Problems Claiming Back Airport Tax For Missed Flight

roses

Hi, my partner and I were suppoesd to catch an Airtours flight to Cyprus last week but when we got to check in, we discovered that his passport was out of date.

We would like to claim back our airport taxes but Airtours have said that:

"Dear Miss,

Thank you for your recent email.

As you did not cancel your flight then the taxes were paid, therefore you
will not be entitled to a refund.

Please feel free to contact me for anything further.

Yours Sincerely,"

Anyone know if this is correct? I thought they only paid taxes to the airport once boarding was confirmed?

WiseInvestor_2

Roses,

The airports effectively charge the airlines based on aircraft size, assumed weight and number of seats, rather than the physical number of passengers on each flight. That's why charters and low-costs need to fill every seat because it still costs money to leave them empty.

As the reason for not travelling was down to you, Airtours may be correct that you've forgone your entitlement to any refund. However, even if you do manage to get them to agree, there'll be an administration fee for processing the refund which will mysteriously be exactly the same amount - or more! - than the value you're due.

Either way, I'd respectfully suggest you chalk this one up as a learning opportunity.

roses

Don't think that info is correct WiseInvestor:

http://money.guardian.co.uk/travel/s...582312,00.html

HM Customs & Revenue, which collects the departure tax on the government's behalf, confirmed this week that airlines only pay the tax if a passenger actually flies. The British Airports Authority says it charges are worked out in exactly the same way.

"The amount of tax is calculated on the numbers who fly - not according to the numbers that book tickets. It is up to the airlines what they do with the money of those passengers who, for whatever reason, have to cancel - hence the differing approaches," says a Customs spokesman.

So it seems to me I am quite right to ask for a refund of taxes.

WiseInvestor_2

Roses,

All airlines overbook their planes, knowing that a percentage of passengers will fail to turn up on the day. The skill comes in making sure no-one gets left behind but that no seats go empty. Airlines use all sorts of clever modelling tools to refine this calculation. The degree to which each flight is deliberately overbooked varies from airline to airline and flight to flight, but it can easily be around 10% of the total number of seats available!

Of course, it would be wrong for the airports and/or HM Government to levy taxes on the booking figures as it's clearly impossible for that number to actually fly. That's why the number of seats on the aircraft is used in the calculation.

The detail aside, as I say you may be entitled to a refund of your taxes but I very very very much doubt you'll ever actually get it.

Sorry

roses

What a pessimist you are

We paid £100 each for the flight, apparently £50 of that was tax. The recommended admin fee is 20 Euros so I think I will get back at least 25% of my cost which is far better than nothing.

WiseInvestor_2

Good luck

hammy_the_hammer

roses wrote:

What a pessimist you are

We paid £100 each for the flight, apparently £50 of that was tax. The recommended admin fee is 20 Euros so I think I will get back at least 25% of my cost which is far better than nothing.

i don't think £50 of each £100 is tax