[Anonymous]

[MarcusUK]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/air-passenger-duty/9338661/Email-your-MP-over-high-air-tax-Britons-told.html

The link to the option for lobbying your MP, an automated find system from your postcode, is here, should you choose…

[ImissConcorde]

This was covered here earlier in the week!
http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Take-APD-campaign-to-MPs-,-says-industry-coalition

[LuganoPirate]

Thanks Marcus, in the original thread there was no easy link (unless I missed it) to the petition. I shall now sign up.

[MarcusUK]

As indicated, it traces your MP by yr postcode, and sends them a template lobby form, you can fill in your details.
This form was not linked on the article.

[Binman62]

There should also be a link to lobby for lower fuel surcharges. If APD is damaging then fuel surcharges must be doubly so.

Remove fuel surcharges, make fares transparent and then, and only then would here be a case for reductions of APD.

[capetonianm]

Fuel surcharges fall outside the scope of this petition – which is not a great deal of help to anyone who lives outside the UK but is nevertheless affected. They are imposed by the airline, of their own volition and at levels determined by the airline.

The reality is that they are a disguised fare increase which the airlines should be forced to quote and include as part of the base fare.

Even worse is that the fact that several airlines consider than when they refund a fare, the fuel surcharge is not part of the fare and is thus not refunded. This is worse than devious, it’s blatantly dishonest.

If Europe, or even the UK, were run by people with backbones instead of a bunch of self-interested spineless clerks, this is one of the malpractices they would stamp out.

[MarkCymru]

Others are right: if the airlines want APD reduced, they should abolish their so-called fuel surcharges. They should also accept VAT on jet fuel — everyone else pays it (as the owner of a Jeep Patriot, I know all about expensive petrol).

The fuel surcharges are even more insidious because they impose it on reward tickets as if it were a tax. I just looked at business class LHR – MIA – LHR on BA. The reward seats cost almost £600 (mostly those fuel surcharges and various other creative BA add-ons — the APD is, I think £150 of this); the cheapest paid ticket cost about £1350. It’s almost not worth using the air miles (on the wild assumption that you can find a day with reward seat availability)

[MarcusUK]

Agree with you all regarding the fuel service charges.

Looking even at the least expensive returns on Cityjet today, you can see how they break the actual fare down to £20, + £48 hidden fuel surcharges!
copied below…taken this morning…

passengers flights taxes
1 adult(s) x (20.00 + 118.33) = 138.33 GBP
total for all passengers 138.33 GBP
Adult passenger(s)
Tax description unavailable (YRVB) 48.00 GBP
Passenger tax 13.00 GBP
Passenger Service Charge (Embarkation) – UNITED KINGDOM (ABAS) 33.03 GBP
Passenger Service Charge – NETHERLANDS (RNDP) 12.30 GBP
Noise Isolation Charge – NETHERLANDS (VVMU) 1.60 GBP
Security Charge – NETHERLANDS (CJSO) 10.40 GBP
118.33 GBP
x 1 adult(s) = 118.33 GBP
total taxes = 118.33 GBP

But passengers for the EU Airports and Governments, overall we are Cash Cows, they having a total monopoly. Asia / Middle East charge far less for Air travel in every aspect, and are gaining a greater share of the Airline Market.

For long haul, I leave Ex Europe not the UK, saving hundreds of £’s per passenger. I know others are beginning to do the same…

Schiphol, Frankfurt, CDG, do well, taking UK & many passengers flying in from other EU countries, for connections to their Long haul routes. They are serving the UK regions far better than we can feed LHR domestically.

An overhaul of the charges allowed, how they are (or not) stated, and some incentive by Government to abolish this APD tax, is needed with a clear strategy of short, medium, and long term provision, for aviation in the UK. It may not be a question of growth, but ability to retain the current Airline business, compared to other EU Airlines, and Airports. There is confusion, no clear direction, and Government need to make choices.

