Unfair charges for unused flights
Published: 01 June 2009
According to Which? Holiday magazine, passengers trying to claim back air passenger tax (apd) on unused flights are paying more in administration fees than they’re getting back in tax.
If you cancel your flight, though you’re unlikely to get a refund on your seat price, you are entitled to a refund on apd, effectively an airport departure tax collected by the Treasury only after an aircraft takes off. On shorthaul economy flights, apd is currently £10, yet in a survey by Which? Holiday, a number of major airlines charged well above this figure simply to process the claim. Jet2.com charged £40 per claim transaction, Flybe and BMI charged £25 per person, BA between £15 and £30 per person and Ryanair £15 per person.
Of the eight airlines surveyed, easyJet was the only one not to charge an administration fee. “We want to see all airlines either charge an appropriate fee for reclaiming the apd on unused flights, or, like easyJet, charge nothing at all,” said Lorna Cowan, editor of Which? Holiday.
Editor: Pete Mathers
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