Fare Quotes and Passenger Service charge

[mcdonnellluke]

Hello
I have been looking at some online fare quatations on the web and found differences in the way they are quoted.
EZY for example quotes the fare excluding Tax (APD) and Security charge. For a return flight (domestic) this adds up at £5 tax each way plus £2.50 security charge each way. I think the same is typical of Ryanair. On the other hand, some well established airlines that claim now to offer low fares, e.g. BMI and FlyBE do have fares quoted at approx £11 each way on domestic routes, but in addition to the tax and security charge charge something called Passenger Service charge which can be quite heafty, this may put as much as £16 on top of the quoted fare, meaning that for a return fare this may put (inc. taxes and security charge) £30 on top of a return fare, as opposed to about £12 on top of a return fare for a low-cost airline like EZY. Why don't "No Frills" airlines charge passenger service charge-does this pay for the "Frills" aspect-e.g. meals and drinks? It does seem a bit misleading especially as the likes of BMI are trying to advertise low fares.
Luke

[rsoman]

BIK is absolutely right.
And as a thumb rule, generally the bigger/more established airports have hefty charges.So you may find that the LHR /LGW charges are much hevier than their smaller neighbours who may not even charge.
BIK if my meory serves me correct, the PSC for UK came only a few years back and till then only the Air Passenger Duty was there.
Cheers
RSO

[singaporegirl]

The Advertising Standards Authority says that airfares should be quoted including all taxes, PSC, etc. It's hauled Ryanair over the coals a couple of times for not doing this. Of course airlines prefer not to because it makes their headline prices look lower, particularly for transatlantic flights, where the extra taxes can add as much as £70 extra to the fare.

If you think you've been misled, it's worth complaining to the ASA.