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Most travellers ring around for the best air fare but few expect to be quoted different rates for departure taxes, which should be identical no matter who takes the booking.

Yet asked this week how much the tax would be on a direct return flight to London's Heathrow airport - a journey taken by up to 14,000 Hong Kong passengers a week - 10 travel agents gave eight different answers.

The highest quote was 50 per cent higher than the lowest - a variation of more than $160.

"When you go shopping around for the cheapest possible price, some agencies quote the tax and some don't. Some quote part of it and some don't," one frequent flier told the Post after being quoted $430 for tax on a return flight to London.

"Someone's conning someone somewhere. Why don't they give us the whole price a passenger has to pay, not all these add-ons? It makes it impossible to compare prices."

The Airport Authority charges $50 departure tax at Chek Lap Kok and bills airlines for security, a fee which is passed on to travellers and adds $20 to the cost of their trip.

At the other end, the British Government charges a GBP20 (HK$ 240) tax when passengers leave Britain for a destination outside Europe. On top of that, the British Airports Authority charges £7.40 (HK$ 89) on international departures from Heathrow.

The charges are all paid when passengers buy their tickets; the total cost of tax and fees on a direct Hong Kong to Heathrow round trip should therefore be $399.

But quotes received by the Post from 10 agents called within a three-hour period this week ranged from $308 to $470.

Some said it cost $50 to leave Hong Kong, others said $70. Asked about the British component of the bill, Travel Expert said it was $360, Honour Tourist Co said $370, Ananda Travel quoted $400 and Four Seasons said $350, all higher than the actual charge of just under $330 when converted from pounds.

Chairman of the Board of Airline Representatives' charge committee Ronnie Choi Mou-sang said confusion could arise because different travel agents had different definitions of the word "tax". Some might not count the $20 security fee in the quote for tax but would bill passengers for it separately.

He said it was also possible agents were offering a cut-price air fare to lure customers, then adding the discount to the "tax" bill.

"Maybe there are some doing that, but at the end of the day they would have to pay back the airlines for the $50 airport tax and $20 security fee," Mr Choi said.

Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said he would investigate the disparity. "Tax should be all the same no matter which agent you use. It should be spelt out on the ticket so it should be very clear," he said.

"Maybe the agents aren't familiar with the taxes imposed. The one thing I can see (to explain the range of quotes) is it depends on the exchange rate, but the difference shouldn't be that big. I'll look into it."