Affordable travel is essential in a country as large as Canada. But right now, it’s too expensive for many Canadians to fly within their own borders. That’s an issue year-round, but it especially stings during this summer vacation season as more Canadians are avoiding U.S. travel.
The good news is that flying has actually become much more affordable in recent decades. Canadians pay about half the price they did back in 1995 for a domestic base fare, inflation-adjusted. That means far more Canadians can travel, and more often.
But while base fares charged by airlines have been cut in half, additional fees charged by the federal government have increased by 65 percent. These fees used to be a tenth of the total ticket price; now they’re a quarter of what you pay. Because of this increase, Canadians now pay around $25 more for each one-way flight than they would have if fees stayed the same. For a family of four on a round-trip Canadian vacation, that’s almost a $200 cost increase.
Graphic credit: Janice Nelson
Most of the added cost comes from direct fees—like the Airport Improvement Fee ($34) and the Air Travellers Security Charge ($13)—which are listed on your bill at checkout. Other fees are paid by the airlines but passed onto passengers in their base ticket price, like Air Traffic Control ($16), Aviation Fuel Taxes ($3), and Airport Rent ($7).
