I was wondering if any one had any info regarding these taxes in respect of flights booked with BMI Baby?

I can find nothing on their website other than the usual 'we can pass on taxes after you have made your booking' blurb that is in their T's & C's but there is nothing specific to this issue or how to make the payment if indeed it is required.

We have sent them an email but as yet nothing.

I am concerned as my brother who booked all our seats for our holiday has balance transfered his c/card and so if they try to take payment will find themselves unable!

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
msc

According to the BBC yesterday, bmi have not yet decided whether they will absorb the tax or pass it on to their customers.

I booked flights in December going in April and haven't heard anything yet.

luci

msc

I phoned their customer help desk last Sunday and was told they couldn't comment on any decision as yet as they had not been informed of any guidelines yet.

My daughter and her friends booked flights last year for July to Alicante really cheap at £66.00 - I suppose an extra £5 will still make them good value for money, but it feels unfair for those who have already paid.

Will let you know if I hear anything

Tina

Thanks Tina,

We booked back in September for august , we paid about £490 for 5 of us so another few quid wont be so bad, we just concerned about the c/card situation...any info would be great.

Thanks again
msc

i had an email from easy jet for flights i booked in october for mid march 2007. advising me i had to pay £5 . which i have no problem.

i do think its a cheek for the gov. to impose this green tax. as i dont have a car i think i should get a discount instead perhaps if we had a system of credits then we could choose whether to use them on flights or cars.
as for taking money of your credit card, a car hire company done that to me for over 1000 quid and there was naff all i could do about it!

It's not a cheek, it's a disgrace.
If one of Gordon Brown's rich pals lays down a few bottles of port for ten years, he doesn't get hit for the increase in the excise duty when he finally gets round to drinking it!

The fact that BA can afford to absorb the cost doesn't surprise me in the least! If you make £100 profit on a ticket £5 is nothing, if you make £2.50 profit on a ticket like the budget carriers it's a different matter.

I cannot understand this statement from the "This is Money Website" :-

( http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=416420&in_page_id=2&ito=1565)

Those flying into the UK could also be stopped on arrival and prevented from entering the country unless they pay what has been dubbed the 'poll tax of the skies'.

I thought that this was just a departure tax and the only taxes you would have to pay when flying into the country are those levied by the country where the flight originates.

Am I mistaken ?

Hi Trisantona .... although it has been dubbed by some as a 'departure tax', that is misleading as it is an 'airport passenger duty' which affects inbound and outbound passengers through UK airports. Today's Travelmole may explain the effect on inbound travellers in a little more detail:

Inbound tourism faces equal hit from APD rise

Next month's hike in Air Passenger Duty will be a further disincentive for foreign tourists to visit the UK.

UKinbound made the warning while describing a report on the impact of the APD rise by Halifax Travel Insurance as "misleading" as it only addresses the effect on outbound travel.

The trade association for companies selling holidays and travel to the UK says the survey "ignores entirely" the more significant effect on the export-earning inbound sector.

UKinbound chief executive Stephen Dowd said: "The increase in APD is yet another factor that weakens our international competitiveness and deters visitors from travelling to this country.

"UK holidaymakers have no option but to pay the increased tax if they wish to travel abroad and most will choose to do so, even if many opt for a cheaper destination. Potential overseas visitors also have a wide selection of destinations available to them and will see this additional tax as a further disincentive to choose the UK."

He added: "Early indications are that we will lose a considerable amount of business to cheaper destinations as a direct result of this unjustified tax increase and if UK citizens continue to travel overseas in large numbers, as indicated by this survey, this will further increase the tourism trade deficit which currently stands at £18 billion a year.

"Presented in isolation in this way, the survey is misleading in that it fails to acknowledge the true damage to the UK economy that the increase in APD will cause."

With permission from Travelmole

Thanks for that, but I still think it's just a departure tax. The reason why UKinbound is complaining is that anyone who visits this country will have to pay the tax when they depart from this country, not when they arrive. Or am I misreading it ?

Edit.

I have just found this statement on the HM Revenue & Customs website :-

APD is an Excise duty which is charged on the carriage, from a UK airport, of chargeable passengers on chargeable aircraft.

