Stop the Tax Ripoff

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aasz1978 said:
After trying to reconcile back to $176.60, I found out the surcharge should have been $148.67. USD$114 x ROE 1.30417 = A$148.67. An overcharge of about $28 (I excluded GST tax here. GST not supposed to be levied on international travel).

Ticket issued 9 Sept 2005 and yet to be picked up. I smell a rat here.
Certainly worth asking the question.

I normally try to estimate the total surcharges myself before booking and then see how close the agent calculation comes to that. And for a 20 sector RTW fare, that can be quite an exercise. On my last few calculations, I have been within a dollar or two of the agent's calculations, and that is on $600+ taxes/levies/surcharges.

Its always fun avoiding the UK taxes when you depart within 24 hours of arriving. That tax is levied at 20 pounds for the lowest class of travel in the aircraft, and 40 pounds for all other classes of travel. So a business class trip can become very expensive if you include a side trip to Europe. On one trip I had three transits through London, and avoided the tax on each of them. If I had stayed more than 24 hours each time, I would have been up for an extra 120 pounds in taxes!
aasz1978 said:
The sector thing is funny. If you're going Mel to Narita, it will still be USD$50 yet it's longer to go to Narita than to Singapore (I think.... )

This is getting interesting.
And on Qantas, you pay the same A$75 for travelling MEL-LAX as you do for MEL-SIN. They do have a different rate for Trans-Tasman etc. SQ has a different rate for short-haul routes, which is why your SIN-CGK segments are a lower surcharge than the MEL-SIN segments.
 
Lufthansa today quoted me $A787.32 in taxes and surcharges for an economy class flight SYD-USA-FRA-Tel Aviv.

Just one stopover en-route. Totally insane. :(
 
ozstamps said:
Lufthansa today quoted me $A787.32 in taxes and surcharges for an economy class flight SYD-USA-FRA-Tel Aviv.

Just one stopover en-route. Totally insane. :(
Wow ... that's more than some recent RTW trips I have done. As you say - totally insane!
 
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LH does have high surcharges, and some of the european airport taxes are eye-watering.

My RTW earlier this year cost a lot more than that in surcharges, and that was several fuel surcharge increases ago. I ended up dropping a few sectors I had planned to include purely for the miles (thanks to generous minimum mileage earning) as the taxes were going to add well over $100 per sector - ie a lot more than the miles were worth.
 
It appears to me that the key to lowest tax (and surcharges) is to select an Asian Airlines (For example, Garuda seems to have the lowest fuel cost because it was partly subsidized by Govt) and fly as few sectors as possible (ie: direct flight) and use ports which are desperate enough not to charge fees and charges in return of tourist money (eg: Singapore).

That way, you'll save tears....
 
Thanks to the members who post here.
I have found lots of good insights and I have refered my travelling friends to this site
From insights found here I contacted Zuji for 2 return tickets to LHR on my favoured Airline "Korean Air" who I regard as TOPS.

BACKGROUND
We travel mostly for business & for my wife being a homesick Brit.
We travel to the UK (annually & hopefully now twice a year) where I keep a just upgraded 6.1 m motorhome which is our home for 2 months each year as we do the "Grey Nomad" thing and buy china for my china replacement Business "Chinafinders P/L" www.chinafinders.com.au .
Zuji needed a telephone call (as having had a DVT and major surgery in the recent past ) I wanted a paid stop on the way home as well as the FREE 5* inc meals Korean Air provided stop on the BNE LHR outbound leg.
The telephone assistant quoted several different tax numbers and seemed unsure of the correct figure and I was sure to confirm + take notes & sales assistant details. Zuji also confirmed NO Booking agent Surcharges( a very significant point).
A few days later I contacted Korean and using the same procedure with notes & names I confirmed a lower tax $ number

REFUND
I contacted Zuji and asked politely if they could check the correct tax number. After a few telephone calls and a most polite dialogue with Zuji Zuji advised I would recieve a credit.
6 weeks on from the start of tax enquiries I have just noticed my credit card has recieved a credit from Zuji of $134.
WELL DONE ZUJI.

BOOKING EXPERIENCE
When making the initial fare inquiries I checked as usual Best Flights & Travel.com .
Travel. com gave very little choice and nothing worthwhile on Korean Air.
Best Flights had an OK fare but when I called to check the sales person immediately quoted a fare abt $100 dearer than on the web and refused to budge despite the far announcement being new that day. The taxes also seemed to vary for Korean on the same dates & flights so I suspect there are other hidden charges not revealed.
I tried to book the Zuji fare with an additional stop Incheon but ended up needing to call an operator. It eventually took 2 calls to get it all resolved.
The end fare at Zuji was excellent and the tickets arrived promptly a few days later registered post.

