[jimworcs]

I am afraid PHX that it is misleading to say that

With the exception of the $380.00 CAD fuel surcharge, the remainder of the taxes and fees are simply collected by Air Canada and paid to various government and airport authorities.

The airlines have become adept at creating artificial mechanisms to divide the price of their service up, in order to mislead consumers as to the true price of the service. Many of the "fees" which airlines charge, are in fact standard costs of business. If I go into Target to buy a towel, and it is priced at $20, I don't expect at the till to be be asked for $32, which is $20 for the towel, $3 for road tolls, $2 for Workers Compensation Tax, $5 Freight Fees, $2 Fuel Surcharge. This bogus pricing is deliberately deceptive and should be regulated. Fuel is a basic cost of doing business and should be incorporated into the price, as is landing fees, airport security charges, etc. It is time to stop this nonsense. Furthermore, if airlines have "incentive programmes" (which are paid for in the airfares) these should not imply that they are free or subject to a vague "charges and taxes". The amount should be transparent and the terms clear. Instead, airlines deliberately obfuscate and confuse, making it difficult to determine the true cost and frequently making the "free" flights unavailable. This customer is a frequent flyer.. this is how he amassed the miles in the first place.. and now they have alienated a good customer. The incentive programmes should be scrapped or made more transparent.. that is the bottom line.