UK APD charges

[docjames]

Booked two award fares (QF) for mrsdoc (separate pnrs).

MEL-LHR-MEL and LHR-AMS-LHR. All in J. Travel will be MEL-LHR-MEL, LHR-AMS, AMS-LHR-MEL.

How is the UK APD calculated? As obviously when I booked the MEL-LHR-MEL flight QF calculated it's "fees and taxes" on the full departing UK APD but the final AMS-LHR-MEL involved a 4hr transit (ie. <24hr) therefore is ex-EU not ex-UK (ie. a transit)? Will QF end up paying less given it's a transit in the eyes of the UK government (even though originally not ticketed as a transit)?

I hope what i'm asking makes sense.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Booked two award fares (QF) for mrsdoc (separate pnrs).

MEL-LHR-MEL and LHR-AMS-LHR. All in J. Travel will be MEL-LHR-MEL, LHR-AMS, AMS-LHR-MEL.

How is the UK APD calculated? As obviously when I booked the MEL-LHR-MEL flight QF calculated it's "fees and taxes" on the full departing UK APD but the final AMS-LHR-MEL involved a 4hr transit (ie. <24hr) therefore is ex-EU not ex-UK (ie. a transit)? Will QF end up paying less given it's a transit in the eyes of the UK government (even though originally not ticketed as a transit)?

I hope what i'm asking makes sense.

Summary
Full UK departure tax is payable.

Analysis
In order to avoid the luxe departure tax passengers need to not only be in transit, but also have the flights on the same ticket, or conjunction tickets. Conjunction tickets need to be specially cross-referenced with each other... just holding two separate, but connecting tickets, does not meet the requirements:

b. where they are in separate booklets:

• each refers to the other and states that they are to be read in conjunction
• there is a summary of the flights constituting the passengers journey including the flights in question

Although the flights may meet all the other criteria for determining whether 2 flights are connected, they will only qualify for the exemption if the connection is evidenced on the ticket or a flight summary.

from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...tice-550-air-passenger-duty#connected-flights

So in your case, the full departure tax from the UK would be payable, even though the passenger is practically only in transit, and even though the journey commenced in the EU.

 

[serfty]

See this thread for some info: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....t-eu-port-connect-back-72662.html#post1361704

In the end I booked AMS-xLHR-xHKG-MEL to avoid the £142 APD.

You may be able to get the LHR-AMS-AMS and AMS-LHR-MEL re-issued as 'conjunction tickets' and have the APD refunded.

 

[docjames]

You may be able to get the LHR-AMS-AMS and AMS-LHR-MEL re-issued as 'conjunction tickets' and have the APD refunded.

Will QF do that though on award tickets? I guess it costs nothing to ask.