Quick summary
UK travelers flying premium economy or business class to Taipei on EVA Air or China Airlines pay £216 in Air Passenger Duty per person from London Heathrow—a tax that drops to zero when departing Amsterdam Schiphol instead. A Eurostar or budget flight to Amsterdam costs £40-60, delivering £156-176 net savings per person, or £764 for a couple booking business class return.
The savings case strengthens further from April 2026, when APD rises to £253. Economy passengers save only £56 net—rarely worth the effort. The full breakdown covers booking mechanics, five scenarios with exact math, and three situations where this strategy backfires.
A couple booking business class from London Heathrow to Taipei pays £864 in Air Passenger Duty before the plane even leaves the ground. The same couple, on the same airline, in the same seats, departing Amsterdam Schiphol instead pays £0. The difference is a £40-60 positioning trip across the Channel.
The UK’s APD charges £216 per person on long-haul premium cabin departures for the 2025-26 tax year. Taiwan falls under Destination Band C—flights over 5,500 miles—placing it in the highest tax tier alongside Australia and New Zealand. The Netherlands levies no equivalent aviation tax. For UK-based travelers booking EVA Air or China Airlines to Taipei between now and March 2026, repositioning to Amsterdam delivers £166 net savings per person on a one-way business class ticket, scaling to £764 for a couple’s round-trip after positioning costs.
Air Traveler Club’s fare analysis of European gateway pricing to Asia-Pacific destinations shows Amsterdam consistently undercuts London on premium cabin fares, with the APD gap representing the single largest cost differential available through routing optimization from European airports.
Why Amsterdam eliminates the tax entirely
APD applies exclusively to passengers departing UK airports. Board a flight from Heathrow, Gatwick, or Manchester, and the tax is baked into your ticket price automatically. Depart from any airport outside the UK—Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt—and the tax vanishes.
Amsterdam Schiphol works particularly well for Taiwan-bound travelers because both EVA Air and China Airlines operate services from AMS to Taipei Taoyuan. The positioning trip from London is short: Eurostar runs London St Pancras to Amsterdam Centraal in 3.5 hours for £40-60, or budget airlines cover Heathrow to Schiphol in 75 minutes for similar prices.
The structural advantage exists because the UK’s Air Passenger Duty rate schedule imposes £216 per passenger on long-haul premium cabins for 2025-26, rising to £253 from April 1, 2026. The Netherlands has no comparable departure tax on long-haul flights, creating a permanent pricing gap that widens with every UK budget announcement.
The tax gap keeps growing
UK APD on premium long-haul cabins has climbed from £200 in 2024-25 to £216 in 2025-26, with £253 confirmed from April 2026—a 27% increase in just two years. Each rise makes the Amsterdam repositioning strategy more attractive, not less.
The math across five booking scenarios
Repositioning makes financial sense only when the APD savings exceed positioning costs. Premium cabins clear this threshold easily. Economy barely justifies the effort.
| Scenario | APD from UK | Positioning cost | Net savings | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person, economy, one-way | £106 | £50 | £56 | Skip it |
| 1 person, business, one-way | £216 | £50 | £166 | Reposition |
| 1 person, premium economy, one-way | £216 | £50 | £166 | Reposition |
| 2 people, business, round-trip | £864 | £100 | £764 | Strong case |
| Award booking, business (connecting LHR-AMS-TPE) | £216 on UK leg | £0 | Negative | Avoid |
The critical threshold is cabin class. Premium economy and business class both trigger the £216 rate. Economy triggers only £106—leaving just £56 after a £50 Eurostar, which most travelers wouldn’t consider worth the extra logistics. For a deeper look at how European gateway selection affects Asia-Pacific fares beyond tax savings, our analysis of Europe’s best airport hubs for Asia flights ranks Amsterdam, Istanbul, and Helsinki by total journey cost and connection quality.
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Booking the routing correctly
The single most important rule: book your positioning trip and your main flight as completely separate tickets. If you book London-Amsterdam-Taipei as a through-booking on one ticket, APD applies to the UK departure leg, eliminating the entire benefit.
Search EVA Air and China Airlines departures from AMS on Google Flights. Compare the Amsterdam fare against the London Heathrow fare for the same dates and cabin class. The base fare from Amsterdam is often lower than London even before APD enters the calculation—but verify this for your specific dates rather than assuming it.
