Airline taxes and surcharges demystified - Intro

It’s a familiar scenario, at least in our household - we find a fantastic airline fare online and are shocked to find that, once taxes and surcharges are added, the price has doubled, or more. Well, let’s say we were once shocked; now it’s a normal way of life and something we come to expect.

But why should a £1 cheap fare have £50 in taxes? What, exactly, are they taxing?

Most airlines don’t tell you, or they don’t make it obvious where the charges come from. But U.S. Airways’ website does.

While planning a recent non-stop trip from Scotland to Philadelphia, we were presented with this price breakdown at the end. These taxes and surcharges are tame compared to some airlines (like British Airways, who charge twice the amount of fees as U.S. Airways for a similar non-stop flight to Philly) but look at the sheer number of taxes - and for the most bizarre reasons - and it’s no wonder air travel is so expensive:

Total Fare: $588.60
Tax: US International Arrival $15.40
Tax: US International Departure $15.40
Tax: United Kingdom Air Passengers Duty $80.35
Fee: US Immigration $7.00
Fee: US Animal & Plant Health Inspection Svc. $5.00
Fee: US Customs User $5.50
September 11 Security Fee $2.50
Fee: US Passenger Facility Charge $4.50
Fee: United Kingdom Passenger Service Charge $22.50
Total Per Passenger $746.75

There are a few interesting things to note here. First of all, we’re taxes on “animals and plants” whether or not we actually bring them into the country. Then, there is the international arrivals and departure tax, for what reason we can’t fathom, and an immigration tax even though I’m a U.S. citizen (I realise I still go through immigration control, but that would be a more accurate name for the tax). And what, pray tell, is the United Kingdom Air Passengers Duty?

We feel like we’ve got a lot of transparency from U.S. Airways, which we absolutely appreciate, but the more we discover the more mystifying it becomes!

Look out for an in-depth investigation into airline taxes and fees later on this year. Subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up-to-date with all of the updates as we post them.