Earlier this morning I read on Europe a la Carte that EasyJet has ditched its free fee payment option for passengers using the Visa Electron card and now charges £9 administration fee for all debit cards payments. What has annoyed me though is that this move is supposedly to improve the transparency of surcharges for payment by debit or credit card.

More transparency for airline admin charges

According the Guardian, a spokesperson at EasyJet, was quoted as saying that the change is to adhere to the legislation that will come into force in 2014 under the Consumer Rights Directive, where holiday companies and airlines have to be more transparent with add-on charges.

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I am sat here wondering if the UK government gives a damn about tourism, or, do they even want the electorate to leave the country – frustration for travel consumers as we face more expensive holidays after the Chancellor announced that the Air Passenger Duty (APD) increase will go ahead as planned in April next year.

Passengers already booked will pay the additional tax

Now, here’s the interesting part of the increase, quoted from Travel Weekly, you will like this.

The Treasury has confirmed the increased rates for Air Passenger Duty (APD) from next April, retaining the existing four bands for another year, and also confirmed passengers already booked to fly will have to pay the additional tax.

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Quite a lot of buzz this morning about the announcement that airport operator, BAA have warned passengers of delays of up to 12 hours on flights coming into London Heathrow on Wednesday 30 November. This has meant a number of airlines have cancelled flights or reduced services.

News on other UK airports

I spent some time this morning looking on other UK airport websites including Gatwick and Manchester – they are being a little more reserved, suggesting that they have put in place plans to limit the disruption, but expect delays. I will of course keep this post up-to-date if the situation changes.

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As expected today I received a flurry of emails from consumers worrying about their holiday or concerns about booking a holiday with Europe’s second biggest tour operator, Thomas Cook, who are reportedly asking banks for an extra £100m to add to a debt that was £900m in September this year.

Tough times for travel industry

Tour operators, like many travel companies and airlines, have suffered from the political unrest in countries like Egypt and Tunisia, plus the tough economic climate has meant more consumers are either shopping around for the best flight and hotel price or holidaying at home.

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I dislike the term ‘Staycation’ and I don’t trust ‘consumer surveys’ when they are being used to promote travel products, but a recent press release from Columbus Direct caught my attention because it highlighted that 55% of domestic holidays are uninsured. To be honest, I am surprised that figure is not higher.

Need for travel insurance on a domestic holiday

I’m not sure how reliable this statistic is, but it is an interesting topic worth discussing. Whenever I go on holiday in the UK I have never taken out travel insurance – this is because I know if I fall ill I receive free treatment on the NHS.

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