[LuganoPirate]

I can no longer paste it, but a recent trip to London with Swiss with a fare of CHF 150 (outward part) was 149 in taxes etc and 1 franc for the airline!!!

[Cassie10]

Not all airlines set their own fuel surcharge.

The Hong Kong government sets the surcharge that Cathay is able to charge. Last month the CX surcharge on a roundtrip business class to HKG was £160 less than BA’s or Virgin’s.

I was told by CX that it’s decreased in July which means more of a savings (unless BA or VS decreae theirs – which I doubt) although I don’t know the amount.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

I received a letter from VS today advising all passengers about the damaging effects of the current APD levels. In the email they posted this petition link: http://www.afairtaxonflying.org

I had already sent this off from another source, but all you get back is a letter from the house of commons from your local MP basically saying APD is 100% used to bail out the banks and the countries debts.

Nice to see that one specific industry has been discriminated against in such a manner, isn’t it?

[BeckyBoop]

Does the fuel surcharge charge automatically adjust to the change in the market oil price?

[Binman62]

Becky…no otherwise it would be 40% lower than this time last year. It is not. It is no longer a surcharge merely a fee and should be viewed as such.

I am all for lower taxes but when you have signed petitions etc to lower APD have you also complained to airlines about this fee?

If not then all that will happen is that fees will rise if taxes fall.

Given the levels of APD if such a tax is damaging then fuel fees which are double and treble APD must be damaging also and by the same factor.

[VintageKrug]

These petitions really are a waste of time and effort.

[Flyingfemme]

Airlines flying international routes pay no duty or tax on fuel by international agreement that goes back to the Second World War.
Airlines flying internal routes can (and do ) pay taxes as determined by the government of the state involved.
This is why governments have got all creative with APD and emissions taxes – so that they can abide by the letter of the international law, if not the spirit.

[kevin46]

I agree VK. Is there any evidence to suggest that a petition of any kind has ever made a difference?

[BeckyBoop]

Did any of you BAEC members get the following email by Keith Williams?

“As a frequent flyer, you will know as well as anyone that taxes on air travel are higher in the UK than anywhere else in the world – so I wanted to tell you about a campaign aimed at changing that.

In the last six years, Air Passenger Duty (APD) has risen more than 300 per cent on many routes – while inflation has increased barely 20 per cent.

Some customers are now paying £184 for a single journey, while the cost for families taking their annual holiday has sky-rocketed: In 2006, a family of four flying to the Caribbean would pay £80 in APD – today they would pay £324 in World Traveller, or £648 in World Traveller Plus, Club World, or First.

This level of increase has no justification and no international parallel. Yet the UK Government has firm plans to keep on raising APD every year to 2017.

This tax also acts as a brake on growth and jobs for the whole economy by making it more difficult for businesses to reach new markets, and making the UK less attractive to overseas visitors.

How can you help? Just take a few seconds to visit http://www.afairtaxonflying.org and key in your postcode. This will generate an automatic letter to your MP, calling for action on a tax that is now far too high and inflicting real damage on the UK’s efforts to move out of recession. Add your name, send and you’re done.

This is an important campaign – and I hope you will support us in it.

Best wishes,

Keith Williams,
British Airways CEO”

I wonder if there is more to this than meets the eye?

[Author]

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