OK, to go back to:
He could have introduced the same rate of tax on aviation industry fuel that motorists have to pay on the petrol that takes them to work and back. And that would have seriously made your eyes water
If he could, maybe he would, but aviation fuel taxes are government by the Chicago Convention of 1944, and for that reason are set at zero.
APD is, in some way, an attempt to "offset" that, but it risks being counter-productive when:
a) Higher rates of tax mean people visit other countries instead of Blighty and
b) People fly longhaul from non-UK airports to escape APD.
However, the government also know that for all the "jobs" the aviation industry supports, it also exports spending to other countries at a faster rate than it brings it in. This is where I think APD is, ironically, counter productive.
The arguments used by airportwatch & co are that aviation exports £, therefore we should discourage it by taxing it more. Except of course that as per (a), it has a far greater impact on inbound tourists, who are much more price sensitive.
I would like to see an unbiased model showing the net impact that APD has on the economy, and would suspect that as with many taxes, it reaches a peak before falling off. I don't think there is the political will to see it scrapped, but it certainly can't be milked for ever.
I say this sitting in NEV, having paid around £220 less for my long haul CDG-SXM sector than the equivalent LGW-SKB. But all told, by the time I've made the short hop across the pond, and the local connection, I have saved very little, just seen more places on the way
