New Airport tax of $210 per passenger proposed

[wnissen]

I won't make any comment on the politics of this, but will point out that it's by no means sure that the price of a ticket will go up by the full amount of the tax. For price-sensitive commodities, it's pretty common that supply and demand will offset the increase. For instance, if enough people who would have flown at $1000 decide not to at $1200, the airline might choose to cut their price to bring the total cost down. Especially if they need to fill a certain percentage of their seats, and they're not losing money by doing so, it wouldn't surprise me at all. Look at the UK, which has very high passenger taxes, £80 (US$100). Are flights into London any more expensive than, say, Paris, where the tax is a fraction of the UK? No, if anything the competition makes them cheaper. Taxes matter, but it's not as simple as just tacking $200 onto the price.

 

[drrich2]

I see your point, but the airline industry has been taking a big financial hit due to major drops in passenger loads. And let's recall that before the pandemic, some airlines had already resorted to 'penny pinching' stunts like selling economy class seats where a carry on wasn't allowed unless I upgraded as an option. The airlines may be passing along a lot of that to us...either directly via ticket prices, or baggage fees, something.

 

[tkaelin]

My understanding is that Curacao is really hurting economically from what has been going on in Venezuela (and related refinery closing issues) and Covid 19 (and the loss of tourism). I hope they can recover. Not sure how the proposed new fee relates but likely some connection.

 

[ReefHound]

My May trip to Curacao was canceled and I won't likely be going out of the country until 2021 but if this gouge is in effect when I need to book i'll be going somewhere else.