Surcharges Explained
Ever wondered how the price of your ticket is made up? Many passengers are unclear as to the real cost of a ticket and exactly how high the surcharges are. With this in mind, KLM has now made the price structure of its tickets more transparent. Below you will find an overview of the various costs, taxes and surcharges.
On this page:
Reservation fees
A reservation fee is charged for booking a KLM ticket, the amount of which depends upon the reservation method. The cheapest option is to make a reservation via klm.nl, where the fee is € 10 per ticket. Booking your flight by phone via KLM Reservations costs € 25 per ticket. Meanwhile, tickets booked at any KLM Ticket Office are subject to a € 45 fee. In short, it pays to use klm.nl to book your flight!
Surcharge on Paper Tickets
Travellingwith an e-ticket has now become the standard at KLM, offering you a wide range of benefits. E-tickets cannot be lost, forgotten or stolen, and you can check-in online via klm.nl.
Paper tickets used to be available at a surcharge. However, starting 1 June 2008, paper tickets are no longer available and therewith this surcharge is no longer applicable.
Fuel Surcharge
The price of kerosene is currently high and subject to major fluctuations. This situation has obliged KLM to levy a fuel surcharge on all its flight tickets, which depends on developments in the oil market. On European trips, this amounts to € 30 per segment flown; on intercontinental destinations, the surcharge is € 90(flights not langer than 9 hours) and € 100(flights longer than 9 hours) per segment. To the United States, Mexico and Canada the amount per segment is € 90 for all flights. The supplement is calculated per flight, so it is charged on both the outbound and return trips as well as any intermediate flights.
Security surcharge
The security surcharge amounts to € 5 per segment flown and is levied for insurance and security measures, as separately indicated on the ticket. Insurance premiums have risen considerably in conjunction with the increased risk of terrorist attacks. In addition, structural security measures are still being implemented in various processes onboard and at airports.
Credit card surcharge to compensate for rising costs
More and more air travellers are using a credit card to pay for their tickets. This increasing credit card usage has resulted in rising costs for KLM. To compensate for these costs, we are forced to charge a surcharge of € 7.50 per person (with the exception of infants) for tickets booked by credit card.
This surcharge only applies to lower priced Economy Class tickets, such as the Take Off Fares, that are booked directly from KLM (through the KLM website, for example). Of course, you can continue to use other - free - payment methods as well, such as the payment option iDEAL, a once-only authorisation or bank transfer. The surcharge applies to all credit cards.
Airport Tax at Schiphol
The total airport tax for flights departing from Schiphol is EUR 28.00 . This
figure includes the following surcharges, which KLM has to transfer to
Schiphol Airport:
- security surcharge EUR 12.95
- passenger surcharge EUR 14.66
- noise surcharge EUR 2.00
These surcharges are added together as one amount in the ticket.
Airport Tax at destination airports
All airports charge airport taxes on airline tickets. The exact amount depends on the destination, and is detailed separately in the total price of the ticket.
Air passenger tax
The ticket tax was introduced by the Dutch government last year and was a compulsory levy on all passenger flights departing from the Netherlands. Now the government has announced that it will lift this tax as of 1 July 2009. KLM has decided to stop charging the tax to its passengers with immediate effect: The tax will no longer apply on flights leaving from 1 July 2009.
Passengers who have already purchased a KLM ticket that departs on or after 1 July 2009 will be refunded their ticket tax without being charged any administrative costs.
From today, passengers who book a ticket that departs on or after 1 July 2009 will not be charged ticket tax.
Passengers who book flights leaving before 1 July 2009 come under the former regulations and will still pay ticket tax.
Would you like to know more?
Would you like to know more about surcharges and taxes? Call KLM Reservations on +31 (0)20 – 4 747 747 or ask your travel agent.
