Budget Travel - RyanAir - wildly different tax & fee figures

In trying to book a RyanAir flight between Rome and Trapani, I find wildly different taxes and fees quoted for the two flights. Different fares make perfect sense, but why would taxes and fees be different? For the morning flight the fare is 13.55 euros with 1.40 euro tax, but the afternoon flight with a slight fare increase to 19.99 euros shows a huge tax increase to 26.68 euros. That doesn't make sense, but maybe it is just more Ryan math!

The only real tax that would change depending on the base fare would be VAT (for those countries charging it for domestic tix) which is levied as a percentage of the base fare.

However in this case this is the standard low-cost carrier trick to get a fare down to some advertised level - they quote a fare like 15 EUR all-inclusive, and to get there they charge an arbitrary base fare and something in the taxes and fees section to get to the advertised amount. That amount has no resemblance to what the airline is actually paying the airport authorities etc. who levy the taxes and fees - the larger amount is almost right, but does include the FR imposed charges as well.

Look at the fare type, it should have some special "Promo" etc. in it.

There isn't VAT on flights so the "taxes" aren't that.

When Ryanair says "taxes and charges" they mean taxes and CHARGES where charges are anything Ryanair decides what they are

There isn't VAT on flights so the "taxes" aren't that.

When Ryanair says "taxes and charges" they mean taxes and CHARGES where charges are anything Ryanair decides what they areNot quite. There is VAT on some flights.No VAT applies on air fares or fees when traveling on international journeys. However, on domestic flights in Italy, France, Portugal, Germany and Spain the fares and fees displayed include VAT at the applicable Government rates.http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=pnr&quest=receipt&xtmc=VAT&xtcr=1

See also 'What is covered by Taxes, Fees and Charges in my reservation?' http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=pnr&quest=taxesfeescharges for more info on FR taxes and charges.

See also 'What is covered by Taxes, Fees and Charges in my reservation?' http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=pnr&quest=taxesfeescharges for more info on FR taxes and charges.
Passenger Service Charge/Airport tax - an example of where Ryanair makes a charge made by a private organisation look like a "tax" as imposed by a government

Passenger Service Charge/Airport tax - an example of where Ryanair makes a charge made by a private organisation look like a "tax" as imposed by a governmentI'm not sure what your point is. Airlines commonly use the word 'tax' or 'taxes' to cover a multitude of charges and fees.

Today's promotional fare is from 'FREE' - actually £/€0.01 because the FR booking engine can't handle £/€0.00. Check the breakdown of the Taxes/Fees and you see:Here is a breakdown of the taxes and fees
that apply to your purchase.

Going Out (Free Online Check in):
0.00 GBP Tax and Fees

0.00 GBP Total Taxesand Here is a breakdown of the taxes and fees
that apply to your purchase.

Coming Back (Free Online Check in):
0.00 GBP Tax and Fees

0.00 GBP Total Taxes
:):D
on a total roundtrip fare of £/€0.02 all in when taking hand baggage and paying with a Visa Electron card.

MOL is paying the taxes and charges for us. How nice!

I'm not sure what your point is. Airlines commonly use the word 'tax' or 'taxes' to cover a multitude of charges and fees.
In order to make it look like the nasty government is forcing them to have these "taxes" when in reality it's just normal business

In order to make it look like the nasty government is forcing them to have these "taxes" when in reality it's just normal businessThen why single out Ryanair, as you did in an earlier post? They are hardly alone.Passenger Service Charge/Airport tax - an example of where Ryanair makes a charge made by a private organisation look like a "tax" as imposed by a governmentNow if you objected to FR's so-called wheelchair 'levy' which is not a levy in the conventional sense of the word, I'd join you as they are out on their own.

Other airlines absorb wheelchair fees when incurred rather than surcharge all passengers like FR - though only the <50% who don't book promotional fares.

Don't think just Ryanair plays fast and loose with taxes. If you try to book a Lufthansa European Miles & More redemption flight, you'll find the 'taxes and charges' figure is often MORE than the entire cost of buying an identical ticket for cash!

Neither of these flights were a sale fare. They were between the same city pairs on the same day, one morning and one evening. I am well aware of Ryan's eating some taxes on some of its promo fares and that is not the issue here.

A lot of Ryanair promos do not explicity say 'Sale' - 'sale' fares tend to be held back for the 'all routes' promotions. One off route-by-route promos tend to be lower key. The fact that your fare and tax add up to €14.95 - a suspiciously round number and the sort of thing that looks good in an advert - makes be pretty sure that Ryanair is swallowing some of the taxes on that ticket to get a good looking fare.

That's right. It used to be the case that promotional fares ending in .00 (£/€1.00/2.00/3.00/4.00/5.00 etc as well as £/€0.01 were those which included taxes and OLCI, while those ending .99 were those to which extras were added.

I've recently seen £4.99 fares which included taxes and OLCI. The Ryanair proposition is continually evolving, and it is hard to second guess the next offer. The offer expiring at midnight is from 'free'. I wonder what midnight will bring. £/€3? £/€6?