So that seems to confirm that it is only a departure tax,

Yes, the duty is based on the flight and class of travel from the UK, and that is why it has been dubbed a departure tax. But for some reason, the fact that it is dubbed a departure tax leads many to believe that it only applies to travellers whose flights, holidays, etc originate within the UK. Today's media articles are highlighting the fact that it will also affect inbound travellers to the UK, who will be liable for the duty on their homeward flight from the UK. And so although the tax is not payable on both departures and arrivals at UK airports, it affects inbound foreign citizens/travellers as well as outbound UK citizens/travellers.

David

So "This is Money" are wrong when they say that incoming passengers will be refused entry to the country if they refuse to pay the tax when they land.

I have emailed the site (run by the Daily Mail), but as yet have not received a reply.

I'm not sure about that, I hadn't heard of that potential problem until reading that particular article. But at least one airline was saying yesterday that reservations may be cancelled for passengers who do not pay the APD before the date of travel. In the case of inbound foreign travellers, that would presumably mean before the date of departure from their own country, even although the duty is actually liable on their homeward flight from the UK. There are still too many unanswered questions on all of this, and not much time left to answer them before the new APD comes into effect.

David

We are flying to Tenerife on February 6th with Thomson.

My hubby has just rung them to find out about APD....and they don't know yet!!!

I guess it will be a case of turning up at the airport with some spare cash! Although reading David's post.....if we are supposed to pay it in advance, how can we do that if we don't know how/what/where?

Acorncup .. I certainly wouldn't imagine that there is any risk of your booking being cancelled. The airline I referred to had already made provisions for the collection of the increased duty. Some passengers may have deliberately blocked the collection of that payment from the bank card details supplied during the original booking. However, in some cases it is possible that the original bank card had expired and collection of the increased duty could not be made. Hopefully those involved will be contacted via e-mail or phone and given sufficient opportunity to deal with the situation before reservations are cancelled.

David

Easyjet now have a link on their homepage forwarding you to pay any outstanding APD charges. EASYJET

Robby

On the 11th December 2006, I e-mailed First Choice to ask whether I would have to pay the increase in APD.

I received a response advising "the increase of the air passenger duty charges will only apply for bookings made after 1st February 2007. This increase will not affect your booking" (I booked in April last year).

At the weekend the BBC were discussing this issue and several travel writers said that in all probability most of us who have booked prior to 1st February this year, would have to pay the increase.

I decided to e-mail First Choice again, reminding them that they had already told me that the increase would not apply to me. The response I had was "First Choice have not yet made a decision on whether or not all bookings will be affected by the change in APD. For now we are to advise all customers this is being considered and any affected bookings will be notified as soon as possible".

I am expecting a letter any day now asking for a further £80 on our holiday and we go in five weeks time.

The premium upgrade is looking less desirable now as it is going to cost more.

I have booked flights today (15/01) to travel to Goa in December this year and the £40 APD had been added.

Reading the comments here and elsewhere I can understand why some might be confused. But our old friend T&Cs will rule at the end of it all. As far as I am aware, and I have not read them all, but the ones I have do have a clause that covers them. Only sensible as things can and do change between them being printed and coming into force when a booking is made.

The government has decided to apply a tax - the fact that people (including the TOs and airlines) are having difficulty is of no concern. From the 1st of February there is an increase in the tax. The government will expect payment - and will get it.

The TOs and airlines are playing at politics. They are well aware that additional taxes can be applied at any time. I did not see them being so slow when the price of fuel was rising. They quickly applied a surcharge, and not, in my opinion, without benefiting financially.

Some will decide as a PR exercise to absorb the increased cost, others will prevaricate but charge it in the end. If it had been made retrospective to 1st February 2006 then I can guarantee that we would all have had invoices dropping through our doors asking for it.

Whilst many will post about their dissatisfaction how many will take a more positive attitude?

Write and complain to your MP - that is what you elect him for - to represent and protect your interests. He might be able to do something about it. We cannot.

fwh

I've booked 2 holidays in the last few days with Thomson via the internet.

The web page at the time said something like." the price you see is the price you pay...no hidden charges" or words to that effect.

The first confirmation letter has arrived this morning and in the breakdown of the total price, the green tax is added on at £5 pp.

As the total amount due has not increased from what was quoted and booked on the net, I can only assume that Thomson are absorbing this tax into their prices that you see on-line and only when a detailed breakdown is printed out, do you see how they get to the final price.
Does that make sense.?

Write and complain to your MP - that is what you elect him for - to represent and protect your interests. He might be able to do something about it. We cannot.

Yeh, and Jesus Christ might appear tomorrow at my front door.
Sanji x