beano2274 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 As per the topic. Example am looking for flights to Zurich, Emirates charge just over 2,000baht for the taxes, but other airlines are in the 15,000baht region. Maybe Emirates put the extra in the ticket costs, maybe not. But why the big difference between airlines, even those direct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Drucker Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 It probably has to do with the fuel surcharge. Some countries (like USA) require airlines to show the final price on their displays when quoting flights. Other countries don't, and so the airline quotes a lowball price for the flight, then (as late in the purchase process as possible) they bring in the "taxes". This brings up another point of dishonesty: lumping fuel surcharges in under the general category of "taxes". Many airlines do it, and the message to many customers is that a fuel surcharge is some sort of government imposed or regulated charge. Not true. The airline establishes it. Seems to me fuel is a cost of doing business for an airline, as is insurance. Unless pricing is highly volatile (which it hasn't been for several years now) they should be getting rid of these surcharges and rolling them into the price of the ticket. Last time I looked, most fuel surcharges for longer flights (such as BKK to Europe or USA) are seeing fuel surcharges of $300 - $450USD (9000 - 13,500 baht) for a return (round) trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 It probably has to do with the fuel surcharge. Some countries (like USA) require airlines to show the final price on their displays when quoting flights. Other countries don't, and so the airline quotes a lowball price for the flight, then (as late in the purchase process as possible) they bring in the "taxes". This brings up another point of dishonesty: lumping fuel surcharges in under the general category of "taxes". Many airlines do it, and the message to many customers is that a fuel surcharge is some sort of government imposed or regulated charge. Not true. The airline establishes it. Seems to me fuel is a cost of doing business for an airline, as is insurance. Unless pricing is highly volatile (which it hasn't been for several years now) they should be getting rid of these surcharges and rolling them into the price of the ticket. Last time I looked, most fuel surcharges for longer flights (such as BKK to Europe or USA) are seeing fuel surcharges of $300 - $450USD (9000 - 13,500 baht) for a return (round) trip. Seems Emirates is already rolling them into the ticket prices then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamnanT Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Seems Emirates is already rolling them into the ticket prices then. Yes, Emirates is one of the few airlines that doesn't have a separate "fuel surcharge", so total taxes & fees on an Emirates ticket are much lower than, say, BA or Qantas. A "fare" of GBP 399 becomes a "total cost" of GBP 800 once the surcharge and government taxes are added. Like Sam Drucker, I see the high "fuel surcharge" imposed by most airlines to be a deceptive marketing practice. For an airline, fuel is a cost of doing business - it's not like it's optional. Should we expect to see an "aircraft surcharge" or a "flight crew surcharge" in the near future? Also, on a non-refundable fare, most airlines will refund government taxes if you cancel, but not the fuel surcharge - yet another indication that they view it as part of the fare, not a separate cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Why the big difference between airlines, perhaps you change planes at different hubs, which have different charges ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Why the big difference between airlines, perhaps you change planes at different hubs, which have different charges ? So why 17,500 if a direct flight and cheaper if not direct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Why the big difference between airlines, perhaps you change planes at different hubs, which have different charges ? So why 17,500 if a direct flight and cheaper if not direct? Fair point, since the indirect-airline in-theory has the same airport-costs, plus the extra stopover, should cost more. Are both airlines operating the same aircraft-type ? Or perhaps the direct-airline is telling porky-pies, and including other costs, like fuel-surcharges ? Or is quoting you the full list-price, which they are not charged, and skimming-off the difference ? Sometimes airlines do pay different landing-fees or parking-fees or baggage-handling-charges, for the same aircraft-type at the same airport, for example if they're the main-user there (volume discount), or if they're a low-cost-carrier who negotiate aggressively, or if the airport offers a reduction (for a limited time) in order to add a new destination ? Best way to compare fares is to look at the total-cost, indeed didn't the EC introduce new legislation, requiring airlines to quote the full-cost of a ticket ? Then again, Switzerland isn't in the EC, as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomatopo Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) You should be able to get a breakdown of the entire ticket price. "YQ" is used for fuel surcharges. Some airlines have lower base fares and add on YQ, and that can vary by city-pair direction; others have higher base fares and no fuel surcharges. Fare 1: Carrier BA NLBB1YTH BKK to LON (rules) Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code N Covers BKK-LHR (Coach) 12,180.00 Fare 2: Carrier BA NLBB1YTH LON to BKK (rules) Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code N Covers LHR-BKK (Coach) 12,180.00 BA YQ surcharge (YQ) 12,310.00 Thailand Passenger Service Charge (TS) 700.00 United Kingdom Air Passengers Duty (GB) 3,695.00 United Kingdom Passenger Service Charge (UB) 1,510.00 Subtotal per passenger 42,575.00 Number of passengers x1 TOTAL AIRFARE & TAXES 42,575.00 Fare 1: Carrier EK K1CAPTH1 BKK to LON (rules) Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code K Covers BKK-DXB (Coach), DXB-LHR (Coach) 17,000.00 Fare 2: Carrier EK K1CAPTH1 LON to BKK (rules) Passenger type ADT, round trip fare, booking code K Covers LHR-DXB (Coach), DXB-BKK (Coach) 17,000.00 Thailand Passenger Service Charge (TS) 700.00 United Kingdom Air Passengers Duty (GB) 3,695.00 United Kingdom Passenger Service Charge (UB) 1,530.00 Subtotal per passenger 39,925.00 Number of passengers x1 TOTAL AIRFARE & TAXES 39,925.00 Edited January 31, 2012 by lomatopo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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