Several Alberta-based airlines say they’ll continue their fight against Ottawa’s contentious airport security surcharge, despite cuts to the tax announced in the federal budget.
Officials with regional carriers WestJet, Zip Air and Peace Air offered guarded praise last week for the government’s decision to cut the Air Traveller Security Tax by almost half. But they said the ticket surcharge – combined with fees such as rising fuel costs, airport taxes and other levies – places an unfair economic burden on air travellers and aviation companies.
As of March 1, the fee for round-trip tickets will drop to $14 from $24, and to $7 from $12 on one-way fares. The tax on international and cross-border flights will remain at $24.
“This is a step in the right direction, but it’s still really not enough,” said Marg Archibald, director of corporate communications for Zip Air, Air Canada’s Calgary-based no-frills carrier.
Archibald noted the reduced fee is still out of line with countries such as the United States, where the tax on a one-way ticket is $2.50 US. She added a recent airfare sale from Calgary to Winnipeg – priced at $80 return – totalled $173 when all taxes were included.
“Canadian passengers are absorbing this cost . . . it has truly impacted the pattern of travel in Canada. We will continue to lobby the government,” she said.
A spokeswoman for Calgary-based WestJet Airlines – which led the charge against rising airline taxes last year – said the tax cut won’t make a “monumental difference” to travellers in the face of the many other fees inflating ticket prices.
“We do still believe it’s going to be de-stimulative . . . every time you add a tax or fee, or increase a fare by a dollar even, there’s a certain percentage of the marketplace that makes a decision not to fly,” said Siobhan Vinish.
“So reducing it by $5 is a good first step, but there are a number of other issues that continue to be outstanding, and we’re hoping that the government, after taking this first step, will continue looking at other areas that need some review.”
In its campaign to fight the government fees and illustrate the effect on the public purse, WestJet last spring offered $6 return flights between Calgary and Edmonton. Once other mandatory taxes were added, the round-trip ticket cost closer to $90.
Albert Cooper, president and CEO of Peace River-based Peace Air, said the security tax cut is a positive move, but a broader review by Ottawa is needed. Government’s declining financial support for airports and aviation infrastructure is forcing travellers and operators to absorb the costs, he said.
Airports that are expanding, for example, are forced to pass expenses on to travellers through airport improvement fees as well as hidden levies that are built into ticket prices.
“All of these things have a detrimental impact . . . we all feel it,” Cooper said.
The tax was implemented 14 months ago to help pay for security improvements at Canadian airports in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the eastern U.S.
Randy Williams, president of the Travel Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), said the tax should be eliminated.
“Air travellers are still the only user group expected to pay directly for national security,” he said. “Reducing the air security tax is certainly a step in the right direction, but it is unfair that air travellers are still footing the bill for the safety of all Canadians, whether they’re in the air or on the ground.”
Finance Minister John Manley told Parliament last week the tax cuts stem from a new accounting system and a government review of security improvement costs, rather than the growing public outcry.
