Last edit by: Prospero
(Link) to United Kingdom Air Passenger Duty (APD) Charged UK Departing Passengers
Link to html full APD tax law
APD rates as of 01 Apr 2020:
Band A (0 to 2,000 miles) 13 Reduced, 26 Standard
Band B (anything over 2,000 miles): Reduced 80, Standard 176
Infants and children
Children below the age of 2 years who are not allocated a separate seat before boarding the aircraft are not chargeable passengers. If a seat is purchased for the infant then APD is chargeable.
From 1 May 2015, children who are under the age of 12 years on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are not chargeable passengers. Children 12 years and over, or travelling in any other class, are chargeable passengers and APD is due.
From 1 March 2016 children who are under the age of 16 years on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are not chargeable passengers. Children 16 years and over, or travelling in any other class, are chargeable passengers and APD is due.
General notes:
distances calculated between national capitals - e.g. HNL calculated as WAS.
Link to Source: U.K. Excise Notice 550: Air Passenger Duty
APD is due when passengers pay to upgrade any stage of their journey
N.B. Arriving at a UK airport will not incur APD. Connections with less than 24 hours will generally not require APD*; you may have to have the rate desk intervene if you are not on a through ticket. As noted, "band distance" is calculated Capital to Capital.
APD is not charged on flights originating in the Scottish Highlands (INV) or Islands. APD is not payable on direct, Band B, flights departing Northern Ireland.
* Connecting flights exemption (UK APD regulation)
The connected flights must be detailed on the same ticket or conjunction tickets to qualify for the exemption. Tickets can only be regarded as conjunction tickets if:
a. they are in one booklet, or
b. where they are in separate booklets:
each refers to the other and states that they are to be read in conjunction
there is a summary of the flights constituting the passengers journey including the flights in question
Although the flights may meet all the other criteria for determining whether Two flights are connected, they will only qualify for the exemption if the connection is evidenced on the ticket or a flight summary.
AA (c/o JonNYC, post #219):
septix by JonNYCme, on Flickr
Link to html full APD tax law
APD rates as of 01 Apr 2020:
Band A (0 to 2,000 miles) 13 Reduced, 26 Standard
Band B (anything over 2,000 miles): Reduced 80, Standard 176
Infants and children
Children below the age of 2 years who are not allocated a separate seat before boarding the aircraft are not chargeable passengers. If a seat is purchased for the infant then APD is chargeable.
From 1 May 2015, children who are under the age of 12 years on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are not chargeable passengers. Children 12 years and over, or travelling in any other class, are chargeable passengers and APD is due.
From 1 March 2016 children who are under the age of 16 years on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are not chargeable passengers. Children 16 years and over, or travelling in any other class, are chargeable passengers and APD is due.
General notes:
distances calculated between national capitals - e.g. HNL calculated as WAS.
Link to Source: U.K. Excise Notice 550: Air Passenger Duty
APD is due when passengers pay to upgrade any stage of their journey
N.B. Arriving at a UK airport will not incur APD. Connections with less than 24 hours will generally not require APD*; you may have to have the rate desk intervene if you are not on a through ticket. As noted, "band distance" is calculated Capital to Capital.
APD is not charged on flights originating in the Scottish Highlands (INV) or Islands. APD is not payable on direct, Band B, flights departing Northern Ireland.
* Connecting flights exemption (UK APD regulation)
The connected flights must be detailed on the same ticket or conjunction tickets to qualify for the exemption. Tickets can only be regarded as conjunction tickets if:
a. they are in one booklet, or
b. where they are in separate booklets:
each refers to the other and states that they are to be read in conjunction
there is a summary of the flights constituting the passengers journey including the flights in question
Although the flights may meet all the other criteria for determining whether Two flights are connected, they will only qualify for the exemption if the connection is evidenced on the ticket or a flight summary.
AA (c/o JonNYC, post #219):
septix by JonNYCme, on Flickr
UK APD / Air Passenger Duty charged for UK departures (Master Thread)
#46
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: LHR
Programs: DL DM 2MM, BA Bronze, Various Hotels
Posts: 10,187
AmAAzing. I've found some agents are geographically impaired. One insisted there were no award seats in J on QF on a particular date (LAX-ADL) - when I pointed out she was not looking at LAX-BNE-ADL, but rather only SYD and MEL, her comment was "Oh, BRIZZ-BAYNE!"
And yes, some insist on calling it a luxury tax - but the APD is the standard rate for ~anything 40" pitch or greater, and it's the discounted rate for anything less. Nasty little money grabbing by HM Revenue and Customs...
