Plus taxes and charges

[Bricoo]

Since when has a fuel levy imposed by the airline been part of "Taxes and Charges" which are imposed by some outside body over which the airline has no control!
If the airline is seeking to cover the extra costs of fuel (with which aim I have sympathy) it would be more logical to increase the number of points required for each flight rather than make an additional charge.
I spent the points and paid the charges eventually but the extras made me :x Booru

 

[Mal]

Welcome to the world of flying!

(Not that i doubt you've done many sectors in the air before!!!)

Absolutely bollocks that an airline can hide fuel surcharges in taxes and surcharges. Still they get away with it.

Try and complain to the ACCC. They'll tell you that they can charge what they want.
Try and complain to your local Consumer Affairs bureau. They'll tell you they can charge what they want.

Get the picture?

Stupid. Crazy. Can't explain my disgust any better!

A friend told me today that they were amazed that taxes were so high flying to New Zealand! Grrr! Corrected them and told them that not all were taxes.

Have I ranted enough? Love the way a certain Australian airline hedges their fuel and then keeps increasing their surcharges for fuel.

Oh well. You and I know that we'll still fly no matter what. No issue when fuel surcharges get applied....

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Its not just QF doing that. A recent article speculated Air NZ made lots more money from fuel surcharges than the increase in fuel costs. This was based on published figures only - so calc may not be quite right but there was a big margin.

 

[NM]

Hmm, this seems to be a repeating theme in a lot of posts recently. Perhaps people are really starting to get jack of it :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: .

 

[browski]

Yes... the purchase costs of aircraft will now also be shown as a separate line item in the Taxes and Charges section. The staffing cost will be separated from the base fare next year too. So.....a $1000 TICKET quote will soon look something like this:


Sydney-Singapore return from $249 !!!!!!!!!!!!*


*plus extras

 

[MetroAir]

 

[JohnK]

Yes... the purchase costs of aircraft will now also be shown as a separate line item in the Taxes and Charges section. The staffing cost will be separated from the base fare next year too. So.....a $1000 TICKET quote will soon look something like this:


Sydney-Singapore return from $249 !!!!!!!!!!!!*


*plus extras

That would be good marketing. Are they paying you a commission!!!

What worries me is how long before the taxes & charges catch up/overtake the cost of the flight.

For domestic flights we are almost there. Looking at SYD-BNE-SYD in October and the cost of the flight is $110 + taxes and charges $95.12 for a total of $205.12. Taxes and charges almost make up 50% of the total cost!!!! :shock: :?

For international flights I know airfares for SYD-BNE-SIN-BKK-SIN-BNE-SYD in Dec/Jan have cost me ~AUD$1350 and taxes and charges ~AUD$320. Taxes and charges almost make up 25% of the total cost.

I think as many people have echoed the cost of the airfare will remain stable (may even decrease) with most increases happening to taxes and charges. Any airline can justify increases in fuel levies due to the high cost of oil, increases in security levies due to terrorism etc.

We may soon see the situation you explained of the $1000 airfare SYD-SIN-SYD turning into a $1500 airfare broken down as $749 base fare + $751 in taxes.

They say that there are two certainties in life.......... Death and taxes.....

 

[freaky]

Domestically, there have been a few times already when taxes and charges have outweighed the cost of the fare. I flew on a cheap ticket from Melbourne to Sydney on QF during a sale. The ticket was a bit over $50 one way, taxes and charges were $29 of that $50.

The fuel surcharge is done as a charge for three reasons.

1. Travel agents aren't able to earn commission from the taxes and charges.

2. The charge is able to be applied to frequent flyer tickets

3. Geoff Dixon loves rolling around in the extra money.

 

[oz_mark]

Yes... the purchase costs of aircraft will now also be shown as a separate line item in the Taxes and Charges section. The staffing cost will be separated from the base fare next year too. So.....a $1000 TICKET quote will soon look something like this:


Sydney-Singapore return from $249 !!!!!!!!!!!!*

*plus extras

That would be good marketing. Are they paying you a commission!!!

What worries me is how long before the taxes & charges catch up/overtake the cost of the flight.

For domestic flights we are almost there. Looking at SYD-BNE-SYD in October and the cost of the flight is $110 + taxes and charges $95.12 for a total of $205.12. Taxes and charges almost make up 50% of the total cost!!!! :shock: :?

There are instances of international fares that where the taxes and charges make up half the fare as well. An interesting one concerns Singapore. If you go to the Qantas Singapore web site, you will get a return air fare to Perth for $328, but after you go through the process you will discover another $294 in charges, so it really costs $622. (which given these are Singapore dollars is a lot cheaper than doing PER-SIN-PER)

 

[clifford]

[quote="JohnKWhat worries me is how long before the taxes & charges catch up/overtake the cost of the flight.

For domestic flights we are almost there. Looking at SYD-BNE-SYD in October and the cost of the flight is $110 + taxes and charges $95.12 for a total of $205.12. Taxes and charges almost make up 50% of the total cost!!!! :shock: :?

For international flights I know airfares for SYD-BNE-SIN-BKK-SIN-BNE-SYD in Dec/Jan have cost me ~AUD$1350 and taxes and charges ~AUD$320. Taxes and charges almost make up 25% of the total cost.

I think as many people have echoed the cost of the airfare will remain stable (may even decrease) with most increases happening to taxes and charges. Any airline can justify increases in fuel levies due to the high cost of oil, increases in security levies due to terrorism etc.

We may soon see the situation you explained of the $1000 airfare SYD-SIN-SYD turning into a $1500 airfare broken down as $749 base fare + $751 in taxes.

They say that there are two certainties in life.......... Death and taxes..... [/quote]

Hi John,

A couple of comments.

My wife and I recently flew SIN-HAN-SIN on TR, with the return airfare being SGD 20 per person. However, the taxes and charges were SGD 80 per person (still not prohibitively expensive).

Also, I am flying BNE-SIN-BOM-SIN-BNE in C class next month (courtesy of a UA FF ticket), and the total "taxes and charges" are AUD 91.90.

Go figure! (Makes QF look positively ripoff).

 

[aus_flyer]

What amazes me is that AA does not have a fuel surcharge - probably the only member of OWA not to have one.

From a business perspective, I don't understand why they don't. Either they are absorbing a considerable cost, or they have amazing hedging contracts.

Either way, hedging contracts expire and why not make the most of the ability to charge extra! (just a thought.. I'm not encouraging them to charge - I'm just surprised).

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

SYD-AKL or vv is another route where taxes can be around the same as the fare

 

[NM]

What amazes me is that AA does not have a fuel surcharge - probably the only member of OWA not to have one.

Its called a competitive market. The downside of that competition can be seen by the number of AA's competitors that are currently operating under the protection of Chapter 11.

 

[aus_flyer]

A fine line between competitive and unsustainable - in the States, this line has been crossed!