Suppose you are planning a trip to Europe and want to include a visit to the UK If you plan to visit London at the start, in the middle or at the end of your trip? Does it even matter?
Well, you can save hundreds of dollars if you strategically plan the order of stops.
Let’s say you want to visit the five most famous cities in Europe. Here are the taxes and fees you need to pay for a unified airline business class award tickets departing from the following cities to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR):
- Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN): 40 USD.
- Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO): 61 USD.
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS): 85 USD.
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG): $143.
- London Heathrow Airport (LHR): $325.
As you can see, flying out of the UK is significantly more expensive than flying from the other countries on the list – more than double any other country. The country has the highest departure tax of any country in the world.
This is due to the UK”Airline passenger duty,” or APD, which varies based on two factors:
- The length of your flight.
- Service classes.
For example, a flight from the UK to Spain will result in a lower APD than a flight from the UK to South America. Similarly, first class award tickets require more APD than economy class tickets on the same flight.
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APD does not apply to less than 24 hour connections across the UK when traveling on a single ticket. That means you won’t have to pay tax on an award ticket from Vienna to New York with a three-hour London transit.
The European countries that charge the highest taxes include the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy. In contrast, it is cheaper to fly out of countries like Ireland, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Portugal.
Note that these taxes only apply to flights departing from these countries; Domestic flights from the US to the UK are not subject to APD.
Finally, it’s worth noting that two of the UK’s biggest airlines – British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – impose fuel surcharge on their own flights in addition to APD. As a result, award flights on these carriers (even if only connecting via London) will still have a high out-of-pocket cost.
So when planning your next trip to Europe, visit the countries with the highest tax rates before or in the middle of your trip. End your stay in one of the cheaper countries. That way, you can save your dollars on buying more espresso, croissants, and sangria.
Read more: The Complete Guide to Flying to London on Points and Miles
