Taxes refund after cancellation
Apr 29, 2017, 11:29 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: UK/FR
Programs: FlyingBlue Platinum, Hertz PC
Posts: 886
Taxes refund after cancellation
I have my eyes on a long-haul ticket priced by AF as following:
Fare details :
Ticket Adult
Flight(s) excluding tax : 1 x £ 1.00
Tax and fees Opening a new window Information on taxes : 1 x £ 305.30
Booking fee : 1 x £ 0
TOTAL INCLUDING TAX : 1 x £ 306.30
As far as I know, we get taxes back when we cancel this kind of ticket, right?
Is the carrier surcharge also included?
The explanation: the price is right but my plans may change so if I basically get all my money back, I don't see why I shouldn't book it and cancel if necessary.
The taxes breakdown is:
Fare details :
Ticket Adult
Flight(s) excluding tax : 1 x £ 1.00
Tax and fees Opening a new window Information on taxes : 1 x £ 305.30
Booking fee : 1 x £ 0
TOTAL INCLUDING TAX : 1 x £ 306.30
As far as I know, we get taxes back when we cancel this kind of ticket, right?
Is the carrier surcharge also included?
The explanation: the price is right but my plans may change so if I basically get all my money back, I don't see why I shouldn't book it and cancel if necessary.
The taxes breakdown is:
USA passenger civil aviation security service fee 4.30
Airport fee 13.80
UK air passenger duty 75.00
Passenger service charge international 25.20
Passenger service charge 24.70
US international transportation tax at the departure 14.00
US international transportation tax at the arrival 14.00
US APHIS fee 3.10
US INS user fee 5.40
US customs user fee 4.30
Carrier surcharge 118.00
Other taxes 3.50
Total per passenger 305.30
Number of passengers 1
Airport fee 13.80
UK air passenger duty 75.00
Passenger service charge international 25.20
Passenger service charge 24.70
US international transportation tax at the departure 14.00
US international transportation tax at the arrival 14.00
US APHIS fee 3.10
US INS user fee 5.40
US customs user fee 4.30
Carrier surcharge 118.00
Other taxes 3.50
Total per passenger 305.30
Number of passengers 1
Apr 29, 2017, 1:08 pm
#2
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: AMS / ATH
Programs: AFKL Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 7,335
Yes and no. Yes, you may get some taxes back. However:
- Fuel surcharges are generally not refunded ("Carrier surcharge")
- If you officially cancel the return, which is needed to get taxes back, the price for the ticket will most probably be re-calculated. That means that your ticket will change into a one-way. And one-ways are often more expensive than return tickets. Which may even mean that, by initiating this process, you will owe them money!
- Fuel surcharges are generally not refunded ("Carrier surcharge")
- If you officially cancel the return, which is needed to get taxes back, the price for the ticket will most probably be re-calculated. That means that your ticket will change into a one-way. And one-ways are often more expensive than return tickets. Which may even mean that, by initiating this process, you will owe them money!
Apr 29, 2017, 1:31 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: UK/FR
Programs: FlyingBlue Platinum, Hertz PC
Posts: 886
- If you officially cancel the return, which is needed to get taxes back, the price for the ticket will most probably be re-calculated. That means that your ticket will change into a one-way. And one-ways are often more expensive than return tickets. Which may even mean that, by initiating this process, you will owe them money!
Thanks!
May 2, 2017, 1:17 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: NYC-YUL-CDG-SVO
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, AAdvantage, Hilton/Hyatt/Marriott
Posts: 160
I would have to disagree with Xandrios, I got a full tax refund of the second leg of a return trip last month and no repricing. Might have been lucky though
May 2, 2017, 7:11 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
Posts: 15,544
You flew the outbound and got refunded the "taxes" on inbound? You mean the taxes and carrier surcharge for that segment? how was it calculated?
May 3, 2017, 1:04 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: NYC-YUL-CDG-SVO
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, AAdvantage, Hilton/Hyatt/Marriott
Posts: 160
So I had a mini (or however it's called today) CDG-LHR return. I flew the outbound and had to cancel the inbound. Used the form on the AF website. Best I can remember the ticket was structured as:
Fare ~2X €10
YQ+Taxes ~€80
I got ~€40 back which is roughly consistent with what I expected. There was no breakdown in the email I got.
Fare ~2X €10
YQ+Taxes ~€80
I got ~€40 back which is roughly consistent with what I expected. There was no breakdown in the email I got.
May 3, 2017, 6:25 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,697
This applies to some (all?) MiNi tickets, but does NOT apply to AF longhaul pricing.
May 3, 2017, 9:33 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: NYC-YUL-CDG-SVO
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, AAdvantage, Hilton/Hyatt/Marriott
Posts: 160
That's what I thought as well but then I remembered the reason I bought a return ticket in the first place was to get a better pricing (€100 for RT vs €90 for OW). There might be a more arcane reason as to why I got this result.
May 3, 2017, 12:25 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Paris
Programs: FB Platinum, All Accor Platinum
Posts: 529
[QUOTE=Mirk;28245625]That's what I'm worried about although it's listed as taxes so technically...
i dont think you will get back the carrier surcharge, it is clearly marked on the e-ticket that this one is not refundable for non refundable tickets. you ll get other taxes but not this one.
i dont think you will get back the carrier surcharge, it is clearly marked on the e-ticket that this one is not refundable for non refundable tickets. you ll get other taxes but not this one.
May 4, 2017, 4:32 am
#10
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Accor Plat, IHG Diamond
Posts: 651
I just had a similar experience to Chuvash, the return part of the ticket was about 75€ and I got 36€ refunded. I requested for refund after having flown the first segment, and received the refund email about 5 days after sending the request ^
Dec 2, 2019, 3:48 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 1,589
Reviving this old thread as I won’t be able to use a $550 ticket (of which $122 are taxes). How do I get the tax part back? Do nothing? Cancel and ask for a refund? No-show and ask for a refund?
It is a non-refundable one-way ticket with a travel date in a few weeks.
I guess the fair way is to cancel and request refund but those rules are always complex...
Thanks!
It is a non-refundable one-way ticket with a travel date in a few weeks.
I guess the fair way is to cancel and request refund but those rules are always complex...
Thanks!
Dec 2, 2019, 9:35 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
Posts: 15,544
The only way to get some money back is to cancel and ask for refund.
Remember that the "taxes and fees" includes a carrier surcharge that will not be refundable on a non-refundable ticket. It is not a tax. SOme other service fees will probably not be refunded either.
Remember that the "taxes and fees" includes a carrier surcharge that will not be refundable on a non-refundable ticket. It is not a tax. SOme other service fees will probably not be refunded either.
Dec 3, 2019, 1:32 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,697
If you bought the ticket via a third party, you would instead have to request the refund from them; depending on their contract with you, there may be a cancellation/service fee greater than any refundable tax element.
Dec 5, 2019, 9:24 am
#14
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: Flying Blue Silver
Posts: 123
A little late to comment, but if the flight is in a few weeks you could always hope they make a change to the flight that would trigger a full refund. I guess you could still cancel and claim the taxes shortly before the flight.
Dec 5, 2019, 1:36 pm
#15
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: France
Programs: FB Plat for Life, UAMP, BAEC, Accor ALL Platinum, Marriott silver, Hilton, Meliá silver.
Posts: 3,117
There is no reason to have to cancel before the flight, as in case of no show AF keeps the non refundable fare and only refunds the taxes which they cashed in but won't have to pay to the airport or government because of our not flying.