UK Ferry Tickets

The recent increases in air passenger duty led to a huge debate amongst travellers.

For those travelling in economy, the duty on short-haul flights rose to £10 and on long-haul flights to £40, while premium economy, business and first class passengers were told they had to pay double the fee.

Some agreed with me that it was simply a revenue-raising exercise that had nothing to do with protecting the environment, but others argued that we had to do something to try to save the planet.

In his recent budget, Chancellor Gordon Brown didn’t go so far as to admit he’d made a mistake. But he did say that he’d recognised the anomaly over the two-tier rate.

Brown said charging premium economy passengers the same higher rate as business and first class travellers might not send out the right environmental signals.

The government will consult with the aviation and travel industry and may well make a change but only on a “broadly revenue neutral basis”. In plain English, that means he’s not prepared to reduce the amount coming into his coffers.

Expect premium economy passengers to be charged slightly less, while business and first class travellers will be hit with an even greater tax.

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore

Friday, March 30th, 2007