Avoiding the Heathrow tax

[ThunderbirdNZ]

If you fly (say) to Amsterdam or Paris, but your plane goes via London Heathrow, do you still incurr the expensive taxes that Heathrow imposes? What about the EU carbon tax for long haul flights?

 

[ozmille]

No for transfer the tax is not applicable. So it is cheaper to fly BA SYD to BRU then to LHR. The GB tax of 265.50 is only if you leave from there.

Official (longwinded) explanation of the tax and the exemptions is;

1. AIR PASSENGER DUTY (APD)

TAX CODE ON TICKET: * GB * / * YO *
INTERNAL TAX TYPE : (AD) / ( DE )

THIS TAX IS COLLECTED ON DEPARTURES FROM GB AIRPORTS AT
TIME OF SALE OR OF VOLUNTARY REBOOKING. THE AMOUNT COLLECTED DEPENDS ON THE DESTINATION (NEXT STOPOVER AFTER DEPARTURE
FROM GB) AND THE CLASS OF SERVICE.

DESTINATIONS ARE CATEGORISED INTO FOUR GEOGRAPHICAL BANDS
BASED ON DISTANCE FROM LONDON TO THE CAPITAL CITY OF THE
DESTINATION COUNTRY/TERRITORY (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION WHICH IS SPLIT EAST AND WEST OF THE
URALS).
EACH BAND HAS TWO RATES, ONE FOR STANDARD CLASS OF TRAVEL
(=HIGHER AMOUNT) AND ONE FOR OTHER CLASSES OF TRAVEL (=LOWER
AMOUNT).

LOWER CLASS HIGHER CLASS
REDUCED RATE STANDARD RATE
BAND A 12 GBP 24 GBP
BAND B 60 GBP 120 GBP
BAND C 75 GBP 150 GBP
BAND D 85 GBP 170 GBP

DETAILS OF DESTINATIONS INCLUDED IN EACH BAND :
BAND A
******
ALL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES EXCEPT AM-AZ-GE
GL-LY


BAND B
******
AF-AM-AZ-BH-BJ-BM-BF-CM-CA-CV-CF-TD-CG-CD-DJ-EG-EQ-GN-GQ-ER-
ET-GA-GM-GE-GH-GW-IR-IQ-IL-CI-JO-KZ-KU-KG-LB-LR-ML-MR-NE-NG-
OM-PK-QA-XU-PM-ST-SA-SN-SL-SD-SY-TJ-TG-TM-UG-AE-US-UZ-YE

BAND C
******
AN-BD-BZ-BT-BW-BR-MM-BI-KY-KM-CN-CO-CR-CU-DO-DM-EC-SV-GF-GP-
GT-GY-HT-HN-HK-IN-JM-JP-KE-KP-KR-LA-LS-MO-MG-MW-MV-MQ-MU-YT-
MX-MN-MZ-NA-NP-NI-PA-PR-RE-RW-SC-SO-ZA-LK-SR-SZ-TZ-TH-VE-VN-
ZM-ZW- ALL CARIBBEAN ISLANDS

BAND D
******
AR-AU-BO-BN-KH-CL-PF-GU-ID-MY-NC-NZ-PG-PY-PE-PH-SG-TW-UY-
ALL PACIFIC ISLANDS



DETERMINATION OF CLASSES
************************
LOWER AMOUNT = GENERAL CLASSES Y K V
HIGHER AMOUNT = GENERAL CLASSES R P F J C
A MIXTURE OF LOW AND HIGH CLASS ON A THROUGH CONNECTED
JOURNEY WILL ATTRACT THE HIGHER RATE.

