Air travel tax changes today?

Owen

Just heard on RedFM that the controversial 10 Euro tax is to be changed today. Any news on this from another source?

Danbo!

Link Here

Travel tax to cost Aer Lingus €30m
Tuesday, 11 November 2008 13:49

Aer Lingus has said the €10 Irish airport travel tax announced in last month's budget will cost it €30m next year.

The airline said it expects to absorb the tax on 75% of bookings because competitive pressures on fares will make it difficult to pass the cost on to customers.

In a statement to the markets, Aer Lingus says work practices and pay rates at Aer Lingus are inappropriate given the level of competition the airline is facing.

Aer Lingus says it is going to make losses in 2009, on top of the €20m it expects to lose this year.

The airline says the €10 departure tax announced in the budget, which comes into effect next March, will cost it €30m as it will be unable to pass the charge on to customers.

Operating at a financial loss is not sustainable, the statement says, and the company has to deliver cost savings if it is to flourish.

Global problems

Aer Lingus is caught in the general bind impacting global aviation.

Too many planes and falling passenger numbers are combined with a competitive landscape where too many passengers are paying too little for their tickets.

Fare prices are falling and Aer Lingus expects average fares on short haul flights to decrease between 6% and 7% next year.

It is cutting the number of long haul planes from nine to eight for next summer.

Last night, the risk of travel disruption to Aer Lingus customers increased after SIPTU served two weeks notice of industrial action in objection to a management decision to outsource more than 1,000 jobs.

Aer Lingus says in the absence of ideas on alternative cost savings it has to proceed.

EDIT: Just re-read your post. I assumed you meant come into effect today. Do you mean that they may abolish this?

Owen

Not sure what they meant, but it was mentioned that the Finance Minister was due to make a change to the Airline Tax today. I doubt they mean abolish, but who knows, it could be 5 Euro, although knowing our wonderful Government, it'll probably be 15!

Danbo!

ned78 wrote: »

Not sure what they meant, but it was mentioned that the Finance Minister was due to make a change to the Airline Tax today. I doubt they mean abolish, but who knows, it could be 5 Euro, although knowing our wonderful Government, it'll probably be 15!

Well, knowing our government, who decide to give us a 'hard-hitting, tough budget', and then back down after receiving complaints, they may in fact abolish it. Wishful thinking? Probably :rolleyes:

Base

I reckon it has to change. Having a situation where a flight from Cork to Liverpool would incur €10 tax yet the same trip from Dublin incurring €2 would be illogical. At the very least it would need to be on an all Ireland basis – either Liverpool is €2 or €10 from all airports or else go for Ryanair’s more logical suggestion of a percentage based tax depending on the airport (but still basing the low and high rates on a geographic basis rather than distance). Whatever about the government’s poorly thought out budget plans, this one takes the biscuit.

Our man in Havana

How does the tax effect people who booked and paid before today for flights in the next year?

Base

How does the tax effect people who booked and paid before today for flights in the next year?

I'd say they'll make the airlines collect it retrospectively. That's what they dis in the UK anyway.

Well they've done it anyway - gone and made a tax they don't even have the guts to call environmental even more illogical! €10 now applys to flights further than 300kms from Dublin regardless of which airport it departs.

€2 to the UK and €10 to mainland Europe would've just been too easy wouldn't it lads? How would something that simple justify the 2 weeks work by 50 civil servants?