The government announced that there will be a Travel Protection Bill which, it says, will improve protection for holidaymakers by updating the UK’s financial protection scheme for holidays.
APD, VAT and airline profits due to reduced fuel prices are some of the topis interesting Adrian this week as well as an octpus and whale watching.
As China’s president announces a direct service from Manchester, Adrian explores other airline news, including yet another APD debate in the House of Commons that achieved absolutely nothing.
Adrian sums up a week by mentioning three forthcoming anniversaries whilst wondering what might happen now that Scotloand will given control over APD.
Ryanair has announced that it will not charge APD to under 12’s from the 27th March.
Adrian hears both critiscism and praise from readers about recent holidays, wonders why only 8 people travel by train to Durham Tees Valley Airport and prepares for English Tourism Week.
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a tax that sends the travel industry into vehiment outpourings of anger as they think it is deterring us from travelling and putting off visitors from coming here.
Today, increases in APD came into force meaning we will pay more in tax to the government when we fly. But since the industry has known about it for some time you will have already been charged by airlines for any tickets you have bought to fly after today.
When the increased charges come in on April Fools’ Day (what better day could the government choose?) you will pay £13 each way to fly, for example, from a London airport to a Scottish one. I can go by train or coach cheaper than the tax let alone the fare if I pick the times carefully!
What are we to make of the government decision to reduce APD for transatlantic flights out of the province from £60 to £12? The government says it is answer a particular case whereby residents of Northern Ireland can travel to Dublin and only pay €3 instead of £60.
Remember Ryan Bingham in Jason Reitman‘s dramedy Up in the Air? Bingham –
played by George Clooney – is a man who lives to travel
The British travel industry is up in arms: the Chancellor is expected to raise the Air Passenger Duty (APD) – aka flight tax – by 25 percent in his autumn statement on November 29 and industry insiders are worried that British holidaymakers will subsequently stop flying abroad.
After some years where we have stayed away from the United States and Florida in particular, the position has changed this year. Visitor figures from us to them has gone up by 29% compared to last year. And that is a bit unexpected.
We have been told that air passenger duty (APD) would deter people from travelling. Air fares are high during the summer much higher than they have been for some time and America also charges a visa fee. In spite of all of this we seem not to care.
What is the role of the newspaper? To present news would be the obvious answer. Which I suppose means news which is as up-to-date as it can be. So hats off to the Sunday Express which this morning manages to use, as its only story on its front page, a story that is over a year old
Hands off our holidays was the name of a campaign that started yesterday. Regular readers will be aware of the annoyance of APD -air passenger duty- and the complaints made by industry and some destinations. We passengers haven’t had much opportunity to have a say but the airline sector is giving us a chance.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of the House of Commons has suggested that air passenger duty (APD) on all flights from Northern Ireland should be abolished.
Why?
To counter the threat the tax poses to the economy of the province. But we all face this tax wherever we live in the UK. What’s so special about Northern Ireland?
Last Friday saw the end of the consultation period for APD, Air Passenger Duty. Airlines, airports, industry boffins have all put in their two pennyworth so is there any consensus?
Many countries in the Caribbean have been concerned about downturns in tourism because of the effects of the dreaded Air Passenger Duty. Tourism had slumped in many places over the last few years but Jamaica has announced that it has head a healthy upturn over the winter; its busiest time for visitors.
I am surprised. For the second time in a year I find myself in agreement with Michael O’Leary the chief executive of Ryamair in welcoming the cut in airline passenger tax in Ireland. From St David’s Day, March 1st (why not St Patrick’s Day?) the Irish government is reducing what they call the Air Travel Tax (The British equivalent is APD, Air Passenger Duty) from €10 to €3. However there is a catch. It may be only temporary as they have announced that it is only temporary until the end of 2011. Ryanair said that tourism will continue to be strangled by the tax and called on the UK government to reduce its APD.
What is there about politicians?
Sometimes despite the brains, the degrees, the experience they have, they act like buffoons living in a strange world uninhabited by real life.
Tourism has huge benefits to the world. It encourages travel which breaks down parochial barriers and helps people understand other cultures. It brings revenue and employment to parts of the world that cry out for support. It can diversify us from living in huge urban soulless complexes sometimes called cities and it relieves the strain of everyday life. That’s one heck of an achievement and provided we manage tourism, in essence it is laudable.
The new coalition government has already signified two differences from its predecessor that will affect travellers. Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were opposed to another runway at Heathrow so it is no surprise that that has been confirmed. They have also announced that there will be no expansion at Gatwick or Stansted airports.
But already the new Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, can expect that he will be lobbied to change his mind. This seems unlikely given that both parties agreed this as part of the coalition agreement. What will go ahead is a push for high speed rail
Airport Passenger Duty is currently paid by each passenger regardless of the size of a plane or whether the plane is full or not.
The short answer is that there was none.
Despite the thoughts of some organisations, the Chancellor didn’t announce that there would be any climbdown on APT (Air Passenger Duty). Despite the attacks that were made this month by the UN World Tourism Organisation, he took no notice of them. Despite the lobbying by Caribbean nations in particular but also places like South Africa which claim that this tax unfairly impacts on poorer and developing nations, the Chancellor took no notice. Unless a new government after the election has a change of heart, then we will be paying APT some 300% higher then just a few years ago when the November increases occur.
Last November there was a further increase in the Air Passenger Duty (APD) we UK based flyers pay. Next November it will go up yet again. In Ireland a similar tax is blamed by Ryanair for a substantial fall in the number of people visiting there and its decision to maintain quite so many planes at Dublin. It has concerned some countries that their tourism is being affected so the Netherlands has abolished the tax.
The UK is one of the most heavily taxed, if not the most heavily one for airline flights. But it doesn’t only hit people in the UK. Because of the high cost, overseas countries that rely on tourism for substantial national income are worried we won’t travel there.
