kawaii

I'm planning to travel to a friend's wedding in Spain later this year and looking at taking some time before and after it in some Europrean cities (I was thinking initially HKG-LHR-PMI-BCN/FCO/MAD-HKG) but I figure I'd see if there are any insights as if there's a better deal from any particular hub city (i.e. HKG-MAD//LHR-HKG, for example) that might be cheaper (especially as we are traveling for the whole family).

Also, query if you think it is best to get the [LHR/BCN/MAD/FCO]-PMI ticket separately or just get it as a BA/Iberia ticket as part of the multi-city purchase?

Thanks!

christep

One obvious question is: what class? The UK is a horrendously expensive place to make a long haul departure from, particularly in more than Y, simply because of the taxes.

kawaii

Ah, sorry - yes, in Y. I haven't flown to LHR on my own dime in a long time, actually, so would be grateful for any enlightenment on their tax scheme? Thanks!

christep

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Passenger_Duty

£150 per person for >2000mile flights from the UK in more than Y. "Only" £75 for Y.

:D!

There is no tax payable on flights arriving in the UK. There is also no tax payable if you spend less than 24 hours in the UK on a connecting ticket.

In Y, the tax for a flight departing the UK to Spain is £13, while the tax for a flight departing the UK to HKG is £78.

London airports also levy fees on departing flights. These are lower for a short haul flight (around £20) and higher for a long-haul flight (around £40); LGW's charges are slightly cheaper than LHR's. LCY's fees are the highest.

Spain has €4.11 taxes on departing flights, and Spanish airports levy varying fees of around €15 to €20.


Therefore, when redeeming flights (on any airline), HK-UK // Spain-HK has lower taxes and fees than HK-Spain // UK-HK, with the difference being well over £100 per pax in PEY/J/F, slightly less in Y.

As HK-UK and HK-Spain generally require the same amount of miles, the higher taxes make a significant difference to the total price. However if you are paying money, the impact may be smaller, because airlines sometimes absorb part of the taxes in order to have a competitive overall price (especially now that HK enforces final price advertising).


That said, LHR flights often cost more on CX just because there is higher demand.

Personally on ex-HKG tickets, I often find that it's slightly cheaper to do something like HKG-MAD/BCN/AMS // BRU/DUB/MXP-HKG if I need to go to somewhere in Europe anyway, and then get separate tickets LON-Europe and Europe-LON.

However if I don't need to go anywhere in Europe then the savings are often not worth it and I will just pay a bit more to go straight to/from LHR.

I use BA Avios for short-haul flights because BA pays all the taxes and fees and you just pay BA a flat fee. Even if you don't have Avios, there are many cheap LCC flights between London and Spain - but mainly LGW/LTN/STN rather than LHR.