Up, up and away with airline fees

For now, the only way to prevent "sticker shock" is to do a little math yourself to calculate in the extra fees. If you plan to fly in the near future, here's what you can expect to add to your fare.

Standard Fees

These standard fees will appear on every ticket, and there's no way to avoid them:

NAV Canada Surcharge: Think of this fee as infrastructure support. In Canada, this surcharge covers the fees that the airline pays to NAV Canada to run the air navigation systems. Transborder flights typically run $7.50 each way, while flights within Canada range from $9 - $20.

Insurance Surcharge: As insurance costs go up, airlines pass these costs along to their customers. This surcharge is still one of the smaller ones. For example, Air Canada charges $3.00 each way.

Airline Travellers Security Charge (ATSC): The additional fee we pay for the extra security personnel and equipment added since September 11, 2001. Within Canada, the charge ranges from $5 - $10, while international flights carry charges of $8 - $16.

Airport Improvement Fees (AIFs): These fees typically range from $5 to $20, but can go as high as $40 - $45 in some parts of Canada. Sometimes these fees are added to your ticket, but sometimes they are collected at the airport when you depart. Look for the AIF charge on your ticket to see if you're covered.