(SEE SOME AIRLINES EXCEPTIONS AT THE BOTTOM)

EXCEPTIONS :
**********
- INFANTS WITHOUT SEATS (PASSENGER TYPE CODES : RIF//KIF/ITF/MIF/JNF/ENF/FNF/INF/LIF/MNF/WBI/ZEI/PIF/FBI/FGI/INR)

-THE FOLLOWING TRANSFERS ARE EXEMPTED:
* TRANSFER INTERVAL OF 24 HOURS WHEN THE FOLLOWING FLIGHT
IS INTERNATIONAL
* TRANSFER INTERVAL OF 6 HOURS WHEN THE FOLLOWING FLIGHT IS
DOMESTIC AND ARRIVAL IS BEFORE 17H00. IF FOLLOWING FLIGHT
IS DOMESTIC AND ARRIVAL IS AT 17H00 OR LATER, TRANSFER
INTERVAL IS EXTENDED TO 10H00 ON FOLLOWING DAY.
*NOTE: OPEN DATED DEPARTURES ARE CONSIDERED AS NON-
CONNECTING AND THE APD IS CHARGEABLE. ONLY WHEN
SPECIFIC DEPARTURE TIMES ARE BOOKED CAN A CON-
NECTION EXEMPTION BE CONSIDERED.

- WHEN DEPARTURE IS SCHEDULED ON SMALL AIRCRAFT LESS THAN 10
TONS MAXIMUM TAKE OFF WEIGHT

- THE CHANNEL ISLANDS ALDERNEY (ACI), GUERNSEY (GCI)
AND JERSEY (JER) ARE NOT PART OF THE UK FOR APD PURPOSES
AND DO NOT APPLY AIR PASSENGER DUTY ON DEPARTURES FROM THOSE AIRPORTS.

- THE ISLE OF MAN (IOM) IS NOT PART OF THE UK BUT
DOES APPLY AN AIR PASSENGER DUTY (APD) SIMILAR TO
THAT IN THE UK. AS REGARDS THE APPLICATION OF APD,
IOM SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE UK FOR
ASSESSING CHARGES AND EXEMPTIONS, BUT ANY CHARGE
FOR DEPARTURES FROM IOM ITSELF (WHEREVER TRAVEL
ORIGINATES) MUST NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE TOTAL GB
TAX. THE SPECIAL TAX CODE FOR IOM IS 'YO'.

- DEPARTURES FROM THE FOLLOWING AIRPORTS:
BARRA, BENBECULA, CAMPBELTOWN, INVERNESS, ISLAY, KIRWALL,
STORNOWAY, SUMBURGH, TIREE, WICK

- BA WHOLLY DOMESTIC TRAVEL : GBP 11

- AF, WX FOR ROUTES :
LCY- DUB/ORY/EDI/DND/NTE/ANR/LUX/JER: GBP11.00
EDI/DND- LCY: GBP11.00
MAN - ANR: GBP11.00
-CARRIER EXCEPTIONS BY BOOKING CODES, SO GB TAX CALCULATION
IS NOT BASED ON THE GENERAL CLASS DESCRIBED ABOVE BUT ON
THESE RBD :

CARRIER HIGHER AMOUNT LOWER AMOUNT
----------------------------------------------------
SK Y S B FROM LHR TO HEL ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
FI C D J Z ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
JP C D Z I R ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
RE NONE ALL
----------------------------------------------------
KL J C D Z I ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
LY P F A C D I Z W R ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
AY J C D I F U ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
OK J C D I Z ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
VS J D R Z G W S K U H ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
LG J C D Z ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
NZ J D C Z O U E A ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
LH F A O C D Z J I R ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
SQ P F A J C D I Z R O ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
LG J C Z D ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
BR A J C D Z L M N O Q
R V W Y ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
BA
DOMESTIC : ALL CLASSES HAVE REDUCED AMOUNT
EXCEPT J C D I U R FOR LON-JER ONLY
BAND A : J C D I U R ALL OTHERS
BANDS BCD : F A Z J C D I R
U W T E P ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
BD C D J P I R A Z ALL OTHERS

