An Introduction to APD and the Changes Introduced on 1st November 2010
LONDON, Nov. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --
- What is APD?
- Brief History
- How much is it?
- Reduced Rate APD vs. Standard Rate APD
- Child tickets
- Tickets bought before 1st November
- What we think
- Useful Links
What is APD?
On 1st November 2010 a new increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) came into effect which brought new tax increases for flying to some of Britain's favourite destinations.
APD is charged based on a series of tax bands determined by the distance between London and the capital city of the destination country. So this means that if you're travelling to the capital city (like Canberra in Australia) or to a city on the other side of the country to the capital (like Perth, Australia for example) the band is the same.
This means it's not always a reflection of the distance actually travelled and some of the UK's all time favourite holiday destinations - such as the Caribbean - are predicted to be hit heavily.
There is a standard rate and reduced rate for each band which varies according to seat class.
A brief history of APD
Until 31 October 2009 there were four rates of duty:
Rate |
For specified European destinations |
For all other destinations |
|
Standard rates |
GBP 20 |
GBP 80 |
|
Reduced rates |
GBP 10 |
GBP 40 |
|
On 1st November 2009 the current four destination band structure (see table below.), based on geographical distance from London was introduced, with each band having two rates of duty depending upon the class of travel. The rates were also increased with the lowest band now being 11 pounds rather than 10 pounds, but the highest increasing from 80 pounds to 110 pounds.
The changes on 1st November 2010 retained the 4 band structure, but brought further increases detailed below
How much is it?
Rate |
Tax Band |
Old price (Up to 1st Nov 2010) |
New price (after 1st Nov 2010) |
% increase vs. 2009 |
|
Standard |
Band A 0 - 2,000 miles |
GBP 22.00 |
GBP 24.00 |
9% |
|
Reduced rate |
GBP 11.00 |
GBP 12.00 |
|||
Standard |
Band B 2,001 - 4,000 miles |
GBP 90.00 |
GBP 120.00 |
33% |
|
Reduced rate |
GBP 45.00 |
GBP 60.00 |
|||
Standard |
Band C 4,001 - 6,000 miles |
GBP 100.00 |
GBP 150.00 |
50% |
|
Reduced rate |
GBP 50.00 |
GBP 75.00 |
|||
Standard |
Band D over 6,000 miles |
GBP 110.00 |
GBP 170.00 |
55% |
|
Reduced rate |
GBP 55.00 |
GBP 85.00 |
|||
Reduced Rate APD vs. Standard Rate APD - when does each rate apply?
- Reduced rate of APD usually applies to passengers travelling in the lowest class of travel on a plane (usually this is economy class)
- Standard rate applies to any other classes. Or, if there is only one class of travel on the flight and the seat spacing (seat 'pitch') is 40 inches or more, then the standard rate would also apply.
Child Tickets
APD is based on seats sold so it still applies to child tickets unless the child is under two and has not been allocated a separate seat before boarding.
Tickets bought before 1st November 2010
The November 1st 2010 increase will affect any passenger whose flight begins on or after this date so unfortunately booking or buying your ticket before 1st November does not mean you have missed the increase. The tax will already have been included in the price of tickets sold before 1st November 2010.
What do we think?
Expedia.co.uk is supporting The Telegraph's opposition to APD and seeking a review as we believe the that the APD increase is bad for travellers, bad for tourism, bad for business and unlikely to benefit the environment under current plans. If you agree with this you can sign their petition online by emailing [email protected] with your full name and address or sign up via The Telegraph's online form.
SOURCE Expedia.co.uk
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