With Air Passenger Duty (APD) being increased next year (there is already to be a rise in APD this November) by our every people-friendly Labour Government to £85 per person for a long distance trip to say Sydney. UK air travellers would seem to be at the forefront of being penalised for wanting to travel.
Based on a sliding scale similar to income tax against earnings – now there’s a simile – it racks up the costs, the further you travel.
| Band | Lowest class | Other classes |
| A – (0 – 2000 miles) | £12 | £24 |
| B – (2001 – 4000 miles) | £60 | £120 |
| C – (4001 – 6000 miles) | £75 | £150 |
| D – (over 6000 miles) | £85 | £170 |
How will this affect the already hard pressed fare payer? Well if you’re a family of four on that trip of a lifetime, it will cost you some £340 in APD to fly to Australia or New Zealand, and just to add salt into the wound, if you want a bit more leg room on that trip and travel Premium Economy (or above), then look out for a whopping £680 APD charge!
Perhaps there will be a rise in travel by train to Paris before you make the long hop – but beware, HMRC have thought about that and if you have bought a connecting ticket via say Paris from a UK seller, you’ll still get stung for APD. You’ll have to get a completely separate ticket for the long hop from a French ticket agency to completely get around it.
I can understand that there is a need to look after the environment, what ever the real reasons (just plain tax raising I think) for these increases, it will certainly make people think about long haul travel.
Beasley's Place 