StCirq

So today I started my research for a fairly complicated month-long European trip in July/August 2008, and the first thing I did was check airfares.

We want to fly into London, spend 4 days there, then get ourselves to St-Cirq, where we will lie flat on our backs poolside for a week or two, eat copious amounts of foie gras, and drink gallons of Pécharmant. At the end of the trip, we'd like to spend 4 days or so in Paris, and fly home from there.

So I went to Mobissimo and Kayak and Orbitz and all the usual places, and I kept coming up with this British Airways flight that was only $599, BUT an additional $372 in "taxes and fees." Total cost $971 (I may be a few dollars off; I haven't been on the sites for a few hours). That was for a direct flight from IAD to London on the way over and, on the way back, a flight from CDG to London, brief layover, and then back to IAD.

The next-cheapest flights were around $1,100 - $1,300 - most also with a stop on the way back. BUT all the other flights had a base rate3 of about $900, plus "taxes and fees" of $100-$150.

What is it about BA that their "taxes and fees" are such a huge percentage of the cost of the flight? Is it just this particular flight, or is it always that way?

I know in the end it doesn't matter, as it's still the cheapest flight, but it seems out of whack to me.

Patty

BA includes fuel surcharges as part of the taxes and fees. The other carriers with the $100-$150 range are only including government/airport taxes/levies.

Michael

Check and double check your return flight. I was looking for a NYC (any airport)-Berlin-Paris-NYC flight. BA was the cheapest on Kayak, went up $300 once on the BA site and no longer was the cheapest, and to top it off, had us leave CDG one morning and London the following morning.

Seamus

Think Patty hit it on the proverbial nailhead. I have noticed the same thing, even for domestic itineraries on different carriers. Taxes are taxes, and some fees are set by other authorities, but fees that the carrier sets are entirely up to them. It helps their advertising to be able to blare a low fare and list fees in the fine print. It is not unlike telephone companies who list all sorts of fees in ways that make it look like a tax when it is in fact just another charge from them.

kenderina

Anyway, UK airports have the highest taxes in Europe no matter the airline you travel with..."taxes and fees" are always more expensive if you touch an UK airport.

esm

I was just going to post about this.

I'm looking for award tickets and noticed the same thing. AA's taxes are about $80 and NWA's is similar. I looked at Air France and they are charging $356! Unfortunately they're the only airline that have my preferred dates available.

sshephard

You may know this but the ITA search engine lets you see the specific breakdown of ticket costs, including all of the taxes:

http://tinyurl.com/2u9t4l

Once you've done your search and picked your flights, click on "Show booking details" in the upper left corner of the page.

Patty

esm,
Are the available flights on Air France metal? Can you use your NW rather than Flying Blue miles to redeem them so you don't get hit with the fuel surcharge?

esm

Thanks for pointing this out Patty. I think they may actually be KLM. I'll double check to make sure... assuming they're still available.