Yesterday passenger taxes on flights was increased 8%. This will be most noticed on long haul flights (over 4000 miles) where the individual tax part of a flight ticket adds up to £92.00 On this basis a family of four flying to say the West Coast of the US or Australia would pay £368.00 in tax alone as part of their ticket cost.

Of course this will impact shorter haul flights as well but as Government spokespersons were quick to point out yesterday most persons depart to shorter haul destinations in Europe so will only see a £1 or two added to the ticket cost.. Well thats ok then..

Very bad news for BA and Virgin the premier UK long haul carriers!!

It won't take long for many to twig it will be cheaper to fly to other nearby hubs like Dublin, Hanover or Paris from the UK then use a national carrier for the long distance part of the trip. The same tax is many times less in these Countries and there is a real potential to save hundreds of pounds.

Yet again another measure from a Government which is bad for British Jobs and bad for Britain.....

Its not quite that simple geezer466 but I take your point. This TAX does not apply to International passengers arriving in the UK and booked on an International flight to leave the UK within 24 hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Passenger_Duty

Dublin and Hanover are not in any sense of the word considered to be 'hub' airports. Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam along with Heathrow certainly are though. The Dutch government recently scrapped a similar tax on air passengers, and I believe several other countries in Europe have followed suit, or have at least reduced the taxes. They had the sense to do the sums and realise just how damaging it would be to their economies in the long run. The UK is alone in increasing this tax burden.

What makes it even more absurd is that this tax is levied on the miles between Capital cities. Its no wonder the Carribbean Countries have protested so much against it, because the tax to say.....Barbados is higher than the tax to Hawaii. Why ?? because the capital of the USA ( Washington ) is closer to the UK in air miles than Bridgetown.

London to Honolulu, Hawaii - 7239 miles. APD = £65 per person

London to Bridgetown, Barbados - 4211 miles. APD = £81 per person

Just one more ridiculous tax that makes absolutely no sense, even at the most basic economic level.

For many years now Ann and I have flown out of Detroit: The airport taxes in Canada have become so high that US Airports just over the border such as Buffalo are now booming. No doubt the Politicians responsible for the losses suffered by our Airports read taxpayers have received their re election funds and moved on.

I think the Government look on foreign holidays as Tax avoidance, and you just wont get away with it, this particular Government must be the worst in British History, and fall back on we inherited an even worse one than us from Labour, aided by the Lib/Dems you will pay whatever we tell you too pay, and not having the cash to do so will not be accepted as an excuse, it used to be Tory philosophy if you dont complain about us driving around in Rollers, we wont say nothing about you and your bike, but this breed of Tories dont even want you to own a bike.

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Its not always the biggest and the bestest, its them that make the least mistakes.

There was a time when Government restricted the amount of cash we could take and spend abroad. Now Government simply empties our bank accounts and picks our pockets BEFORE we can spend it anywhere; unless you are on benefits - then the cash is delivered by the Government truck load.

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I spent a couple of weeks in the Caribbean over Xmas and a week in New York a fortnight ago. Had I known I was paying so much in tax I would have made alternative arrangements.

I will be undertaking some more long distance travel towards the end of the year and will look on this as an opportunity to spend a day sightseeing in Amsterdam. My experiences of KLM are quite good on the one or two occasions in the past I have used them so all good. Osborne can go whistle!!

No accident our views on the political elite are shared amongst many..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2123754/Disgusted-voters-main-party-leaders-worst-poll-ratings-history.html



Politicians have got into power in the UK by promising unsustainable policies. Things have now come to a head as a result of this and politicians who can get into power (3 main parties only right now) are compelled to have realistic policies. Fringe parties who will never get in (take note lib dems) can make absurd promises just like the main parties used to.

The problem is UK citizens want to live beyond their means, lording it over the rest of the world despite being no more intelligent.

The UK will be in for a real shock when they realise that nobody can reboot the unsustainable policies of the last 15 years. The truism that if you have a crap job, crap grades and are lazy then you can't go on holiday twice a year, go down the pub all the time and buy the clothes you like. This reality check will effect everyone from the poor to the "managerial" middle classes.