They say the only thing you can count on in this life is death and taxes.
When people fly on ultra low cost carriers and get those sweet $19 flights, of course they’re not actually paying $19. There are taxes to pay on top of that. In fact, if your flight is only $19, those taxes are probably going to wind up being more than the cost of your actual ticket.
Some taxes are charged by governments (sometimes called “government imposed duties”), others are charged by airports, and there are some fees are charged by the airlines themselves (sometimes called “carrier imposed surcharges”).
Airlines for America is an American trade association and lobbying group based in Washington, D.C. that represents major North American airlines since 1936. Their airline members include:
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- Atlas Air
- Delta Air Lines
- Federal Express
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue
- Southwest Airlines
- United Airlines
- UPS Airlines
Their self-proclaimed role is:
A4A vigorously advocates on behalf of the American airline industry as a model of safety, customer service and environmental responsibility and as the indispensable network that drives our nation’s economy and global competitiveness.
They also say they, “work collaboratively with airlines, labor, Congress and the Administration and other groups to improve air travel for everyone.”
From a passenger point of view, A4A admittedly has its good points and its not-so-good points (read: they would LOVE if they didn’t have to compensate passengers for delays or cancellations and they’ve prefer if there were no rules about how long passengers can be left on the tarmac). All that being said, their website has a wealth of information about the airline industry. One of the things they include is every single tax each passenger pays (or an airline pays and then it gets passed on to the passengers) for their flights. They’re included to help fund:
- homeland (national) security
- environmental protection
- agriculture inspection
- infrastructure enhancement
- airport and airway operations and maintenance
- agency financing
A4A’s page about taxes and fees includes what passengers pay as well as what airlines (including cargo carriers) are required to pay. But once that’s broken down, passengers pay for 4 things:
September 11th Security Fee: $5.60
This tax, obviously, came about in the time after the 9/11 tragedy, and it’s used to fund the TSA. It applies to both domestic and international flights. An additional fee(s) of $5.60 can be added if the trip itinerary includes a layover or stopover of longer than four hours (domestically), or 12 hours (internationally), or to/from Alaska and Hawaii.
Federal Excuse Tax: 7.5%
According to the IRS, an excise tax is a tax is imposed on the sale of specific goods or services, or on certain uses. Unlike general sales taxes, excise taxes are usually applied on a per-unit basis instead of as a percentage of the purchase price.
This tax is charged on all domestic flights and is based on your base fare. So if you paid $29 for your ticket, it’s going to be significantly less than if you paid $299 for your ticket.
According to a rule made by the DOT, airlines must include that tax in their advertised fares.
Flight Segment Tax: $4.80 per segment
This applies only to domestic transport or to journeys to Canada or Mexico within 225 miles of the U.S. border. A segment is defined as one takeoff and one landing. So if your flight has one layover, or a stopover where you don’t even leave the plane, it’s considered 2 segments, so you get to pay the flight segment tax twice.
Passenger Facility Charge (PFC): Up to $4.50
Airports use PFCs to fund FAA-approved projects that enhance safety, security, or capacity; reduce noise; or increase air carrier competition. Each airport is allowed to charge a PFC of $1, $2, $3, $4, or $4.50 on passengers.
Each one of these taxes are based on one-way flights. There are other taxes and fees that must be paid if you’re flying internationally; this page is older, but gives an idea about them.
And, of course, airlines have to pay their own fees, which are trickled down to us as part of our base fare.
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