Sir Richard Branson vs. Parliament

Sir Richard Branson is hopping mad about regulations coming down the pike courtesy of the UK Parliament, and he's not sitting around bitching about it idly. The issue at hand is the Air Passenger Duty (APD), scheduled to rise by an ungodly 113 percent by November 2010, with the next phased increase due in November of this year. It means, for example, that the APD tax on a flight from Heathrow to Dubai will go up from £40 to £60; the tax on a Premium Economy ticket from Gatwick to Barbados will go up from £80 to £150 and the tax on an Upper Class flight from Heathrow to Sydney will increase from £80 to £170. In his own words, Sir Branson trashed the measure:

Air Passenger Duty is one of the most unjust taxes out there. The UK Government has been quietly increasing APD by huge amounts and claiming it is an environmental tax. Yet, there’s not a shred of evidence to suggest the £2billion+ currently raised is going towards environmental or sustainable projects. Now the UK Government wants to again hike the ridiculously high tax on your holiday or business trip—in November this year and next—by up to 113 percent. I am urging passengers to write to their local Member of Parliament on why the planned increases are out of control. The increases will hurt passengers, the airline industry and developing regions such as the Caribbean and Africa which rely on the airline industry to power their economies, and enable family and friends based in the UK to visit loved ones.

And that’s not all. To further drive his point home, Sir Branson has created an entire website against the ADP, and he’s putting his money where his mouth is. “The Virgin Group have pledged that any profits we take from Virgin Atlantic over the next ten years will be invested into clean fuels.” Good day, Sir Branson. I like your style.