Security concerns and increasing oil prices have altered
the face (and price) of travel in more ways than one. One of the
consequences of these changing conditions has been the addition of taxes and
charges levied on air travel by various sectors of the industry and
governments. When you see the price of an air ticket being advertised, read
the fine print, because it is likely the price would not include additional
charges and taxes which, in some cases, could amount to more than the base
price of a ticket.
To help you better understand why and what you have to
pay each time you travel, here is a list of different charges that could be
added to your air ticket. These would vary from country to country, and in
some cases, from city to city. Please check with your travel agent or
airline for specific charges.
There are generally three different bodies that could
levy taxes and charges. These are the governments, the airports, and the
airlines.
1. Security taxes – these are taxes that could be
levied by both the governments and the airlines to cover the escalating
costs of security at airports, the destinations, and on the airline itself.
After 911, these have been in place for most, if not all, airlines and
countries.
2. Fuel surcharge – these are charged by the airlines
to cover the rising costs of fuel. Many airlines have been impacted heavily
by the high fuel costs.
3. Departure/Airport taxes – some of these are charged
at the airport itself (like in Thailand) but most are charged at the time of
ticket purchases. Some airports do not charge a departure tax. In the US,
this is called Passenger Facility Charges.
4. Government taxes – these would vary greatly from
country to country. Within these could include taxes like noise tax,
pollution tax (like in Australia). In Europe, there is a Poverty Tax being
suggested by the French government. The idea behind this is for airlines to
collect a nominal sum from each passenger – the funds will then
collectively be used to alleviate poverty in third world countries.
5. Insurance surcharge – in some instances, you would
have to pay an insurance surcharge to account for the rising costs of
aviation insurance. Canadian air carriers for example, have this in place at
US$2 each way for all tickets issued.
If you are buying a ticket from a retail agent, you will likely be
charged an agent service fee for the services rendered to you. These may
include delivery charges of a paper ticket, or booking fee for helping you
secure a seat.