Reclaiming Easyjet APD - Government tax back

waverider15

Hi, wondered if anyone has done this? We've booked EasyJet tickets for France which we aren't going to use because of the Covid-19 situation. We know we can only claim back the APD (government tax) portion of the tickets if we don't fly. My question is... Do we need to CHECK IN online and then miss the flight/ be no-shows (as we're not flying), or do we NOT CHECK IN online and miss the flight/ be no-shows - in order to be able to claim the government tax back afterwards?  (There is no point in cancelling or changing the flights as would cost more in fees). Please advise. Thanks

Heeezil

I'm in the same situation. My entire trip has been cancelled, except my EasyJet flights.
£30+ to cancel or just don't show up? Should I check in? Can I then claim the APD tax back after the flight lands? Any additional fees?

Westin

It doesn’t matter if you checkin or not, what matters is if you fly or not.

Only you will be able to decide if claiming a refund is worth it or not. The APD may be as little as £13.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-allowances-for-air-passenger-duty

Some airlines charge an administration fee to process and issue the APD refund. I suggest you check the airline website for details and the process.

fifeken

It's been a couple of years since I did it, but we checked in a member of our party who had pulled out and a phone call on our return secured the APD refund.  easyJet charged no fees for it.

Heeezil

So! I didn't show up, didn't check in. I called easyJet customer services, requested refund on government tax for flights I didn't take, gave them my booking reference & passenger name and they obliged. I think I'm getting £3 back ha, better than paying out £30+ in cancellation though?

EDIT: Got £13 back for the government fees!

Westin

Heeezil said:

So! I didn't show up, didn't check in. I called easyJet customer services, requested refund on government tax for flights I didn't take, gave them my booking reference & passenger name and they obliged. I think I'm getting £3 back ha, better than paying out £30+ in cancellation though?

Why would you have been paying out £30+ by cancelling?

Heeezil

If you are choosing to cancel your Easyjet flight you have to pay a cancellation fee, even in our current situation.

Caz3121

Heeezil said:

If you are choosing to cancel your Easyjet flight you have to pay a cancellation fee, even in our current situation.

where have you seen that information? the only cancellation fee I can see on the Easyjet website refers to cancelling in the first 24 hours after booking to pay the fee and get a refund (not applicable after 24 hours)

Westin

Heeezil said:

If you are choosing to cancel your Easyjet flight you have to pay a cancellation fee, even in our current situation.

I don't believe that is so. 
If you don't fly you lose the fare but you don't pay more to the airline.

Heeezil

If you cancel within 24 hours of booking your flight you will receive a full refund minus the cancellation fee.

If you cancel anytime after the 24 hours you are not eligible for any refund but still have to pay cancellation fee.

However, if you have not cancelled and do not show up for the flight they don't come after you for any fees. Easyjet flights are non-refundable once they've been booked for 24 hours so you won't get the ticket money back but you can call and request a refund of the government fees of your flight that you didn't take. This is what I did - I didn't call to cancel, I didn't check-in online, I didn't fill in any of the additional information they were asking for before the flight (covid stuff I think), I just called customer service after I received an email confirming my proof of non-travel.

Caz3121

Heeezil said:

If you cancel anytime after the 24 hours you are not eligible for any refund but still have to pay cancellation fee.

can you provide a source to this information? Generally for non-refundable flights there is no requirement/benefit to 'cancel'