Virgin Unites With BA to Slam APD Rise
Two of the UK's leading long-haul airlines have warned that proposed increases in Air Passenger Duty (APD) will decimate the number of cheap flights and price many households out of the holidays market.
Both Virgin Atlantic and flag carrier British Airways put aside their fierce rivalry and united in opposition to the APD increases, which come into effect on Monday. Virgin has long warned that people looking for cheap flights to the Caribbean will be among the hardest hit, and many will ultimately decide against Caribbean holidays altogether, with a terrible impact on the tropical islands' local economies.
Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson said today that APD could possibly make summer holidays "unaffordable for many", while the airline's chief commercial officer Julie Southern adding:
"With passengers now being asked to pay up to 10 times more tax since APD's introduction, the annual family holiday will become unaffordable."
The airline pointed out that every economy passenger flying to the Caribbean will pay £75 APD, representing a 50 per cent increase. This is because Caribbean flights have been placed in band C, whereas USA flights are in the cheaper band B.
This means that cheap flights to Barbados will now cost more than cheap flights to Los Angeles – despite the former being an eight-hour journey and the latter taking 12 hours.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh backed Virgin's criticism, warning that "excessive taxation puts aviation's social and economic benefits at risk". "Aviation supports more than 500,000 jobs in the UK and provides the transport links that are vital to the success of UK businesses in a globalised economy," Mr Walsh insisted.
General Travel News posted by 
on 29 October 2010
cheap flights, cheap flights to the Caribbean, Caribbean holidays, USA flights, cheap flights to Barbados, cheap flights to Los Angeles
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/virgin-atlantic-ba-attack-apd/
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