Walsh the cynicist….!

So good news that Walsh wants the APD removed, and rightly so. Keep up the good fight.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/100990/walsh-calls-for-apd-to-be-scrapped

But, is this a smoke screen to detract our attention from the fact that there is no sign of him reducing the BA “fuel surcharge”, now that crude oil prices have fallen 50%? That would be really appreciated.

I think the fuel charge has been widely discussed on the Forum recently in terms of hedging by airlines which may explain a lack of response.

BTW, given that BA are the target for critical comment here, can anyone point to any airline which has reduced surcharges in response to lower oil prices?

An interesting comparative chart of fuel charges is available at http://www.aph.com/news/knowbeforeyougo/fuel_surcharge.shtml although the quoted surcharge for BA of £19 seems to be that applicable to domesntic flights, I think and can be rather higher on European and long-haul flights.

A friend of mine has his girlfriend in Washington DC. He wanted to bring her over to London in December to meet up with a group of us. He looked at using Avios, and the headline of 40,000 Avios from his 600,000 Avios stack was deemed ok until he saw the taxes and fees. Here is a standard breakdown from America to the UK direct option:

Fare 1: Carrier BA OLA7Q2G1 WAS to LON (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code O
Covers IAD-LHR (Economy)
$61.00

Fare 2: Carrier BA OLA7Q2G1 LON to WAS (rules)
Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code O
Covers LHR-IAD (Economy)
$61.00

(YQ) $458.00
US International Departure Tax (US) $17.50
US September 11th Security Fee (AY) $5.60
US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) $4.50
USDA APHIS Fee (XA) $5.00
US Immigration Fee (XY) $7.00
US Customs Fee (YC) $5.50
United Kingdom Air Passengers Duty (GB) $111.20
United Kingdom Passenger Service Charge (UB) $72.50
US International Arrival Tax (US) $17.50

Subtotal per passenger $826.30
Number of passengers x1

TOTAL AIRFARE & TAXES $826.30
This ticket is non-refundable.
Changes to this ticket will incur a penalty fee.

So, out of the total $826.30 more than half is fuel surcharges while the APD is roughly 12%. The 40,000 Avios would be equal to $122. Obviously, he bought the ticket with cash…

Hello TominScotland –

Here’s one carrier which has cut its fuel surcharge.

Cathay Pacific will lower its fuel surcharge for flights departing Hong Kong. It’s only a small reduction but it takes effect from November 01.

I believe the Hong Kong authorities monitor airline fuel prices more regularly than their UK counterparts.

http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_HK/travel-information/travel-preparation/travel-advisories/fuel-surcharge-updates.html

I agree that this has been chatted about before. But the pressure must be kept publicly on WW to reduce this charge….otherwise he will pocket the difference!

Hey Bigdog…what does egregious mean…we didn’t do that in sums at school!! 😉

Thanks AD.

At least flying BA, you are assured of clean aircraft, brilliant food and totally consistent and brilliant cabin service.