
© Dan Sperrin
But it’s only when you look at the add-ons that you begin to wonder. For a start BA charge £239.00 as a fuel surcharge. Why break that out? If I go to a greengrocers and buy a pineapple I don’t expect to pay 20p and a further 80p for the fuel surcharge on getting it from Brazil to here. I pay £1. On top of that BA charges £4.50 for using a credit card so altogether BA slap on an additional £243.50.
The American government charges me a Customs User Fee of £3.50, an arrival Transportation Tax of £10.60 as well as a departure Transportation Tax of the same amount. I get charged £3.20 for an Animal & Plant User Fee despite the fact that I am not planning on having anything to do with animals or plants before I go. If I swear on a stack of bibles, will I get that removed? Not a chance. So why tell me about it? Why not just lump it as US taxes or charges to visit their country? Then there is a charge for £1.60 which covers the Passenger Civil Aviation Security Service Fee and £4.50 for an Immigration User Fee. How is that that I only pay £1.60 for security but twice as much for plant and animal health? And finally there is a Passenger Facility Charge of £2.90 which according to the FAA website, is for airports to “…use these fees to fund FAA-approved projects that enhance safety, security, or capacity; reduce noise; or increase air carrier competition.” But haven’t I already paid for some of these in the other taxes? So the US taxes add up to £36.90. Or thereabouts because as the pound moves against the dollar you might see some slight changes.
But these pale compared to the British government charges of £99.49, nearly three times as much. APD is £65 (this is the new rate for Band 2 as from April unless the chancellor has a change of heart in the budget this week) and there is a £34.49 Passenger Service Charge which covers the use of an airport’s facilities. But if I use a supermarket I don’t get charged to walk through their store or use a trolley (the £1 is refunded if I pay at all.)
The government talks about transparency; the airlines talk of the same but it seems to me we have a deluge of taxes that disguise more than they reveal!