Does VFF award flights on Etihad attract the same taxes from LHR as leaving from MEL?

[dsotm]

I can squeeze together 280,000 Velocity points to contribute to a Euro trip with wifey in September. This isn't enough obviously for a return in J, but I'm thinking of doing a redemption flight with VA/EY in biz and paying for 2x economy return tix on another airline. My question is does Etihad charge the same fuel taxes and redemption leviesw for flights leaving the UK (rather than Australia)? Which would be the better option?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Very unlikely.
Different governments, different taxes.
Different airports too, so will be different amounts.
UK has Air Passenger Duty, Aust has the Passenger Movement Charge, both are government taxes, but thats where the similarities ends.
Xray and passenger charges, too will be different.
There are places online where you can find the details of taxes/levies that are charged, they have the codes eg, xx/xy/etc.
As airlines have to pay these out to the governments of the countries, and
airport companies, its very unlikely they will cover it from their own profits.
http://clacsec.lima.icao.int/2016-P/Estudios/IATA-tax.pdf
Takes a bit of time to come up.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

UK APD in Y is Gbp75 Aud$137.94.
Au PMC is Gbp32.62 Aud$60.00 no matter what class.
You get my drift?

 

[dsotm]

Very unlikely.
Different governments, different taxes.
Different airports too, so will be different amounts.

Thanks. The Etihad/VFF people can't tell me the charges until I book. (!) I know from my last EY J trip from Oz it was $1,500 in extra charges. It's the fuel taxes I'm most interested in.

 

[Mattg]

The Etihad carrier charge is the same regardless of route/origin. The overall UK departure taxes will be higher because of the Air Passenger Duty, but this is also charged on revenue tickets.

The Etihad charge is USD50 per economy sector, USD205 for business or USD300 for first class.

 

[dsotm]

Thanks Matt. I think we are now going to return on EY redemption from Geneva or Milan now. Will go with whatever the charges are. Thanks everyone.

 

[Jack_OC]

Thanks. The Etihad/VFF people can't tell me the charges until I book. (!) I know from my last EY J trip from Oz it was $1,500 in extra charges. It's the fuel taxes I'm most interested in.

I think what they have told you is somewhat misleading. They may well have to go through the booking process before they can tell you precisely what the charges would be, but once they get to the final stage of booking and tell you what the charges are, you get a chance to confirm whether you wish to proceed or not. So if you're still trying to find the answer to this question, simply call up and ask them if they can check availability for whatever route/dates you want, and get them to go through the process. There is no risk of you having to pay charges that you have not explicitly agreed to before the booking is confirmed.

EDIT: PS, you might want to consider getting 1 x J return on points and then paying for a J return fare. One way international fares (which is what I think you are suggesting) are typically much more expensive than 50% of a return fare. In fact, one way fares can sometimes cost more than returns. 2 x one way Y fares will still cost less than a J return, but the difference might not be as big as you might expect. And if you pay for a J return to Europe, you will get enough Velocity SCs to qualify for Gold from one trip, plus a nice haul of points for the next trip. Not to mention the fact that you get to travel in J in both directions!

 

[dsotm]

And if you pay for a J return to Europe, you will get enough Velocity SCs to qualify for Gold from one trip, plus a nice haul of points for the next trip. Not to mention the fact that you get to travel in J in both directions!

Hmmm.... Because the 280,000 points are with Velocity, I have to go with Etihad for LHR. A paid EY J fare in September is $7,200 whereas as Y to London inc. a two day stopover with SA is under $1,100 per passenger one-way. J would be nice but an extra five grand.

Edit: I'm now thinking of flicking the VFF points to Krisflyer where I can get 2 x J Savers from Europe for 210,000 points. Even with the conversion deduction, still cheaper with the taxes and points. (I think)

 

[Bolthead]

Hmmm.... Because the 280,000 points are with Velocity, I have to go with Etihad for LHR. A paid EY J fare in September is $7,200 whereas as Y to London inc. a two day stopover with SA is under $1,100 per passenger one-way. J would be nice but an extra five grand.

Edit: I'm now thinking of flicking the VFF points to Krisflyer where I can get 2 x J Savers from Europe for 210,000 points. Even with the conversion deduction, still cheaper with the taxes and points. (I think)

What about paying for a return to Singapore and then getting a return via redemption from SIN-LHR. I haven't looked at the cost but that might work as well.

 

[dsotm]

What about paying for a return to Singapore and then getting a return via redemption from SIN-LHR. I haven't looked at the cost but that might work as well.

Yep that seems doable. EDIT: Just checked. It's only 20K more points to go from MEL-LHR instead of SIN-LHR.