MY KOREAN AIR EXPERIENCEs & SKYPASS FF
A few points about my experiences with Korean Air FF program.
Inklo program allows joining miles of family members-This I regard as a huge Bonus.
Morning calm FF status readilly achievable. 30,000 miles in 2 years-(BNE-LHR return is 20,000 miles).
Also if you travel enough the FF program upgrades baggage allowance to 30Kg and gives Business Lounge vouchers.
FF seats always seem readily available and are in a top priority standby classification as I found out on a prior trip where my wife on a Korean FF ticket readilly rescheduled a flight but I on a discount paid ticket had to wait until 20 minutes before doors close to get the last economy seat.
Also I have noticed Korean Air is fairly relaxed about a few extra KG of baggage for both hand carry and cargo hold.
(Having been stung by Lufthansa out of St Petersberg for abt A$1000 for excess for the same "over weight" that included weighing my hand carry as part of the 20Kg allowance. All of which was carried no charge elsewhere on a ROW Star Alliance ticket. )
Hence I'm now a HATE Lufthansa person and make it a priority to check Airline baggage policies.
"Diners" points can be used to top up miles at a 50% rate.

As a retired RAAF engineering officer I always look at the aircraft internal condition and on time performance as an indicator of the Maintenance mindset. Having travelled with Phillipines Air , Continental and a few others best not named I would rate Korean Air very highly.

Brisbane & LHR departure/arrival times are all convenient for connections which are matters I always consider as a high priority

Korean Air Plus's in summary:-
Free Top Quality O/Night stop at Incheon BNE-LHR My value A$350.I rate this a major +.
FF program Famly plan for miles & Diners partner make one FF ticket BNE-LHR return easilly attainable every third trip to UK.Also a Major +
Morning calm members get 4x KAL lounge pass ,extra 10Kg & priority checkin & boarding. A BIG +
Well maintained aircraft & good on time performance.
Depart & arrive times BNE & LHR convenient for my usual travel .
Relatively short BNE to LHR door to door times.

Korean Air Draw backs.
Diners points at 50%. Residents in the USA get a better rate.
Only 1 western meal choice . The alternate Korean rice dish is quite enjoyable but beware of the HOT-HOT chile paste provided.
Recent substantial increases in points to achieve a BNE-LHR return ticket in line with rest of SKYPASS system. now 110,000 points off peak
Discount economy only yields 70% miles to FF program
 
taxes, fees and charges

A new 'entrant' in the 'taxes, fees and charges' arena is the agent booking fees. Since many of the airlines have reduced or removed their commission percentages to agents - led by the flying kangaroo - many travel agents have begun charging various booking fees. Technically it is a 'fee' and therefore they are not doing anything wrong by including it in the 'taxes, fees and charges' and most agencies will have a 'notice of fees' displayed somewhere but rarely is your attention (as the client) drawn to this. This is not a cost that they are particularly open to disclose for fear of losing the client to another agent. Good customer service is the key - most people have no objection to paying a little bit more for this, but it includes being upfront and honest about what the 'taxes, fees and charges' are.
 
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Welcome to AFF, chinafin and ditto.

Great review about Korean Air and their FF program, chinafin. You might want to post that part of your post over on the Other Frequent Flyer Programs section, so more people will see it.

Valid point about the agents fees, ditto. As they aren't getting as much commission these days, it's back to a pay-for-use model.
 
The TA's are only as good as the airlines and airports that provide updated advice of the taxes/passenger movement charges etc etc. These can change daily due to foreign exchange rates, adding new levies etc etc. Agents are loathe to 'quote' taxes because by the time the person pays there are bound to be new taxes or foreign exchange movement - they seem to be constantly changing.I'v

If the taxes are put into the fares, the fares will be constantly changing. Recently I was flying MEL to LAX with UA. My flight stopped in Sydney, so I had to pay Sydney airport taxes as well!!!


I have even been caught with new taxes at airports while travelling, and have had to pay on the spot.

And - I have learned - it is best to get everything put on one ticket. Once you start buying one ticket from somewhere, then an add on from somewhere else etc etc., your taxes can be duplicated many times over and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
 
anahabana said:
The TA's are only as good as the airlines and airports that provide updated advice of the taxes/passenger movement charges etc etc. These can change daily due to foreign exchange rates, adding new levies etc etc. Agents are loathe to 'quote' taxes because by the time the person pays there are bound to be new taxes or foreign exchange movement - they seem to be constantly changing.
The exchange rate used for fare calculations, including surcharges and taxes, should not be changing daily. If you TA is changing this daily, then find a TA that uses the IATA fare calculation rules (all TAs should be using the IATA rules).

