British families heading off on holiday this year could be saving hundreds of pounds after a change to Air Passenger Duty (APD) laws for children under twelve.
The change came into effect on 1 May and applies to all journeys booked in economy class, with the most significant savings coming to those looking to take long haul flights.
APD was first imposed 20 years ago in 1995, before the advent of cheap air travel with both RyanAir and EasyJet founded in the same year. Initially, the charge was just £5 for European journeys and £10 for longer haul trips, but the fee has risen dramatically over the years.
Currently, flights of a distance under 2,000 miles incur an APD of £13, but for longer haul flights the cost is considerably more – £71.
However, in December 2014, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that he would be culling the tax for children under 12 years of age. This month, that repeal came into effect.
The repeal only affects the duty for standard economy seating, with business or first class seats still incurring the same duty for both children and adults as before. Children between the ages of twelve and 18 years of age are also not offered an APD discount, but economy APD for this age bracket will also be scrapped from March 2016.
The changes could provide a substantial saving for families looking to travel to destinations in the US or other locations further afield. For example, a family of four, with two children under twelve, travelling to New York or Disneyland, Florida will save £142 on their trip.
The changes will be welcomed by parents such as Paul Cookson, who recently posted a vitriolic rant on Facebook earlier this year, taking aim at holiday companies who raised prices of their packages during school holidays.
The reason for higher prices during school holidays is simple supply and demand economics, as Ian Crawford, marketing manager at Holiday Hypermarket, explained in an open letter to Cookson. Whatever the reason for higher prices, however, everyone can be happy on new savings on their holidays.
The British Air Transport Association (BATA) had called on the government to give them a 12 months lead time to make the changes, as many passengers book their flights many months ahead for the greatest savings. However, Osborne instead decided to give just six months notice to help families enjoy a ‘well deserved holiday’, which means that some families are due a discount.
A number of airlines are being proactive and automatically refunding the money back into customer’s bank accounts or onto their credit cards, but others require affected customers to contact them by phone or email directly to obtain their refund.