The Increase in APD (Airport Passenger Duty).

The 1st November saw the second increase in APD since new legislation laid down by the government in 2008. This means an increase in the outbound tax per passenger by between £1 and £30 pounds per person.

There have been calls for a per plane tax, but to make the potential government potential tax take easier to calculate i have done an easy reckoner on a destination / common plane type.

Band A (e.g. Greece, France, Cyprus, Spain)

0-2000 miles from London, Boeing 737-700 commonly used

Average Seats 180

APD per passenger £12.

Average load factor (number of seats used) on the aircraft 90%

APD £1,944 per flight

Band B (e.g. USA, Egypt, United Arab Emirates)

2001-4000 miles from London, Boeing 747-400 commonly used

Average Seats 170 standard, 115 business/first

APD per standard passenger £60

APD per business/first class passenger £120

Average load factor of the aircraft 80%

APD £26,000 per flight

Band C (e.g. Caribbean, Maldives, Thailand)

4001-6000 miles from London, Boeing 777-200 commonly used

Average seats 127 standard, 102 business/first

APD per standard passenger £75

APD per business/first class passenger £150

Average load factor of the aircraft 80%

APD £24,825 per flight

Band D (e.g. Australia, Argentina)

Over 6000 miles from London, Boeing 777-300 commonly used

Average seats 304 standard, 54 business/first

APD per standard passenger £85

APD per business/first class passenger £170

Average load factor of the aircraft 80%

APD £35,020 per flight

Heathrow Airport handles approx 1200 outbound flights per day, assuming:

20% uk flights, 0 tax

30% Area A flights 180 flights x £1944 = £349920

20% Area B flights 120 flights x £26000 = £3120000

20% Area C flights 120 flights x £24825 = £2979000

10% Area D 60 flights x £35020 = £2101200

Total Tax Take = £6448920 per day from flights departing Heathrow Airport.

The figures are just my best guess estimates but illustrate why the APD will only rise in the future. It is an amazing income generator for the treasury.

So remember when booking and paying for a flight:

The APD is not due to be paid by the airline until the flight takes off, which means the airlines sit holding all of that tax often up to 1 year in advance of departure.

If the airlines are fighting the introduction of APD on behalf of the consumer why not collect the tax element 6 weeks before departure?