IATA sets the ROE (Rate of Exchange) for each currency of its member airline's countries to an arbitrary NUC (Neutral Units of Currency). This ROE value us set "at least 4 times a year" and is generally fixed for 3 months. The only reason it will be reviewed more regularly than 3 months is if there is a major shift in a country's currency value.

The ROE for A$ was set on 1st July at 1.304170. I expect this will be revised for 1st October, but I have not seen the new value yet. This ROE is printed on you paper tickets in the fare calculation box - not sure about e-tickets.

So there is no reason at all for the tax/surcharge/levies calculation to alter based on daily exchange rate fluctuations.

Airport charges do not change very regularly either, and are published on many web sites so you can review them. There will be some changes from time to time, but they are not common. The only changes to Australian taxes/surcharges/levies in the last year have been to the airline imposed fuel surcharges and they are always published in advance along with the date at which the new rates will come into affect. The last change for Qantas was 2nd September.

Here is a quote from Sabre (one of the major Global Reservation Systems):
Sabre said:
Rate of Exchange

The Rate of Exchange (ROE) is an industry standard to convert NUC’s (neutral units of exchange) to and from local currency. IATA determines the rates of exchange and they remain constant for three-month intervals. You must convert all ticket you issue during that particular quarter using the published ROE.

anahabana said:
If the taxes are put into the fares, the fares will be constantly changing. Recently I was flying MEL to LAX with UA. My flight stopped in Sydney, so I had to pay Sydney airport taxes as well!!!
If you are only in transit through SYD, you don't pay all the SYD taxes. For example, the WG (safety and security charge) imposed by the airports is exempt for transit passengers, so you should only be charged the MEL WG charge.

The QK (Sydney Noise Levy) is only payable if you have SYD noted as a stop/transit point on the ticket. So if the ticket is issued as MEL-LAX-MEL, then you don't pay the QK tax for Sydney, even if you transit in SYD on the same flight number. If your ticket is issued as MEL-SYD-LAX-SYD-MEL then you will pay it twice for the two arrivals into SYD.

The WY (Passenger Service Charge - International) is only required to be paid for the airport you commence your international journey. The applicability clause reads as follows:
WG Charge said:
Levied on passengers, holding international tickets, at that point for which their continuous travel from/to Australia via international flights starts/ends.
Eg. A MEL origin passenger:
- Travelling on a purely domestic flight to SYD and then internationally from Sydney will pay the SYD charge.
- Travelling the domestic leg of an international flight to SYD and who remains airside/does not leave the transit area before departing internationally from SYD (on the same day) will pay (only) the MEL charge.
So which Sydney taxes/charges were you asked to pay? If your TA included the charges listed above, then I suggest you find a TA who knows the rules for applying the various taxes and charges.
anahabana said:
I have even been caught with new taxes at airports while travelling, and have had to pay on the spot.
Definitely sounds like you need a new TA. This should only happen at places that do not permit the collection of the charges by the airline and require everyone to pay them at the airport - such as the NZ departure tax that must be paid at the airport.
anahabana said:
And - I have learned - it is best to get everything put on one ticket. Once you start buying one ticket from somewhere, then an add on from somewhere else etc etc., your taxes can be duplicated many times over and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
This is correct.
 
NM said:
Airport charges do not change very regularly either, and are published on many web sites so you can review them. T

I would argue this is not always the case. The living proof is clearly shown above (re: Chinafin's first post).

Last year I bought a ticket with an incorrect tax and this year, with an incorrect fuel surcharge calculation (but decided not to fight it with the TA, but will keep in mind in the future).

If it wasn't for this website (or unless you've insider infos), then I cannot imagine how a typical laymen would be able to know the right tax or surcharges being imposed.

For example, the applicability of ROE is something new to me. Recently, I had a look at my cousin's return trip (paper) ticket and noticed the ROE is calculated correctly at 1.30 something.

I refered my cousin to this webpage and he claimed $20 back (he's a Student) from the TA. He was also happy about this webpage because it empowers him with knowledge, particularly with Class selection.

I'll leave you with this question, just how many TA agents will give you a Class W by default?
 
aasz1978 said:
NM said:
Airport charges do not change very regularly either, and are published on many web sites so you can review them. T

I would argue this is not always the case. The living proof is clearly shown above (re: Chinafin's first post).

Well here are a few that I use to determine the correct charges:

This is my favourite at the moment and has most countries covered in the .PDF files.

http://www.consolidatedtravel.com.au/qf/taxes.asp

If in doubt, always ask the TA for a breakdown. They will balk at doing that, and probably only give it to you as the total for each of the different charge codes (ie AU, WG, YQ etc) and you can use the site above to find out what these code are for.

Its not simple, but they don't change all that often.
 
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