FlyerTalk Forums - DONE4 Tax Guide

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I just received a quote from CX in NRT and the tax and surcharge amounts to around 1,200USD! This seems a little high than I expected (I thought it will be under 1000).

My rouing is NRT-SYD-AKL-SYD-USA (all 6 segments) - LHR-Europe-LHR-Europe-HKG-ASIA-HKGx-NRT.

All 20 segments used. But 1200USD seems a bit steep.

That really seems a bit steep. Late June I bought DONE3 in NRT from CX and my taxes were about 314 USD plus fuel surcharges 327 USD. But I had only 16 segments and no LHR stopovers.

Just remember that your 2 LHR stopovers alone are adding at least GBP40 each - about USD160 in total.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheetah_SA (Post 8082232)

Just remember that your 2 LHR stopovers alone are adding at least GBP40 each - about USD160 in total.

Isn't the new Gordon Brown tax mroe than the GBP 40 in J and F Class?
however Is till think 1200 a bit much

Around 800-900 is what I expected.

I have asked CX to give me a breakdown on the tax.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtwdone4 (Post 8084448)

Isn't the new Gordon Brown tax mroe than the GBP 40 in J and F Class?

Yes, GBP80.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viajero (Post 8084475)

Yes, GBP80.

Ok so there goes 480USD !!!!!!already

I assume you only pay based on departing flights and not arriving flights?

ie. for LAX-LHR-EUR-LHR-EUR-LHR-HKG
I will only have to pay 3 sets of the 80GBP

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtwdone4 (Post 8084632)

Ok so there goes 480USD !!!!!!already

I assume you only pay based on departing flights and not arriving flights?

ie. for LAX-LHR-EUR-LHR-EUR-LHR-HKG
I will only have to pay 3 sets of the 80GBP

Yes, on departure, but in the case of a EU destination the APD is less (I don't have access to that info right now), and also note it is payable only in the case of a stopover, not if you are connecting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viajero (Post 8084689)

This currently quoted on visitbritain.com is outdated - the APD doubled in February (see posts below):

Quote:

Air Passenger Duty
This tax is levied by the UK Government, and collected by the carrier or agent issuing the ticket and charged to the customer at the time of ticket purchase.

the duty on economy flights within the European Economic Area (EEA) is £5
the rate for club and first class fares for destinations in the EEA is £10
the rate for economy flights to all other destinations is £20
the rate for club and first class fares for all other destinations is £40
all flights from the Scottish Highlands and Islands are exempt from duty
all other UK domestic flights are subject to a £5 charge on each leg of the flight (so the duty for a UK domestic return flight is £10)
Passenger Service Charge
This is levied by the airport and paid by the carrier (for the use of the airport's facilities). It does not go to the UK Government. It is charged to the customer at the time of ticket purchase.

The Passenger Service Charge varies from airport to airport but typical charges are:

Heathrow - £13.00 (for international flights)
Gatwick - £7.60 (for international flights)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheetah_SA (Post 8085514)

This from visitbritain.com:...

The rates shown there were doubled on February 1.

It does sound plausible to me. My last DONE5 was over USD1000 in "taxes" and I did not have any UK stopovers (thus no GBP80 per stopover).

A recently ticketed 20 segment DONE4 was about USD500 in "taxes". Again, with no UK stopovers. The big difference is due to (a) ticketing on AA for the recent one, and (b) the previous one include several high tax destinations.

Here's some recent experience on a DONE4 quoted for my wife ex-MRU, followed by a ticketed one ex-ARN last month. (Note currency exchanges may have changed.)

When we did the comparo and added the marginal cost to get to MRU plus accommodations on the island (why not see the place if we're going there) we concluded that ARN was a better deal. BTW, getting to MRU on award miles in J proved quite impossible for our days - even IB to JNB was plugged.

Both itineraries 16 segments (for e-ticketing) and no UK stopovers.

Code:

Price quote, DONE4 MRU (BA) May 2007

(MUR converted to USD)



Base price                         $5157

Taxes/fuel                           668

Taxes as pct of base                12.96%

BA service chg                          300

Total cost                        $6125

Taxes/fees as pct of base        18.78%



Ticketed DONE4 ARN (AA) June 2007

(SEK converted to USD)



Base price                         $6405

Taxes/fees/fuel                          331

Total cost                        $6736

Taxes/fees as pct of base        5.16%

Wow only 331 in taxes! That is very good (I thought 500 odd was good).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viajero (Post 8086559)

The rates shown there were doubled on February 1.

Thanks, Viagero. I thought they seemed too low and certainly didn't chime with bookings I've done recently (though it's hard to disentangle the taxes, fuel fines etc.) That'll teach me to believe what I see on the internet - even "official" sites. I'll change my post to prevent further confusion.

I still haven't received a breakdown on the tax yet from CX! I will try and chase them up. I got a feeling they just take whatever is in CUPID without checking (especially on Transit stops) I know CX charges more fuel fines than AA, but still the thought of 1200USD in tax, is just scary!