Then book your positioning separately. Two strong options exist:
- Eurostar London-Amsterdam: 3.5 hours city centre to city centre, £40-60 standard class. Departs St Pancras, arrives Amsterdam Centraal. No airport security queues. Carry-on luggage is unlimited. Book at least 2 weeks ahead for best fares.
- Budget airline LHR-AMS: 75-minute flight on easyJet or KLM, £40-80. Faster in the air but add 2+ hours for airport procedures each side. Checked bag fees apply separately.
Allow a minimum 5-hour buffer between arriving in Amsterdam and your Taipei departure. You’ll need to transfer between Amsterdam Centraal (or Schiphol arrivals) and the EVA Air/China Airlines check-in desks. If using Eurostar, add the train from Centraal to Schiphol (17 minutes, frequent service).
Three scenarios where this strategy breaks down
Not every premium cabin booking benefits from repositioning. These situations eliminate or reverse the savings.
- Connecting award bookings trigger APD anyway. If your frequent flyer redemption routes through London to Amsterdam to Taipei on a single award ticket, APD applies to the UK departure leg. You pay the tax and spend more miles. Book award tickets originating from AMS only, or accept the APD from London.
- Higher Amsterdam base fares can offset savings. The social media claim that Amsterdam fares are “often lower” holds in many cases but not all. During peak travel periods, AMS business class fares occasionally exceed LHR fares by enough to narrow the gap below £100. Always compare all-in costs—fare plus APD plus positioning—before committing.
- Separate tickets mean zero protection. If your Eurostar is delayed and you miss your Taipei flight, the airline owes you nothing. Your positioning ticket and main flight exist independently. Travel insurance may not cover positioning segments booked separately—verify with your insurer before purchasing.
The April 2026 inflection point
From April 1, 2026, APD on long-haul premium cabins jumps from £216 to £253 per person—a 17% increase that makes repositioning even more compelling. A couple’s round-trip business class saving rises from £764 to approximately £912 after positioning costs. For travelers planning Taiwan trips in spring or summer 2026, the post-April math is unambiguous.
The UK government has signalled no plans to reduce or reform APD for 2026-27. As the world’s highest aviation departure tax, it continues to push cost-conscious premium travelers toward Continental European gateways. This strategy applies equally to flights from Amsterdam to other Band C destinations—Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Southeast Asia—making it a reusable playbook for any long-haul premium booking. Our Continental Hop Trick guide for European travelers maps additional gateway airports and positioning strategies beyond Amsterdam.
Questions? Answers.
Do free upgrades from elite status trigger the higher APD rate?
No. APD is charged based on the cabin class at the time of booking, not the cabin you actually fly. If you book economy from London and receive a complimentary upgrade to business via airline elite status, you pay the lower economy APD rate (£106). Paid upgrades, however, trigger the higher premium rate.
Can I use Paris or Brussels instead of Amsterdam?
Yes. Any non-UK departure eliminates APD. Paris CDG and Brussels are accessible via Eurostar (2.5 hours and 2 hours respectively), and both have Asia-Pacific carrier presence. Amsterdam is popular because EVA Air and China Airlines operate direct Taipei services from Schiphol, but check Google Flights for alternative gateways with competitive fares on your dates.
Does this work for economy class tickets to Taiwan?
Technically yes, but the savings rarely justify the effort. Economy APD is £106. After a £50 positioning cost, your net saving is £56 per person. For a solo economy traveler, an extra 3-5 hours of travel time for £56 is a poor trade-off. For a family of four in economy, the combined £224 saving may start to make sense.
What if my main flight from Amsterdam gets cancelled?
If EVA Air or China Airlines cancels your AMS-TPE flight, standard EU261 passenger rights apply since you’re departing an EU airport. The airline must rebook you or refund the ticket. However, your separate positioning ticket (Eurostar or budget flight) is non-refundable in most cases. This is the primary risk of the two-ticket strategy.
Will APD rates change again after April 2026?
APD rates are reviewed annually in the UK budget. The trend since 2007 has been consistently upward—premium long-haul APD has increased from roughly £80 to £253 over that period. No reduction is planned for 2026-27. The repositioning strategy becomes more valuable with each increase.
Can I check bags through from London to Taipei on separate tickets?
No. Separate tickets mean separate journeys. You must collect your luggage at Amsterdam Schiphol and re-check it for the Taipei flight. If positioning by Eurostar, you carry your luggage onto the train and bring it to the airline check-in desk at Schiphol. This is manageable but adds time—factor it into your 5-hour buffer.
