Originally Posted by ws8n
I stumbled on a "low" fare from Dubai to Turkey around US$280, but after all the taxes, it is close to US$400. Never knew taxes would be a deal killer...
(can't see how this relates to SQ but anyway) Airlines tend to use the term "Taxes" very loosely. Airline X sells seats for €A. To the latter amount it could then add the actual government taxes at €T for the final price to be A+T.
The fare on Airline Y is €A/2, but to this you have to add T taxes plus H airport/handling fees, S security costs (a service often provided by the state that has to be paid for- certainly not a form of tax), I "insurance surcharge" and F "fuel surcharge". The final price would then be A/2+T+H+S+I+F, which could well be more than A+T.