Air Passenger Duty is formally going up again is going up as of today.
If you’ve been booking ahead of today you would had noticed the rises already. But for those who haven’t seen the extra tax that is going to be lumped on your ticket…. here’s the magic numbers:
| Band | Reduced Rate | Standard Rate | ||||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |||
| Band A | £11 | £12 | £22 | £24 | ||
| Band B | £45 | £60 | £90 | £120 | ||
| Band C | £50 | £75 | £100 | £150 | ||
| Band D | £55 | £85 | £110 | £170 | ||
Reduced Rate = Economy Class, Standard Rate = Anything with a 40″, divider curtain or Business Class and above.
The bands can be found at http://www.abta.com/about/lobbying_and_government_affairs/air_passenger_duty
So if you’re for example, going to Australia in Business Class, your APD charge is now a massive £170 before any other local taxes. Even in Economy it’s a not inconsiderable £85.
Another good one is the anomaly that means it’s cheaper in APD terms to fly to Hawaii that to fly into the Caribbean – as APD is measured to the capital, and not to the destination.
Clever measuring eh?
The UK goverment bemoans it’s a reasonable tax as airlines paying no VAT on fuel fuel and passengers pay no tax on their ticket – so they have to collect their tax somehow.
There is discussion of some APD anomalies being ironed out, but I personally wouldn’t bet on it, or taxation by plane load hilst in principle these are great ideas, the fiscal straights that the HM Government is in, personally I wouldn’t expect anything to be addressed in the next year or so.
Least of all – it’s extra money if you’re foolish enough to go fly in or out of the United Kingdom.
Later on, I’ll discuss ways of minimising APD bills. Or in a cute way, reducing your tax costs….
