Airport Taxes - a discussion

RACHIE77

Does anyone know why the taxes charged on flights vary so much as I have looked at flights and they vary enormously, for example a BA flight that is priced at £35 each could actually work out cheaper in the long run than the Ryanair flight for 0.01p because of the taxes charged!!

I think there should be a clearer pricing strategy for flights and the prices quoted should include taxes from the onset so it isn't misleading, or have a standard rate for the taxes so it makes sense!

Article here....

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/306/AUC%20report%20on%20taxes,%20fees%20and%20charges.pdf
(UK Civil Aviation Authority)

Maybe we could start a petition for clearer pricing online??

alanrowell

Because it enables Ryanair to quote fares of £0.01

The taxes are the same for both companies if they fly the same route but Ryanair headline prices cover the cost of the aircraft, the pilots & the cabin crew but don't include any of the services provided by the airport (checkin, security, gates, hard standing, ATC, etc).

Other airlines include different things in their headline prices and so their additional charges are lower.

RACHIE77

alanrowell wrote:

Because it enables Ryanair to quote fares of £0.01

The taxes are the same for both companies if they fly the same route but Ryanair headline prices cover the cost of the aircraft, the pilots & the cabin crew but don't include any of the services provided by the airport (checkin, security, gates, hard standing, ATC, etc).

Other airlines include different things in their headline prices and so their additional charges are lower.

Yeah i get what they are doing but what i'm saying is why should they be allowed to do it? There should be a price for a flight quoted inclusive of taxes from the beginning and not half way through - like skyscanner does. But why we should use this tool is the point i'm making - do you not agree that the airlines should quote the total price up front or do you agree with what the airlines are doing???

Rachie

Mal27

RACHIE77 wrote:

Do you not agree that the airlines should quote the total price up front or do you agree with what the airlines are doing???

It would be a considerable benefit to everyone.

Unfortunately I can only see it happening if they are all forced to do it on a worldwide basis, and even then they may need years to reprogram decades-old computer systems.

Fatboy_NSS

Taxes do vary considerably from airport to airport which makes it difficult to compare prices. £5 may be the Government tax but there are other local taxes and fees (although some airlines do add their own fees here as well). BA may advertise a tax inclusive price, but I always find that their website quotes very cheap fares for outbound and return legs but when you come to book the actual return fare is much more expensive. At the end of the day the advertised fare is irrelevant as it only relates to certain dates, and the dates you need to book are the ones you care about!

MarkyMarkD

For UK airports, at least, they're NOT taxes, Fatboy. Passenger service charges are a charge on the airline for using the airport, and it IS a misleading scam for airlines to call them "taxes and charges".

Mal27 wrote:

It would be a considerable benefit to everyone.

Unfortunately I can only see it happening if they are all forced to do it on a worldwide basis, and even then they may need years to reprogram decades-old computer systems.

In fact, the prices were all quoted inclusively until the low-cost airlines (led by Ryanair) decided it would be a good scam to quote them separately. So, I don't think any difficult reprogramming would be required.