Artic Monkey "I'm talking about 01475's post in relation to why AMS is becoming the UK's hub for the regions. APD is killing regional flying in the UK."
APD and it's affect on regional flying in the UK is a problem, but APD is not the reason many people choose foreign hubs rather than UK hubs. There is a common misconception that by transiting through AMS (or any non-UK airport) to long haul destination, it will save on taxes. It does not.
APD is calculated based on final destination, regardless of where a transit may happen. For example, whether you fly MAN-AMS-BKK, MAN-LHR-BKK or MAN-DXB-BKK is irrelevant as APD is payable for the MAN-BKK routing.
The only way to avoid this is by booking the two segments separately, thus paying UK APD only on the first leg to AMS/CDG/FRA etc. But of course doing this leaves you rather exposed to mis-connecting without any support, then having to sort yourself a new flight and the added expense that comes with it, which is highly likely to be far more than any money saved on APD.
KLM serve the UK regions very comprehensively, far more so than BA, Air France or Lufthansa. Plus AMS is a easy transit airport... Makes it a no-brainer for many. APD is a different issue and is unrelated.
Having said that... The lack of understanding of how APD works may well push people to travel via a non-UK hub in the belief they will save on APD, which they in fact will not.
ADP is however a huge issue for domestic airlines as it is chargeable on any flight from a UK airport (with a couple of exceptions I believe) so domestic flights are hit twice, outbound and inbound. It adds £26 to a return fare for every domestic flight.