I booked a one-way ticket to Germany for my mom for next week in Lufthansa first class using my United miles. I couldn’t help but crack a smile when the agent asked “and how did you want to pay for the $2.50 in taxes?” No, European flyers, I’m not off by a few decimal points.
It’s nice when a reward ticket actually feels like a “reward.”
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@Moose - yeah that was hyperbolic language. But it isn't in anyone's interests that we use our available oil so fast gas goes to $20/gallon before we figure out our alternative energy sources. And I'm prepared to believe the preponderence of scientists who believe carbon emissions contribute to global warming. A well-designed carbon tax ought to help price in those two risks, which would be in all of our long term collective interests.
@ Adam - A Carbon Tax benefits the "interests of humanity as a whole"...please explain...
Sorry for not replying earlier - was on holiday. I don't care where the money goes if it changes consumer behavior and avoids many of the deadweight costs of conventional taxation. In the US, I'd rather see a carbon tax that will help us get ahead of the curve of peak oil than a more broadly based VAT (which a lot of people are talking about), which will tax a whole load of non-harmful things. Given the amount of oil it uses, there is a pretty strong argument that air fares are too low to compensate for the negative externalities of scarce oil (especially since airlines pay hardly any gas tax anyway) and that additional taxes make for better allocation of resources. I agree incentives don't affect all fares, but when I flew LHR-DUB this summer with a party of 3 we paid less than GBP100 for the tickets (including checked baggage fees) but close to GBP 300 in taxes and fees. That tax difference is enough to make people think twice about whetherits worth it to them to catch the flight.
The departure taxes from certain European/British cities are high. For my London trip, I am saving at least $250 by leaving from Brussels instead of LHR. As a bonus, I get to visit another city. For another European trip, I am going in/out of ZRH (instead of FRA or MUC) to save some $ in taxes. In this case, ZRH is more convenient and the base fare was cheaper so I saved twice.
You can do one-way reward tickets on Lufthansa? That's good to know....
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