Thanks for that which is interesting.
I don't know whether Qantas charge the same discretionary fees as BA do so it's hard to make a direct comparison. The APD quoted above is for an economy flight so for First it's double that at what I view as an outrageous £188 each. APD isn't payable where your departure point is outside the UK so that's quite a saving and it looks like that might be what's making the difference. Whatever it is I see it as well worth saving. In fact, on principle alone, I'd go out of my way to avoid paying the UK government £376 for no tangible return.
One of the most telling features of award redemption is the difference between the charges on the outbound and inbound sectors and that between BA and a US carrier such as American. For example, for a London-New York direct Economy eturn:
BA charge: £237 outbound and £159 inbound. Total £386
AA charge: £119 outbound and £1.60 inbound. Total £120.60
Business Class:
BA charge: £355 outbound and £276 inbound. Total £631
AA charge: £185 outbound and £1.60 inbound. Total £186.60
On the assumption that both airlines are paying all the necessary taxes and around the same price for fuel, my conclusion is that both BA and the government are ripping us off!
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