SCOTTISH agents have vowed to scrutinise airline price rises in early 1999 in light of a decision by airlines to separate airport charges from fares.
Carriers won approval from the Civil Aviation Authority to classify airport charges as a tax, which makes them non-commissionable alongside Air Passenger Duty (Travel Weekly December 16 1998).
Airlines claim they have chosen to show the airport charges as a tax to make the charge more transparent to the public but agents believe the move will lead to hidden prices increases.
At a meeting of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association, members said if airlines used the move to push up prices across the board, customers in Scotland would be further penalised because airport charges are higher north of the border.
For example, charges for domestic flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh are ú7.40 compared to ú3.50 from Heathrow and ú3.40 from Gatwick.
Agents said they would take up the issue with the new Scottish parliament when it is formed later this year.
SPAA president Bill Tonagh said:”Until then, there is little we can do. We will be watching fares very closely.”
The Guild of Business Travel Agents has issued a warning to its members to check over the coming months that the air fare and airport charges combined do not exceed the previously applicable fare for a journey.
GBTA chairman Don Lunn said:”We cannot understand why the CAA is allowing a quite normal cost of doing business to be shown separately as though it is a tax. With the Government’s APD already on the tickets, this is just a way of adding even further to the complexities of air travel pricing.”
n See Letters, page 8