Dubai (Emirates) is also due to overtake LHR by 2020 as the world’s busiest airport, with huge capacity of new terminals / Airport,

[capetonianm]

“Tax description unavailable (YRVB) 48.00 GBP”

That is the fuel surcharge, usually shown as YR, sometimes YQ, which can apply to other types of surcharge. The second pair of letters is an internal code used by each airline.

As a matter of interest the current format of codes will soon be changed to a new tax code format which includes a combination of alphanumeric values. These will not replace existing tax codes, but will be used in addition to the current tax codes, and will appear as (for example) C3, D5 etc.

[Binman62]

This is for LHR JFK fare.

Fuel surcharge is over 3 times the fuel surcharge and this is in M class.

Hard to see what damage APD is doing when the surcharge is so extreme.

As a percentage fo the total the fuel element is almost 64% and whilst this may be visible and upfront in the fare page, it just feels plain wrong. It has alll the hallmarks of an impending scandal and I would ceratinly back any canpaign to have this stopped. It may be legal but that does not make it right.

Air Passenger Duty – United Kingdom GBP 65.00
Passenger Service Charge – United Kingdom GBP34.49
Customs User Fee – USA GBP 3.50
Transportation Tax(Departure) – USA GBP 10.70
Transportation Tax(Arrival) – USA GBP 10.70
Animal & Plant Health User Fee (Aphis) – USA GBP 3.20
Immigration User Fee – USA GBP 4.50
Passenger Civil Aviation Security Service Fee – USA GBP 1.60
Passenger Facility Charge GBP 2.90
Total government, authority and airport charges* GBP 136.59
More information
British Airways fees and surcharges Per adult Fuel Surcharge** GBP 213.00
Total British Airways fees and surcharges GBP 213.00
More information
Total taxes, fees and surcharges per person GBP 349.59

[MarcusUK]

Interesting…this is KLM from AMS – JFK, M class, though it is a busy time of year and the fare is not cheap.

It shows that the total non fare or fuel charges are only Euros 86.03! Quite a saving on departing the UK, especially for more than one passenger, and for Premium classes.
It is easy and pleasant to take a fare to AMS,(Ex LHR KLM £99 returns) and begin your journey there with some ease or time. thhen you pay only the lower band £25 departure tax if you must.

Adult
Total price for all passengers EUR 1.129,03
Ticket price 769,00
Booking fee 10,00
Carrier-imposed international surcharge 274,00
US international transportation tax 26,48
Airport Passenger Service Charge 15,19
Security charge 12,93
US INS user fee 5,55
US customs user fee 4,36
US APHIS fee 3,97
USA passenger facility charge 3,57
Netherlands noise isolation charge 2,00
USA passenger civil aviation security service fee 1,98
Price: 1.129,03
Number of passengers 1

The NL government reversed its decision on departure taxes after business went to other gateways in Europe. This is why Schiphol is thriving, taking the business from the UK…

It becomes quite shocking when you try to redeem miles, the cost now. I Only use miles for premium class flights Into the UK, never out. VS do not charge fuel surcharges incoming from HKG for eg, where total one way Upper Class fees are less than £50! It would be over £380 from the UK.

[BeckyBoop]

Do airlines pay for fuel at the same Duty we pay for in when filling up our cars? if so then the fault would lie with the Govt or the petrol company for over charging not the airline.

Also why do we need to pay APD on top of everything else? the breakdown otherwise looks pretty well covered in all areas.

[MarkCymru]

Becky: airlines pay no duty or tax of any kind on jet fuel. That’s why the APD is a very good deal for them. I agree with you: drop APD and charge them the same VAT and duty that the rest of us pay on fuel. (BTW, in India, the various states charge them duty on fuel and airlines are now arguing that they should be allowed to import their own as this is what is driving them into bankruptcy. As a pampered vested interest group, airlines are quite shameless!)

[MarcusUK]

Anyone else can paste their booking calculations from different Airlines and classes into the BT Forum?

Be very interesting to see samples within each Airline systems, and how they are calculated, categorised, and differ?

[Author]

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