Transavia to surcharge on already purchased tickets in France

Transavia, Air France-KLM’s low-cost airline, will impose an additional surcharge on recent tickets purchased for flights departing from France. The increase is due to the country’s rise in air travel taxes.

This rises from 2.63 euros to 7.4 euros for domestic or European flights and doubles to 15 euros for non-European destinations. Remarkably, Air France itself will not impose a retroactive extra surcharge.

800,000 passengers involved

Transavia will levy the extra surcharge on trips scheduled from March 3rd. The airline said that customers who already have a ticket purchased before October 28th and after December 7th, 2024, for travel from March 3rd will soon receive an email to regularize payment. According to a spokesperson for the airline, nearly 800,000 passengers will have to pay the additional cost of the fare adjustment.

For any flight booking made since February 19th, the new tax is already directly included in the ticket price. Transavia also warns its travelers that online check-in and boarding passes cannot be obtained if payment is not made.

€800 million additional revenue

Prime Minister François Bayrou’s new center-right French government plans to increase the solidarity tax on airline tickets (TSBA) for tourist-class travel from France starting March 1st. Luxury classes and business aviation will also be asked to contribute more.

The measure works retroactively because the increase had already been included in the budget from late October to early December. Still, after a dispute over the budget, Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government fell on a vote of no confidence.

The French government expects to raise more than 800 million euros in additional tax revenue from the measure opposed by the entire industry. It is noteworthy, however, that, unlike its subsidiary, Air France has decided not to apply such a retroactive increase, and neither will the British low-cost EasyJet.

The Fédération Nationale de l’Aviation et de ses Métiers (Fnam), the leading employers’ federation in the French sector, did point out that airlines have barely been given time to adjust to the new measure. According to the international airline organization IATA, the recommended period is three to six months.