5 HOT STORIES NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK


This week’s top stories: 1. APD axed for children 2. Celebrity orders ships 3. Cook revamps brands 4. Club Med suitor bids 5. Tui posts £362m profit


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Trade urges chancellor to go further after axing APD for kids Ian Taylor


The chancellor’s decision to abolish Air Passenger Duty (APD) for children drew calls for the government to go further. George Osborne announced the abolition for children under-12 from May 1 in his Autumn Statement, and went further than expected with a pledge to axe APD for under-16s from May 2016. Abta welcomed the announcement, chief executive Mark Tanzer hailing it as “a clear indication this government has listened to the Fair Tax on Flying campaign”. The move will halve the APD on the


air fares of a family of four. Osborne also pledged to make airlines list all taxes and charges on tickets, saying: “We’re going to require airlines to list [fuel price] charges separately from taxes on tickets.” Details on this remain unclear. The cut in child APD will come a


month after the current four APD rates go down to two next April. However, not everyone was satisfied. Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent IAG, said: “Scrapping APD for children might be popular with some voters . . . but will do


4 • travelweekly.co.uk — 11 December 2014


nothing to improve the UK economy. APD must be axed in its entirety.” Flybe chief executive Saad Hammad said: “Scrapping APD on flights for children is welcome. However, this is just tinkering. The needs of regional passengers are still being ignored.” Flybe launched a campaign pointing out APD on return Manchester-Exeter flights is double that to Athens or Paris because passengers must pay the tax twice. Carriers confirmed they would pass


reductions on to passengers. Tui Travel chief executive Peter Long said: “I’m delighted – £70 per person to Disney [Florida] is a substantial sum of money. We will refund those already booked and readjust our prices accordingly.” Thomas Cook promised refunds and launched a “price drop” campaign to highlight the savings, and Monarch said: “We’ll refund customers already booked and reflect this change in our pricing.” Ryanair went further and said it would


refund child APD on flights from March 27, rather than May 1, “allowing children to fly tax-free for the Easter holidays”. ❯ Comment, page 71


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