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Security fee hitting hard, short-haul carriers say
By Ian Jack OTTAWA - The federal government's $24 round-trip security fee is taking a big bite out of the short-haul aviation business, airline executives told the House of Commons transport committee yesterday. The executives want the tax reduced, assessed on a sliding scale or even abolished for short-haul carriers, whose passengers they say are paying too much for too little in additional security. Since the tax came into force April 1, traffic on WestJet Airlines' Calgary-Edmonton route has declined 15%, said Mark Hill, vice-president of strategic planning. Pacific Coastal Airlines Ltd. has seen traffic plummet 45% on its Vancouver-Victoria route, said Daryl Smith, chief executive. Air Canada's Jazz has dropped service to several communities and suffered a 30% decline in traffic partly due to the fee, said Joe Randell, president and CEO. The government is reviewing the tax, announced in the budget that followed the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and may make changes in its next budget expected in February. But the impact has already been felt by the short-haul carriers, whose lower fares are disproportionately boosted by the $24 fee. "Our customers are not travelling or choosing an alternative," said Mr. Randell. By global standards, he said, the size of the fee is unprecedented. "It's the straw that broke the camel's back,"
he said of the security fee, which is meant to pay for $2.2-billion in spending
on enhanced security at airports and on board flights. |
