Good Q&A with the British PM [From the Window Seat: “A Q&A with British PM, tourism pitchman,” April 9], but it is amazing how politicians change their tune once elected.
When asked by [a London] newspaper if a future Conservative government would raise taxes on flying, David Cameron’s reply was: “We have said that we will introduce a new per-plane Airline Pollution Duty to replace the flawed Air Passenger Duty (APD).” Once elected, he and his government amazingly found no flaws in APD, other than it needs increasing.
Flights to all U.S. routes fall into band B, due to the distance between London and Washington, while the Caribbean is in band C, but only because of very few miles.
So when the PM tells you: “We believe that the current system, which varies the rate at which APD is paid depending on distance traveled, is a fair one,” it is not actually true or fair, as distance traveled is not the key, but how far your capital city is from London.
How will the British government react if other countries match Britain’s APD, but just on flights to the U.K.?
Christopher Pickard
Critical Divide
Woking, Surrey, England
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