Cheaper Avios redemptions as Air Passenger Duty cut in budget

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Anon says:

  20 Mar20 March 07:18

  Welcome news for Virgin+ BA, from April 2015 allows them to increase the inappropriately named “fuel surcharges” on Bus. Class redemptions without increasing the total price.

  • craig says:

    20 Mar20 March 09:33

    Totally agree, I checked out the flights I normally get to Brazil in economy, and of the £388 in ‘charges’ only £85 was APD and £20 similar charges from the Brazilian Govt, rest was fuel and other surcharges levied by BA. Don’t see the justification for these and think BA will simply not pass on savings to the consumer.

    • callum says:

      20 Mar20 March 10:02

      It makes no difference for cash bookings and if they couldn’t charge a carrier fee for avios bookings they’d just make it up elsewhere.

• Gordon says:

  20 Mar20 March 07:22

  As the one flight from Belfast already shows, airlines will simply increase their prices and profits

• Paul says:

  20 Mar20 March 07:26

  Good news but the cynic in me thinks that the inequities fuel surcharge, now called something else by BA will simply rise. Even if it does not, it means that the fees charged by airlines remain ludicrously high (more than double any APD) if APD is damaging Their own fees must be similarly so.

• Neil says:

  20 Mar20 March 07:35

  It’s just like fuel duty – no chancellor can ever win here because if he/she dropped the price of petrol in my car the petrol companies would just retain the difference. The airlines are no less cynical.

  • Rob says:

    20 Mar20 March 21:02

    You should take a look at the margins of petrol retailers, most don’t make any money. That’s why so many have closed in recent years.

• John says:

  20 Mar20 March 07:58

  Well approximately and on average, 60% of VAT is borne by the supplier, when supply and demand are both elastic. APD is not exactly the same, but this would mean that flights to HKG in Y could potentially become cheaper by about £5 to £10, by which I mean YQ will rise by £5 to £10 less than it otherwise would :p

• Erico1875 says:

  20 Mar20 March 08:29

  So he knocks £55 off a long haul business class flight. Champagne just got cheaper.
  Absolutely NADA for the masses whose only pleasure is a week, flying Ryanair to the Costas

  • andystock says:

    20 Mar20 March 08:41

    Iam sure in markets were there is competition such as the far east this will help.

    Love the Ryanair comment!

  • Bsuije says:

    20 Mar20 March 09:56

    Now, now Erico1875 – are you forgetting this?

    https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/446363611972534272/photo/1

• pazza2000 says:

  20 Mar20 March 09:14

  Never have really understood APD; the ‘capital’ rule puts the Caribbean in Band C and Hawaii, almost 3 times the distance away, in the lesser Band B. By that logic, scrapping band C (& D) makes sense.

• James67 says:

  20 Mar20 March 10:14

  The Gulf carriers may reflect in real lower fares but whether that has a knock-on effect on the likes of BA remains to be seen. Positioning flights from Europe will remain nore economically viable despite the change

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.