Business travel
Gulliver
Canadian fees
Charging Canadians to fly to America
Feb 25th 2011, 11:08 by A.H. | TORONTO
GIVEN the myriad fees already imposed by Canada's government and airlines on passengers, another one should hardly rankle. But the American government's proposed $5.50 inspection fee for Canadian flyers has prompted plenty of squawking. "The problem is that it's just one more of a thousand paper-cuts that are hurting the competitiveness of our Canadian air travel industry," said Daniel-Robert Gooch, communications director of the Canadian Airports Council, which represents more than 200 airports. Birgit Matthiesen, of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Canada's largest trade and industry association, said: "The raising of any fees on the Canada-US border is troubling." And a new poll suggests 64% of Canadians would favour imposing a fee on visiting Americans if the US inspection fee is enacted.
Even Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, has weighed in, saying a flight fee is not a useful way for the US to raise revenue. This criticism is somewhat ironic given that Mr Harper's government seems to believe passenger fees are indeed a great way to generate revenue. Passengers flying from Canada to the US must pay a security charge of more than C$12.
But the proposed inspection fee, which was introduced in the 2012 US budget, is not actually a new one, but rather an end to an exemption air and marine travellers from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean have enjoyed since 1997. Some 16m Canadians fly to the US every year, so the fee would raise about $90m from Canada alone—chump change given America's projected $1.6 trillion budget deficit for 2012.
A recent survey by the Hotel Association of Canada showed that 21% of Canadians drove to an American airport last year to benefit from cheaper airline tickets for US or foreign travel, up from 18% in 2009. It's unlikely that another $5.50 fee will stem that traffic.
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It'll be great for the airports in Bellingham, Plattsburgh, Burlington, and Detroit that are profiting for disgruntled Americans.
As an American in university in Montreal, I know the ridiculous prices all to well. I usually take a bus from Montreal to Burlington, Vt. and fly from there. Strangely, flights to New England from Washington DC cost about a third of the cost of flying from Montreal.
I don't think it'll make a difference to flying Canadians given the already exorbitant prices of US-Canada flights, so we may as well get some revenue out of it.
Not that I favor or disfavor the fee but has anyone looked lately at the myriad of fees and surcharges in an aircanada ticket???
@ sevillano: that is one of the myriad of reasons why I don't fly Air Canada. There are just too many fees for a very average product.
There are so many errors in this blog. Security fee is one way, not round rip. NAV Canada is a private company, not a government agency. 21% of travellers DO NOT use US airports...the number is closer to 1% or 2%. The Canadian Airports Council does not have 200 members. Finally, at best, it will encourage Canadians to visit other countries, or buy one less souvenir.
This is a non-story that has lobby groups up in a tizzy.
A bit of fact-checking, please!!!!
@Goldmember. Thank you for your criticisms. You're right about the security charge being one-way only, and about the NAV Canada fee not being a government money-spinner. We have simplified the last sentence of the second paragraph to clarify matters. However, we stand by two of the assertions:
1) The Canadian Airports Council does indeed represent more than 200 airports. It only has 47 members though.
2) Here (http://www.hotelassociation.ca/reports/news%20releases/Travel%20Intentio...) is the survey by the Hotel Association of Canada showing that 21% of Canadian travellers used an American airport in 2010.
I don't know what the fuss is all about. Those US customs and immigration staff at Canadian airports already are having their salaries paid for by the public travelling from Canada.
When I was working for an airline back around 2000, we had to pay all the fees separately for personal travel to the US. If I remember correctly, it was about US$100 in fees for US customs and immigration then plus the NavCan fee. Today, you can add the airport fee and the Canadian and US security fees to that.
Of course, you don't see it as it is rolled into the price of a ticket.
The Canadian government loves to stick charges on travellers, Canadian and others.
The government of Chile charges some arriving foreign travellers a "reciprocity fee". This is directly related to whatever visa fee the traveller's country charges Chileans. In my view this is perfectly justified.
The fee charged to Canadians is, the last time I looked, at USD 149 the highest charged to any of the very few countriescitizens who must pay this fee.
When Canadians have whinged to me about this I have told them not to blame the Chileans. What they are doing is perfectly reasonable. All blame lies with the Canadian government for charging Chilean visitors to Canada.
The Canadian government seems to think that international travellers are just a cash cow to be milked for all they're worth.
The US government has to pay for all that Security Theatre somehow!