The UK Government announced that UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) has been abolished for young persons aged between 12 and under 16 when travelling in Economy Class, on all flights departing the UK on or after 1 March 2016.
Following the Autumn statement in December 2014, the UK Chancellor announced the abolition of Air Passenger Duty on children’s flights. This was removed for the under 12s from the 1st May 2015 and travel companies issued refunds. This process will now be repeated and anyone who booked an economy flight taking off after 1st March 2016 for a 12-15 year old could well be due some cash back. Reports estimate that APD abolition is said to cost the treasury £40 million in 2015-16 and £80 million in 2016-17*. Much of this should end up back in consumers’ pockets if everyone affected gets their money back.
This reclaim process is not standardised and varies across every travel company. To help consumers navigate this maze, we’ve compiled a guide to help consumers get their cash back from their individual provider.
Hannah Maundrell, Editor in Chief of money.co.uk, urges parents to make sure they get a refund; “As airlines breathe a sigh of relief having just completed the first batch of refunds, they now have to start the whole process all over again.
“This would be a straightforward process if all refunds were automatic. Sadly, some travel companies are asking people to ‘apply’ for a refund. This could lead to people being left in APD limbo as one in three parents claimed they would not apply for a refund. Just to add further complexity, parents that booked package deals will have to go back to the tour operator to make a claim, not the airline.
“On a brighter note, this will save a family of four with two kids £26 on a flight to Europe and £142 on a flight to the USA. Every penny counts when you’re bringing up a family so please do not leave this money with your airline. Do what it takes to get the cash back and put it back into your holiday spending pot.”
Research** carried out amongst passengers flying with children revealed;
- Over a third of parents (34%) ‘could not be bothered’ to apply for an APD refund.
- Parents that would apply for a refund would only do so for an average of £28.
- Government figures indicate that the average short haul flight to Europe has, to date, levied a £13 fee for air tax. Sadly just 37% would apply for a refund of £13 or less.
- More than half of parents (58%) with children think the airlines should automatically refund APD charged on flights.
- Some travel companies have implemented a more proactive approach to the refund process such as;
– EasyJet
– First Choice
– Monarch
– Thomas Cook
– Thomson
This makes the charging structure less of an issue for consumers. For full details of how it works for each provider please see our guide.
*These figures are set out in Table 2.1 of Autumn Statement 2014 and have been certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
**Research was carried out amongst 1,000 parents with children that fly by OnePoll on behalf of money.co.uk from the 17th – 20th April 2015.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
