The federal government announced new rules Friday requiring airlines to include additional fees and taxes up front, when advertising ticket prices.
The regulations will take effect by the end of 2012 -- roughly five years after the federal government first announced it was planning to bring in such measures.
"This will allow consumers to easily determine the full cost of airfares in order to make informed choices," said Steven Fletcher, an MP and the minister of state for transport, in a statement.
Fletcher made the announcement at the Ottawa International Airport on Friday morning, saying consumers deserve more transparency from airlines.
Currently, advertised prices are often much lower than the final charge to a traveller once all the additional fees are added in.
For example, if a family of four were to purchase tickets from Toronto to Florida at an advertised price of $218, the tally would, at first glance, work out to $872.
But when $132 in taxes and fees are included on each ticket, the total rises significantly to $1,400.
The government said in a statement that airlines will no longer be able to omit additional charges from their ads.
"Clause 27 of the Act provides for the making of regulations requiring a carrier to include in the price advertised all costs to the carrier of providing the service and to indicate in the advertisement all fees, charges and taxes related to the service that are collected by the carrier on behalf of another person," the statement said.
The government expects to spend about a year drafting the new regulations.
Mel Fruitman, of the Consumer Association of Canada, called the news nothing more than "an announcement about an announcement," questioning why it's taken so long for the government to act.
The federal government passed legislation in 2007 that paved the way to bring in tougher airline advertising regulations, but hasn't acted on it until now.
"They've been fiddling around with this for four years or so and now they're finally saying they're going to start drafting legislation and regulations and it's going to be another year," Fruitman told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel.
"What's the delay? Why take so long? We need this protection."
Fruitman called the strategy a "bait-and-switch" on the part of the airlines, saying they intentionally lure customers in with low prices that don't reflect the true cost.
"You get them all excited about the prices and then you keep bumping them up and up because you know they're going to buy anyway," Fruitman said.
Following is a list of fees and taxes often tacked onto airline tickets purchased in in Canada:
- NAV Canada surcharge: Up to $40
- Canada Airport Improvement Fee: Up to $40
- Fuel surcharge: Up to $300
- GST/HST: Varies depending on ticket price and province
- Passenger Facility Charge: Up to $4.50
- Online Air Transaction Service Fees: $26
- Sept. 11 Security Fee: $2.50 (for passengers flying from U.S. airports)
- U.S. International Transportation Tax: $16.10 (per arrival or departure for travellers to the U.S.)
