Dan

With taxes

Dan

I should break that down for you.<BR><BR>Base airfare 399<BR>tax 86<BR><BR>It's possible fares may get lower. But that seems pretty reasonable for a may/june flight.

Sjoerd

Please note that UK air taxes are (much) higher than air taxes in other European countries. So it could be cheaper to fly to Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam, even if the base fare is lower to London!

xxx3

last summer, when I bought frequent-flyer tickets to London, I had to pay $45 in taxes.

top

to the top again<BR>

sonia

As far as I know, the heavy tax imposed on air tickets for flights departing the US dates back to the Balanced Budget Act (known as Bubba) passed in 1997, in the midst of budget wars between Congress and the President. (Remember the government shutdowns?)<BR><BR>I think those wily politicians figured they could impose this tax without much personal risk -- because who would really know whence it came? "Hey, people should just be glad they can afford to travel and not complain, right?" (they said to themselves).<BR><BR>I travel to England regularly to visit family, and have learned to factor in the tax to the fare I am quoted. But it remains a nasty surprise that the fare touted in the NY Times as one price ends up costing significantly more. It does not seem to be proportional to the fare, either -- more like a flat figure imposed on the actual fare.<BR><BR>(I'm not a tax lawyer, just a traveller who was put out when this first appeared. I guess I'm getting used to it, but still think it's sneaky.)

pete

I think I read somewhere that Heathrow has the highest taxes of major european airports (even Gatwick might be lower). I usually pay about $90 R/T over ticket price for taxes & airport charges to Heathrow. Brussels was only about $50 (can't remember exactly).

Bettiann

This is a good discussion on fees and taxes on international flights. Was wondering about flight insurance. We're pretty healthy and all, but buying tickets pretty far in advance seems risky as anything can happen. Notice that Priceline wants to add $25 per passenger for insurance. Is this typical? Seem worth it to you experienced overseas travelers, or not? Would appreciate hearing ideas on this relating to the total overseas flight costs.

Rex

&lt;&lt;Notice that Priceline wants to add $25 per passenger for insurance.&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Unrelated to the price of the ticket? What is the benefit of this insurance? Do you get yor money back on the ticket if you die? or simply go? Or is this actual life insurance? Unless the payoff is about $25 million, I'd buy 25 lottery tickets instead. At least the state actually pays out 50% of its "haul" to the lottery winners. I have a feeling that this insurance pays out about 0.01% and keeps the other 99.99%