UK Departure Tax to increase

[andye]

In yesterday's UK budget a new third band of departure tax (for extra long-haul destinations) was announced. It encompasses SE Asia and Australia which will have an increased departure tax levied when tickets have them as final destination. To commence in 2023, the exact pricing for premium cabins is to be announced.

Air Passenger Duty shaken up in 2022 Budget

Flights to South America, South Africa and Asia and the Far East will be taxed even more.

www.headforpoints.com

 

[Mattg]

Wow - as if the APD isn't already high enough!

 

[PLM]

Will make the old trick of flying out of the continent even more important!

 

[clifford]

Will make the old trick of flying out of the continent even more important!

Yes, but domestic flight taxes have been halved. INV here I come!

And the long haul APD has only gone up by a token amount, but yes, fly out of continental Euope of course.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

wow - £601 for departures to Australia

 

[OZDUCK]

I thought Boris was trying to cosy up to Australia and New Zealand and make us forget how the UK happily shafted our economies in the 1970's when it joined the EEC, as was. I have been ambivalent about re-visiting there for years and this fee certainly doesn't encourage me to change my mind. I assume airlines will rapidly find a way to encourage arrivals in the UK and departures via the continent - or maybe we all fly via Eire?

 

[dajop]

wow - £601 for departures to Australia

Although I don’t think that will affect too many (any?) AFF’ers. How many of us fly to/from the UK on private jets? (Applies on > 20t jets with less than 19 seats).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Although I don’t think that will affect too many (any?) AFF’ers. How many of us fly to/from the UK on private jets? (Applies on > 20t jets with less than 19 seats).

ohhhh

 

[jfl]

And people ask why I fly out of EU instead of LHR...

 

[Melburnian1]

And people ask why I fly out of EU instead of LHR...

Excellent strategy. High taxes like this are self-defeating. Boris must have received some very misguided advice, and was stupid enough to accept and implement it.

 

[jfl]

Excellent strategy. High taxes like this are self-defeating. Boris must have received some very misguided advice, and was stupid enough to accept and implement it.

Agreed. Considering it's quite easy to hop on the Eurostar, then switch at Gare du Nord to CDG and get there in ~3 hours for under 60 euro if you book far enough in advance, it can save quite a bit of APD for not much time.

Heathrow Express is 25 quid too!

 

[saffron the dog]

Every cough is out to screw you and the worst coughs are governments.

 

[Andyzx]

It will be very useful when QF sunrise takes hold and you fly non stop from CDG or Europe. Quite happy with a couple of nights in Paris on the way home. Especially if you fly from non LON based airports.
you can get a cheap flight for 50 pence !!!

 

[justinbrett]

It will be very useful when QF sunrise takes hold and you fly non stop from CDG or Europe. Quite happy with a couple of nights in Paris on the way home. Especially if you fly from non LON based airports.
you can get a cheap flight for 50 pence !!!

I very much doubt sunrise will be going to anywhere other than LHR or JFK.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I have mixed feelings on the increase of the APD in the UK. Yes, increasing the fee, especially for those of us who don't do domestic travel in the UK/EU is gonna add to the sting, particularly with airfares likely on the march upward due to record demand. On the other hand, it is as of yet unclear who will pay for these increases in fees? Will it be the passenger or the airline? In my experience flying out of the UK to US and Australia with United, the answer always seemed to the be the airline. In particular I can recall £249 return fares between LHR and LAX in 2019 where the base fare component was like £20. Had there not been an APD, I have no doubts that airfare component would be much higher. A similar thing could be seen with upgrades where if you're paying pure points or points + copay with United, you didn't end up paying the APD, the airline simply ate it.

It will be interesting to see if this APD raise is the breaking point where some airlines stop eating the costs!

-RooFlyer88

 

[andye]

I have mixed feelings on the increase of the APD in the UK. Yes, increasing the fee, especially for those of us who don't do domestic travel in the UK/EU is gonna add to the sting, particularly with airfares likely on the march upward due to record demand. On the other hand, it is as of yet unclear who will pay for these increases in fees? Will it be the passenger or the airline? In my experience flying out of the UK to US and Australia with United, the answer always seemed to the be the airline. In particular I can recall £249 return fares between LHR and LAX in 2019 where the base fare component was like £20. Had there not been an APD, I have no doubts that airfare component would be much higher. A similar thing could be seen with upgrades where if you're paying pure points or points + copay with United, you didn't end up paying the APD, the airline simply ate it.

It will be interesting to see if this APD raise is the breaking point where some airlines stop eating the costs!

-RooFlyer88

Similar things happen with exchange rates-the state of the AUD seems to have little effect on ex-AU fares.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have mixed feelings on the increase of the APD in the UK. Yes, increasing the fee, especially for those of us who don't do domestic travel in the UK/EU is gonna add to the sting, particularly with airfares likely on the march upward due to record demand. On the other hand, it is as of yet unclear who will pay for these increases in fees? Will it be the passenger or the airline? In my experience flying out of the UK to US and Australia with United, the answer always seemed to the be the airline. In particular I can recall £249 return fares between LHR and LAX in 2019 where the base fare component was like £20. Had there not been an APD, I have no doubts that airfare component would be much higher. A similar thing could be seen with upgrades where if you're paying pure points or points + copay with United, you didn't end up paying the APD, the airline simply ate it.

It will be interesting to see if this APD raise is the breaking point where some airlines stop eating the costs!

-RooFlyer88

I don’t think the APD was never that high? on a £20 base fare there would have been the APD, but also airline fuel surcharges and some other relatively minor taxes fees and charges.

Premium cabin fares departing London are around £200 more than departing from the mainland. But that’s just the way it is… not really worthwhile buying a separate ticket to get to Paris to start the journey.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I don’t think the APD was never that high? on a £20 base fare there would have been the APD, but also airline fuel surcharges and some other relatively minor taxes fees and charges.

Premium cabin fares departing London are around £200 more than departing from the mainland. But that’s just the way it is… not really worthwhile buying a separate ticket to get to Paris to start the journey.

You have to realize that for international trips you're gonna go through a number of different taxes & fees. In my case since I was flying from the UK to the US, aside from APD, there would also be security fees, US immigration fee, airport fees, presumably the 20% VAT on the whole lot, etc. Indeed, a quick look at the booking confirmation from AmEx reveals as much:



And for those wondering how I ended up paying £249 for the fare:


This is one of the few times I use an OTA over booking direct with the airline. And on top of that by booking with AmEx travel, most of the major basic economy restrictions didn't apply to me (e.g. seat selection restriction) as there was a gap in ticketing and applying BE restrictions where I could grab the seat I wanted!

-RooFlyer88

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You have to realize that for international trips you're gonna go through a number of different taxes & fees. In my case since I was flying from the UK to the US, aside from APD, there would also be security fees, US immigration fee, airport fees, presumably the 20% VAT on the whole lot, etc. Indeed, a quick look at the booking confirmation from AmEx reveals as much:

View attachment 274618

And for those wondering how I ended up paying £249 for the fare:
View attachment 274619

This is one of the few times I use an OTA over booking direct with the airline. And on top of that by booking with AmEx travel, most of the major basic economy restrictions didn't apply to me (e.g. seat selection restriction) as there was a gap in ticketing and applying BE restrictions where I could grab the seat I wanted!

-RooFlyer88

I understand… but ‘tax’ is often bundled to include the fuel surcharge. Something like ITA matrix will give a breakdown of individual fees and carrier charges.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Is Ireland still excluded from the UK APD? I know Northern Ireland is included

If we depart DUB and transit LHR, we'd avoid the tax right?