A new agreement between the Ministry of Defence and Bonheur's island subsidiary sets terms for passenger and vehicle discounts
A new deal signed between the Ministry of Defence and Bonheur's subsidiary in the islands, the shipping line Fred Olsen, will regulate the bonuses on commercial fares for sea travel for members of the Armed Forces (FAS) who travel on their own. The cooperation agreement, which extends its effects until 30 November 2029, will mobilise a maximum overall allocation of €5,020,000 from the state budgets.
The measure seeks to mitigate the economic impact of the mandatory geographic mobility of service members and to ensure connectivity for personnel posted outside the mainland. The agreement also states that the commercial relationship lacks exclusivity, allowing the Ministry of Defence to sign similar arrangements with other operators if conditions prove more advantageous.
Funding will be structured through annual budget allocations from 2026 to 2029
Financing for this transport arrangement will be organised via annual budget appropriations set at €1,255,000 for each of the financial years between 2026 and 2029. The Navy will act as the joint contracting authority for military personnel of the different services and for the Ministry of Defence Undersecretariat, handling the forwarding of the corresponding credits for monthly settlement payments.
The agreement provides that the fares applied to private vehicles belonging to military personnel will receive a fixed, unchanging 50% bonus. Total spending may increase during the period of validity by up to 20% of its initial value to respond to unforeseen swings in passenger demand, provided that prior authorisation is obtained from the Ministry of Finance.
Discount caps must comply with limits set by the General State Budget Law
The practical application of discounts on the tourist or basic class fare is subject to a strict framework of compatibility rules to prevent exceeding the caps established by the General State Budget Law. Current legislation prohibits the accumulation of different public subsidies on the same ticket exceeding 85% of the regular commercial fare for domestic routes, allowing the 100% bonus only for inter-island travel between the islands of the insular communities. This complex structure of limits requires applying different percentages of direct discount depending on the applicant's residency and family status.
Routes between the archipelagos and the mainland set different discount levels by status
On routes connecting the Canaries, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla with the rest of the national mainland territory, military personnel residing without large family status will receive a 10% discount from Defence, which, when combined with the residency subsidy managed by the General Directorate of Merchant Marine, completes the legal cap of 85%.
Service members who are residents and hold the status of general or special large family will not receive any contribution from Defence, as they reach the maximum 85% cap directly through their own accumulated discount entitlements. For military personnel who are not residents, the bonus is set at 50% of the fare for those without large family status or in the general category, limited to 35% for special large family families.
Inter-island routes use a different discount schedule
The transport operation for inter-island trips within the Canaries or the Balearics follows a different scale. Resident military personnel who do not belong to a large family will receive a 25% bonus provided by Defence on top of autonomous and state discounts, reaching full free travel for the passenger fare. Residents with a general large family title will receive an additional 5% direct discount from the Ministry of Defence to complete 100% of the fare, while those in the special category will receive no ministerial bonus because the total amount is covered by prior support.
Non-resident military personnel will keep a 50% Defence bonus, which drops to 35% for those holding the special large family category.
Embarkation controls and digital verification will be used to support the discount rights
Proving entitlement to the discount requires use of the Military Identity Card of the cardholder, with the families of professional military personnel expressly excluded from this tariff framework. Fred. Olsen commits to integrating digital verification tools into its online sales channels to speed up billing.
A joint monitoring commission, composed of heads responsible for economic management of the armed forces and the shipping line's commercial director, will audit settlement payments for actual monthly embarkations to prevent the accumulation of debt.
The article “Defense allocates five million to Bonheur for maritime trips for military personnel in the Canaries” was first published on encanarymaritime.com.