And yes, some insist on calling it a luxury tax - but the APD is the standard rate for ~anything 40" pitch or greater, and it's the discounted rate for anything less. Nasty little money grabbing by HM Revenue and Customs...
Often times, booking the open jaw is not worth the extra time getting to DUB, overnighting if needed, etc. This time...yeah...
The agent was perfectly nice, but their knowledge of geography...well...
#47
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 1999
Posts: 12,097
It's all PR. In the same pseudo-speak air is not free, but it's tax-waived. In real-life its doubling for premium seats is a luxury tax.
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,437
Connecting within 24 hours without a through ticket / with two separate tickets (as indicated above by teemuflyer ^, and verified by my experience today - and previously, but today I took the time to pay attention to the process, as the EXP agent didn't know what the heck I was talking about):
We are connecting at LHR on a (return legs) KEF-LHR-ORD-SFO FI to AA, separate tickets, but (barely) with 24 hour connection. Contacting AA, we were able to give the FI (Icelander) ticket number - this allowed the Rate Desk to view the FI (1008-) ticket, and delete the APD from our (001) AA ticket, resulting in a cost savings $452.40 for two people.
This took some time - over thirty minutes for the EXP agent to get the Rate Desk to research it, view our FI tickets and make the requisite changes to our tickets. Interestingly, the otherwise capable EXP agent did not know this could be done; he thanked me for the opportunity to learn something new. I smiled all the way to the bank.
Off topic, as one ticket was a paid ticket and the other an award ticket, asking the agent to associate the two PNRs with a "TCP" (To Complete Party) took little time and easily got it done. When I went to get the paid ticket at the local airport ticket counter (I was using a voucher for partial payment) the longtime Ticket Agent (ex-TW, iirc) knew how to accept and document the voucher, but did not know about the "TCP" annotation in the remarks section of the PNR.
Knowing all this stuff from FlyerTalk is, as they say in New Orleans, a nice lagniappe (in southern Cuba it's "la apa" - what you possibly didn't know is the term is from the Andean Kechwa / Quechua / Runasimi language). FT ^!
We are connecting at LHR on a (return legs) KEF-LHR-ORD-SFO FI to AA, separate tickets, but (barely) with 24 hour connection. Contacting AA, we were able to give the FI (Icelander) ticket number - this allowed the Rate Desk to view the FI (1008-) ticket, and delete the APD from our (001) AA ticket, resulting in a cost savings $452.40 for two people.
This took some time - over thirty minutes for the EXP agent to get the Rate Desk to research it, view our FI tickets and make the requisite changes to our tickets. Interestingly, the otherwise capable EXP agent did not know this could be done; he thanked me for the opportunity to learn something new. I smiled all the way to the bank.
Off topic, as one ticket was a paid ticket and the other an award ticket, asking the agent to associate the two PNRs with a "TCP" (To Complete Party) took little time and easily got it done. When I went to get the paid ticket at the local airport ticket counter (I was using a voucher for partial payment) the longtime Ticket Agent (ex-TW, iirc) knew how to accept and document the voucher, but did not know about the "TCP" annotation in the remarks section of the PNR.
Knowing all this stuff from FlyerTalk is, as they say in New Orleans, a nice lagniappe (in southern Cuba it's "la apa" - what you possibly didn't know is the term is from the Andean Kechwa / Quechua / Runasimi language). FT ^!
#49
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Matre-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I've only done it with AA connecting onward with other airlines or vice versa, but as the APD has the same rules for all, it should work. Whether agents we deal with know or not, as well. (When one thinks Dublin is in the U.K., I wonder where s/he might think Belfast is? )
#50
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SBA
Programs: UA & AA 1 million miler
Posts: 1,134
AA charged $50.70 when it's reissued. CDG-LHR is economy by the way.
In my case the $50.70 tax is the French Solidarity tax and the UK APD is not due because it's only 3 hours connection at LHR, correct?
#52
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,714
Doesn't look like this has been mentioned anywhere (on the AA pages) so here goes....
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
#53
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: London UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 2,042
Doesn't look like this has been mentioned anywhere (on the AA pages) so here goes....
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
And a reminder that the 2 highest bands of APD (Bands C and D) will be abolished from April 2015. All flights over 2000 miles will be charged at the same band B rate from next year potentially saving up to 52 pp for the longest flights in premium cabins
#54
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Matre-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Doesn't look like this has been mentioned anywhere (on the AA pages) so here goes....
