Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Airways

[BOZZ]

Not sure if this is the best place for this thread. Here's the copy of the email I've received today

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) - the paid by airlines for each passenger departing a UK airport - 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 from the UK 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 www.afairtaxonflying.org and click on "Not a UK Resident?". This will generate an automatic letter to the UK minister responsible for APD, George Osborne, 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

 

[anat0l]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Seeing a few of these pop up on my Facebook feed.

Geez, it's going to hurt a wee bit when the minimum due to APD on a premium flight from the UK reaches AU$500 or so, seeing as these increases will continue.

Looks like it's time to start getting friendly with the Eurostar, or booking short leg flights which force a separate coupon with the following long haul sector.

 

[Paddy55]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Already booked Mrs Paddy into FRA and out of AMS next year.
Cheaper then for her to fly into LHR from FRA, but certainly, Eurostar is a great, great way to travel.

(And we still don't have govts here in Oz who can include an East Coast high speed rail in a 20 year plan :evil:... but that's another story.

 

[smit0847]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Because LHR is such a fabulous airport to arrive into I dont mind paying a premium to do so

 

[NM]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Because LHR is such a fabulous airport to arrive into I dont mind paying a premium to do so

But you don't pay APD for a LHR arrival. Its only paid on departures. Feel free to arrive into LHR, just find a non-UK port to leave from.

 

[simongr]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Hmm - just trying to recall this - I have a trip that is likely to be:

SYD-LHR - stop
LHR-LCA - stop (this is the EU)
LCA-LHR-SYD

Would I avoid APD on this trip?

 

[ozmille]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Hmm - just trying to recall this - I have a trip that is likely to be:

SYD-LHR - stop
LHR-LCA - stop (this is the EU)
LCA-LHR-SYD

Would I avoid APD on this trip?

You will have APD but only on the LHR-LCA so you avoid the massive one you would have to pay if you were doing

LCA-LHR stop
LHR-SYD

so GBP13 in whY GBP26 in J in your case

 

[eastwest101]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

I can see why BA are not happy about this, the APD tax just encourages people to depart from anywhere else except LHR (or do short hops to another EU country to avoid it). Another poorly designed tax that distorts the market and hurts BA, other OW carriers and the UK travel industry.

I don't imagine that the UK minister will be too swayed by non-UK residents complaining about it though.

 

[NM]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Hmm - just trying to recall this - I have a trip that is likely to be:

SYD-LHR - stop
LHR-LCA - stop (this is the EU)
LCA-LHR-SYD

Would I avoid APD on this trip?

The only way to avoid it altogether is to leave the UK by something other than an airport. So that means taking Eurostar or a ferry. Maybe a non-commercial flight may also avoid it, but not sure.

The amount of APD paid depends on the destination of the flight (final destination if first stop is just a transit) and the cabin you are ticketed into (lowest class of travel verses anything other than the lowest class of travel).

 

[anat0l]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

The only way to avoid it altogether is to leave the UK by something other than an airport. So that means taking Eurostar or a ferry. Maybe a non-commercial flight may also avoid it, but not sure.

According to good ol' Wikipedia, the Air Passenger Duty is payable on

...an aircraft that has an authorised take-off weight of more than ten tonnes or more than twenty seats for passengers

So technically there is probably some sort of flying machine (including aircraft) which could avoid APD, but for the regular, run-of-the-mill passenger, these would be relatively unrealistic options.

The amount of APD paid depends on the destination of the flight (final destination if first stop is just a transit)

The determination of the "final destination" is dependent on the flight coupon which contains the flight leaving the UK.

For example, this year I had LCY-FRA-ZRH-PEK... etc. Between LCY-FRA and FRA-ZRH-etc. was 22 hours, so by and large definition merely a transit. That said, I paid the premium APD on only LHR-FRA. This must be because LHR-FRA was on one flight coupon, and the FRA-ZRH-etc. flights were on the other coupons, even though, of course, all these flights were on the same itinerary.


In the end, the devil is in the detail, because attempting to save on paying the APD (even at the premium rate) may backfire if the alternatives (or their timeliness) are not economically suitable. For example, booking to CDG and then adding a return Eurostar between CDG and London St Pancras would only be worth it if you can avoid overnighting in CDG and get cheap tickets on Eurostar (then add also a little bit more for the RER between CDG and Gare du Nord). The time must then be factored in. GBP 184 is a fair whack (2012 rate, Band D, standard (premium) rate), but.......

Also note that beyond about BRU (also served by Eurostar), most extra train travel beyond that starts to stack up on the time factor (and possibly cost), unless you would like to integrate these as part of your trip.

 

[serfty]

AMS is frequently used as am origination connection.

I believe both Germany and France have their own levies similar in concept to the UK APD, just not as onerous.

Posted on a wing and a prayer ...

 

[dajop]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Generally speaking, I've found Spain, Italy and Greece tend to have the lowest taxes departing Europe, along with parts of Eastern Europe.

 

[Stephen65]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

We are flying into LHR next month and out from BRU specifically to avoid the APD. We'll be catching the Eurostar from LHR to BRU. We are still going to spend time in the UK but instead of spending 7 days there we are now spending 5 days with 2 days in BRU. So the net result is we pay no APD and the UK economy misses out on two days worth of our spending and Belgium gets it instead. At the rate my wife spends that is quite a tidy sum.

PS: there is no departure tax in Belgium and the Eurostar is fast (two hours) and cheap, especially if you book ahead.

 

[clifford]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Looks like it's time to start getting friendly with the Eurostar, or booking short leg flights which force a separate coupon with the following long haul sector.

Spot on. I find it is much cheaper flying LON to Middle/Far East and Australasia via DUB, BRU, AMS, ROM and such places. And you also might get to see somewhere interesting.

 

[Febs]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

But you don't pay APD for a LHR arrival. Its only paid on departures. Feel free to arrive into LHR, just find a non-UK port to leave from.

Just need to drink enough Bolly/Glenlivet 18/JW Blue in the T5 lounge to make it worthwhile.

 

[Flashback]

Air Passenger Duty - a message from British Airways

Interestingly received this from BA not long ago. Virgin Atlantic sent similar out, but many months ago! I have already sent it in and got a nice generic response letter back from the MP. Hit them with a generic, and they'll hit you back with one too! :shock:

Dear Flashware,

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 A Fair Tax On Flying 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

 

[NM]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - a message from British Airways

this would be the same as this previous thread:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....s/air-passenger-duty-message-keith-42667.html

 

[Flashback]

Re: Air Passenger Duty - A message from Keith Williams, Chief Executive - British Air

Received this from Virgin Atlantic months ago, looks like BA are playing a bit of catchup here!

I have already sent it in and got a nice generic response letter back from the MP. Hit them with a generic, and they'll hit you back with one too! :shock: