France is planning to introduce significant increases to its solidarity tax (TSBA) levied on the aviation industry as of next year, according to a report from Les Échos. The government is reportedly planning to reap more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion) through the increases to the scheme, nearly tripling current revenues, which stand at around €460 million ($508 million). This tax is imposed on individual flight tickets and will make flying from France to the US much more expensive if adopted, as well as to everywhere else.
The new tax
The Economy and Finance Ministry is reportedly looking to implement the tax as part of its 2025 budget plan. The TSBA solidarity tax exclusively impacts the aviation industry and was created in 2006 under the Jacques Chirac government. There are different levels to the proposed tax increases which are listed as follows.
Distance New tax (per passenger) 0-1000km (and Overseas France) Not decided 1000-5000km €42 (economy class) €100 (business class) 5000km+ €60 (economy class) €200 (business class) €3000 (private jet)
To put this into perspective, economy class tickets for journeys longer than 5000km are currently charged just €7.51 per passenger.
France is currently planning to increase taxes on intra-European flights as well in order to have a genuine impact on low-cost airlines. This would mean overall prices will rise, not only in the medium and long-haul sectors.
For flights under 1000km, the government is still undecided. It had initially planned to avoid further regulating the flights given that taxes represent around 40% of the ticket costs on domestic flights anyway. It instead thought about increasing VAT from 10% to 20% but later backtracked.
Photo: kamilpetran | Shutterstock
US impact
These new taxes would primarily impact flag carrier Air France. However, this will also impact international players including the big three from the United States: American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. The airlines each offer several routes to and from the European country.
Of the ticket price for flights between Paris to New York, 17% of it is said to be taxes and fees. This is compared to nearly 40% on domestic flights. Nevertheless, the proposed increases would have a profound effect on the flight prices as the cost would naturally be passed onto the consumer.
Photo: Mike Fuchslocher | Shutterstock
When asked for their thoughts on the measure, United Airlines declined to comment. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines did not immediately respond to Simple Flying.
Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying
Of the many routes between the two countries, some key examples offered by each airline from France’s main airport in Paris include:
United Airlines: Newark (EWR) and Chicago (ORD)
Newark (EWR) and Chicago (ORD) Delta Air Lines: New York (JFK) and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP)
New York (JFK) and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) American Airlines: New York (JFK) and Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)
Photo: Jon Tetzlaff | Shutterstock
Badly received
This is no popular measure, at least for companies and organisations working within the industry. Airlines for Europe (A4E) and Airports Council International (ACI), two industry groups in this instance representing European airlines and airports, expressed
Why US-France Flights Are Set To Spike In Price
RELATED ARTICLES