Does the origin of award flights change the fees and taxes?

[KimW]

I had some flights booked Mel-Col, Col-Dub, Dub-Malta. Yesterday I had to delete the Mel-Col flight which resulted in an increase in fees for the flight of an extra $104. This does not seem logical at all to me - paying more for fewer flights - has anyone seen anything like this before?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I had some flights booked Mel-Col, Col-Dub, Dub-Malta. Yesterday I had to delete the Mel-Col flight which resulted in an increase in fees for the flight of an extra $104. This does not seem logical at all to me - paying more for fewer flights - has anyone seen anything like this before?

yes. This is standard.

There will generally be two extra charges on a fare (or award) - tax and fuel surcharges.

The taxes are levied by respective governments and will generally be the same, with the exception of any departure taxes which you don't normally pay if you are in transit. But probably the larger difference will be the fuel surcharges. These are levied by the airline and can vary wildly depending on the point of departure.

Out of interest, where is 'Col'?

 

[KimW]

I‘m going Melbourne to Colombo (for a couple of weeks) to Dubai (just overnight) then Malta (for 10 days).

I understand the fees and taxes but cannot understand how reducing a flight so I am then just going Colombo to Dubai to Malta results in higher fees?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I‘m going Melbourne to Colombo (for a couple of weeks) to Dubai (just overnight) then Malta (for 10 days).

I understand the fees and taxes but cannot understand how reducing a flight so I am then just going Colombo to Dubai to Malta results in higher fees?

There is a tool called ITA matrix: Matrix - ITA Software by Google where you can enter your itinerary and it will return airfares which include a breakdown of all the taxes, fees and charges (including fuel surcharges).

If you want to share the airlines you are flying we could also have a look at it for you. Were you on Sri Lankan MEL-Colombo? Who are you on for the other sectors? And class of service?

Glad you clarified - I thought you were flying Australia to Colorado to Dublin to Malta The airport codes for your itinerary are quite a bit different... Colombo is CMB, Dubai is DXB. (And Malta is MLA.)

Different airlines will all attract different fuel surcharges.

On your itinerary you should have saved the Aussie departure tax and processing fees ($85 or something) and the relevant fuel surcharge. But new ones might be added.

While it does sometimes happen, the fuel surcharges are usually correct. It's just a matter of finding a break-down so you can see what's happened.