg to include it in the ticket then yes, splitting it will be cheaper.

We have split short haul bookings in the past for this reason – the last time we did it we both had Bronze equivalent status with Qatar, so lack of status sharing across the bookings wasn’t an issue (and we were able to select Exit row seats which were still available 7 days out).