Duty Calls, Twice
Coming and Going column, Washington Post, 12/17/2006
A tax on all flights from the United Kingdom is set to double Feb. 1. On long-haul flights, including returns to the United States, the tax will be about $78 in coach and $157 in premium class.
For flights within the European Union, the U.K. tax will jump to about $20 in economy class and $40 in premium. Although it's said to be an environmental tax, airlines complain it will simply fill tax coffers.
The tax must be paid even if you bought a ticket before the tax was announced . Airlines can charge you or pay it themselves; decisions have not yet been made how to proceed, several airline representatives said.
Look for more environmentally related airline price hikes. The European Union is slated to unveil on Wednesday a program to include airlines in an "emissions trading scheme" that already exists for land-based companies. Industries that produce carbon dioxide are allocated a quota. A company that exceeds its cap must buy emission permits from a company that doesn't use its full quota. The hope is that economic penalties will create incentives for companies to reduce their emissions and combat global warming.
Anthony Concil of the International Air Transport Association says a leaked copy of the report shows that the plan would cost airlines operating in Europe about $4 billion a year -- about $12 per passenger per flight. Concil says it's unclear how much of that the airlines will pass on to consumers because they have to balance recouping costs against losing customers.
The E.U. plan applies to all carriers flying to, from or within the E.U., although foreign carriers are sure to fight inclusion.