REGIONAL ROUTES : LOWER AMOUNT ALL CLASSES

EXCEPTIONS : C D J I R A P Z FOR ROUTES :
LHR - EDI/GLA/BHD/MAN/ABZ/HAJ/AMS/DUB
APPLY LOWER AMOUNT
----------------------------------------------------
VG NONE ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
QF A C D F I J P T U W Z R ALL OTHERS
----------------------------------------------------
LV P C ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
RO C D J Z ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
MH C D J E F P A ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
AC J C D Z R I ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
JU C D Z I ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
MA J C D I R U ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
UA J C D Z F A ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
JL J C D Z F A I E W U P X ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
JO J C D Z F A I ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
AF P F J C D I Z O ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
CX A C D F I J P R U Z ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
KA A C D F I J P R U Z ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
OU C D Z I R ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
KF C D Y S B ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------
TK F O C D I J R A U Z ALL OTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------

 

[tuapekastar]

If you fly (say) to Amsterdam or Paris, but your plane goes via London Heathrow, do you still incurr the expensive taxes that Heathrow imposes? What about the EU carbon tax for long haul flights?

You won't incur the APD (Airport Passenger Duty? - and they are the big killers AFAIK) taxes if you are ony transiting (i.e. stopping for less than 24 hours) LHR, no matter the ultimate destination. The APD for long-haul flights, especially in a premium cabin, is pretty steep (can't recall exact figures). Again, can be avoided if only transiting LHR.

 

[ThunderbirdNZ]

thanks for this... I think I'll skip London this time...

 

[NM]

Note that the tax you reference is not just for Heathrow. Its the UK Air Passenger Duty charge and applies to any airport departure from the UK. However, you do not pay the fee if you are only transiting the UK. A transit is a stay of less than 24 hours. The amount of APD is based on the class of travel and the distance you are traveling when departing the UK.

 

[JetLagged]

thanks for this... I think I'll skip London this time...

Thunderbird, no real reason to skip London altogether, unlessyou really want to. Simply fly in to another European destination and then move on to London from a closer airport. No excessive APD. Alternatvely, as other say, if going else via London, then again no tax.

 

[Joshua]

But if you're transiting but on a separate booking you're basically stuffed right? Now that I read the fine print I think I've put myself in this situation for the last time.

 

[serfty]

But if you're transiting but on a separate booking you're basically stuffed right? Now that I read the fine print I think I've put myself in this situation for the last time.

Not at all, if the different bookings are set as conjunction tickets, and the transit criteria is satisfied, no APD is payable.

See this FT thread: xONEx and UK APD - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[Joshua]

Not at all, if the different bookings are set as conjunction tickets, and the transit criteria is satisfied, no APD is payable..

I've been reading a fairly old FT thread with some great contributions from Dave Noble, but I'm still a tad confused.

I may be a bit scratchy on the terminology, conjunction ticket = same itinerary. So let's say I'm booked on QF into LHR. Now I want to book BA (optional QF codeshare) onto continental EU a few hours after my arrival.

My understanding is two bookings = pay in full. Technically the airline could comment in your transferring but it would be an accounting mess if it isn't already.

The other option: OW Europe Airpass, which is a conjunction ticket because it needs that QF sector to validate. I don't know how to break down pricing for such a fare in ITA matrix or similar, so I'd have to call up and see if they could tell me what taxes would be applied / if APD was being applied.

If I'm off track, let me know. Any experience regarding air pass avoiding APD if <24 hour transit? Maybe some OW carriers will, some won't.

 

[serfty]

Try this thread: lhr apd refund - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[moa999]

big difference on the RTW tickets, particularly oneworld where London has advantages (eg single flight LHR-SIN-SYD/MEL)

eg.
JFK-LHR-xMAD-xLHR-SYD = big APD
JFK-xLHR-xMAD-LHR-SYD = small APD

So fly into London and stay, then go to Europe, but only do a transit on the flight out

 

[NM]

Thunderbird, no real reason to skip London altogether, unlessyou really want to. Simply fly in to another European destination and then move on to London from a closer airport. No excessive APD. Alternatvely, as other say, if going else via London, then again no tax.

UK APD is only charged for DEPARTURES, so its fine to stop-over in the UK on the inbound flight. Then its a short-haul flight to your final European destination. The APD is much smaller for European destinations.

Its the return flight that you want the UK to only be a transit to avoid the high APD for long-haul departure.