Originally Posted by
MitzEclipse
Reason I'm keen to move to another FF scheme is LX M&M award flights are very expensive considering the taxes they pass on. When I was BA Silver/Gold out of LHR there were almost no taxes and flying to Continental Europe was cheap Avios points.
You are confusing real taxes as paid to governments, regulatory authorities and the like.
Surcharges are paid to the airlines (=100% airline profit)
There are cash surcharges on award flights with some ffp’s/routes/airlines. Award surcharge can/are different.
Real taxes on award flights are the same for all airlines for the same route and class.
A surcharge can trigger additional real taxes if the flight changes from a non revenue flight to a revenue flight.
BA have high surcharges on awards. Other airlines can have nil surcharges.