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
#55
Moderator: Coupon Connection & S.P.A.M
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Louisville, KY
Programs: Destination Unknown, TSA Disparager Diamond (LTDD)
Posts: 57,946
Doesn't look like this has been mentioned anywhere (on the AA pages) so here goes....
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
UK APD is being scrapped (on coach tickets) for children under 12 (on day of travel) from May 2015. This will be broadened to include children under the age of 16 (on day of travel) from May 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ldren-scrapped
#56
Join Date: Mar 2006
Programs: AA Plat, HH Diamond
Posts: 113
Hi, I had booked a flight, LAX-LHR-Croatia, return Croatia - LHR-LAX. I had 2 separate itineraries one for the LAX-LHR I purchased and the croatia flights were purchased on miles, all on AA/BA. Today I upgraded my LAX-LHR using evip's, I was able to avoid the luxury departure tax by showing that I was in LHR < 24 hours each way (Thank you everyone on this forum for getting me that far). My question is when I originally purchased the LAX-LHR in Y, they charged me APD, should the APD be refundable in this instance? EXP didn't seem to think so, that I only avoid the extra luxury tax with my stay in London being less than 24 hours. Hope you all can help. Thanks,
#57
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AA LT PLT; HH Diamond; AS 75K
Posts: 2,877
Hi, I had booked a flight, LAX-LHR-Croatia, return Croatia - LHR-LAX. I had 2 separate itineraries one for the LAX-LHR I purchased and the croatia flights were purchased on miles, all on AA/BA. Today I upgraded my LAX-LHR using evip's, I was able to avoid the luxury departure tax by showing that I was in LHR < 24 hours each way (Thank you everyone on this forum for getting me that far). My question is when I originally purchased the LAX-LHR in Y, they charged me APD, should the APD be refundable in this instance? EXP didn't seem to think so, that I only avoid the extra luxury tax with my stay in London being less than 24 hours. Hope you all can help. Thanks,
#58
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Matre-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Hi, I had booked a flight, LAX-LHR-Croatia, return Croatia - LHR-LAX. I had 2 separate itineraries one for the LAX-LHR I purchased and the croatia flights were purchased on miles, all on AA/BA. Today I upgraded my LAX-LHR using evip's, I was able to avoid the luxury departure tax by showing that I was in LHR < 24 hours each way (Thank you everyone on this forum for getting me that far). My question is when I originally purchased the LAX-LHR in Y, they charged me APD, should the APD be refundable in this instance? EXP didn't seem to think so, that I only avoid the extra luxury tax with my stay in London being less than 24 hours. Hope you all can help. Thanks,
#59
Join Date: Mar 2006
Programs: AA Plat, HH Diamond
Posts: 113
So when I booked my flight from LAX-LHR-LAX....I have a charge of the below...clearly for the return flight from London.
"Air Passenger Duty (APD) $108.00 USD
UNITED KINGDOM "
Then I went and booked the flight From LHR-ZAG-LHR on a separate itin (all with being in LHR < 24 hrs). Do I need to call AA back and tell them to refund me the $108? I have spoken to 2 agents and they say they will not refund that.
Thanks for all of your help.
"Air Passenger Duty (APD) $108.00 USD
UNITED KINGDOM "
Then I went and booked the flight From LHR-ZAG-LHR on a separate itin (all with being in LHR < 24 hrs). Do I need to call AA back and tell them to refund me the $108? I have spoken to 2 agents and they say they will not refund that.
Thanks for all of your help.
#60
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP...couple hotels and cars too
Posts: 4,548
So when I booked my flight from LAX-LHR-LAX....I have a charge of the below...clearly for the return flight from London.
"Air Passenger Duty (APD) $108.00 USD
UNITED KINGDOM "
Then I went and booked the flight From LHR-ZAG-LHR on a separate itin (all with being in LHR < 24 hrs). Do I need to call AA back and tell them to refund me the $108? I have spoken to 2 agents and they say they will not refund that.
Thanks for all of your help.
"Air Passenger Duty (APD) $108.00 USD
UNITED KINGDOM "
Then I went and booked the flight From LHR-ZAG-LHR on a separate itin (all with being in LHR < 24 hrs). Do I need to call AA back and tell them to refund me the $108? I have spoken to 2 agents and they say they will not refund that.
Thanks for all of your help.
HOWEVER, AA has no way to implement this law. If it is in separate pnrs they charge you.
Some have been successful requesting a refund.