Flying Blue (Air France & KLM) - Return flight airport tax refund

Hi,

I am not sure where this post belongs... So I'll try it here. Sorry.

I have bought a return flight Paris-NY-Paris because it was cheaper than buying a one way ticket.

I do not intend to fly the second portion of the route (NY-Paris) however.

I was wondering if it was possible to get airport tax refunded for this portion of the fare. Is it ? Who should I ask it from ?

Thanks !

Hi,

I am not sure where this post belongs... So I'll try it here. Sorry.

I have bought a return flight Paris-NY-Paris because it was cheaper than buying a one way ticket.

I do not intend to fly the second portion of the route (NY-Paris) however.

I was wondering if it was possible to get airport tax refunded for this portion of the fare. Is it ? Who should I ask it from ?

Thanks !


Taxes, with the exception of fuel surcharges (often shown as a 'tax' on the ticket), are charged with airline tickets on behalf of others (governments or airports) and cannot be withheld if you do not travel as booked.

What can be done (and is frequently exercised) is that if you request a refund, your airline (or retailer) will charge you a fee for the refund transaction - often equivalent to or higher than the residual amount on your unused ticket.

In my opinion, this should also be the case for the fuel surcharge 'tax' as long as it is charged separate from the net fare - no fly, no pay - unfortunately, common practice is that 'fuel surcharges' are withheld as a part of the non-refundable fare, even though it is not...

Suggest you request a tax refund from whomever sold you the ticket.

Suggest you request a tax refund from whomever sold you the ticket.

I would suggest that you first check the terms of the contract you have entered with whoever sold you the ticket. Some of the distribution channels may have punitive clauses, although they are seldom enforced.

Sure, no problem. You will get the taxes back if you request a refund. At the same time, you will be charged the difference between half the fare you paid (I am simplifying assuming it's the same fare basis on the outbound and inbound) and the one way fare CDG-NYC.

Do you still want to do this?! :)

I would suggest that you first check the terms of the contract you have entered with whoever sold you the ticket. Some of the distribution channels may have punitive clauses, although they are seldom enforced.

I would back JOUY31's more cautious approach. There is in fact a pretty intense series of threads on this question in some of the mileage deal discussion fora, and if I am not mistaken, one of the elements that come through over and again is that in many cases, if you ask for a tax refund while not using your ticket as it was designed (buy a return but fly a single, buy a LHR-CDG-NYC-CDG-LHR because it is cheaper than CDG-NYC-CDG and skip the last CDG-LHR) the airline is entitled to recalculate your fare and thus charge you what you thought you had saved.