Consumer Topics du Jour

• Airline tickets are made up of base fare plus government-imposed taxes and fees plus carrier-imposed surcharges.
   
• These apply whether you pay cash or use miles, so award tickets still attract cash charges.
   
• Taxes and fees are driven by both departure and destination countries, and by route and ticket type.
   
• If your itinerary involves layovers, you may pay the fees of every country you depart from on each segment.
   
• General government charges worldwide can include passenger service charges, air transport taxes and security fees.
   
• U.S. September 11 Security Fee (Passenger Fee) is $5.60 per one-way ticket from the U.S., capped at $11.20 per round trip.
   
• This fee is collected by airlines when you buy the ticket and remitted to the TSA.
   
• U.S. domestic excise tax is 7.5% of the base fare on domestic flights, including travel from the continental U.S. to Hawaii.
   
• U.S. federal segment fee is charged per flight segment on many domestic itineraries.
   
• U.S. passenger facility charge (PFC) can be up to $18 total, set by the airport(s) you depart from.
   
• Virtually all countries impose some form of air transport tax, usually per passenger and sometimes distance based.
   
• Passenger service charges are common worldwide and are often levied for use of airport facilities.
   
• United Kingdom Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to all international departures from the U.K., with amounts depending on distance band and cabin/class.
   
• UK APD on flights can range from about $16.50 to $218 per ticket, depending on route and ticket type.
   
• Example itinerary ORD–LHR–BER round trip shows more than $600 in taxes and fees added to a base fare of $1,100.
   
• That example includes a $5.60 U.S. security fee, about $78 in German taxes and around $70 in U.K. passenger service charge, plus significant surcharges.
   
• Carrier-imposed surcharges are extra charges set by airlines, frequently labelled as fuel surcharges or carrier-imposed fees.
   
• On award tickets, these surcharges come from the operating airline, but whether you actually pay them depends on the loyalty programme used to book.
   
• Example: ANA Mileage Club business-class JFK–VIE round trip costs 88,000 miles plus nearly $2,000 in cash surcharges, mostly carrier-imposed.
   
• The same JFK–VIE flight booked via United MileagePlus costs 147,000 miles plus just over $62 in taxes and fees, because United does not pass on those fuel surcharges.
   
• Some Star Alliance programmes that typically do not pass on fuel surcharges include United MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca LifeMiles.
   
• Many airlines do not add fuel surcharges at all to award tickets, for example TAP Air Portugal, SAS and United, so you pay only government taxes and fees.
   
• Carrier surcharges can vary by route and cabin, usually higher for long-haul and premium cabins.
   
• Award booking and service fees may include close-in booking fees for travel booked shortly before departure, though many U.S. airlines have dropped these.
   
• Some airlines charge extra for booking by phone, such as United’s typical $25 phone booking fee and Alaska’s $15 call centre service charge plus a $12.50 booking fee each way on partner awards.
   
• Some programmes add separate partner award booking fees, such as Air Canada Aeroplan’s roughly $30 partner fee and Alaska Mileage Plan’s $12.50 per partner award ticket.
   
• Change and cancellation fees for award tickets used to be common but have been removed by most major U.S. airlines since the pandemic.

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