Airport services passengers lose out

A city well served by airport facilities has an undeniable advantage in many ways. But several challenges lurk on the horizon, especially in more remote regions, where service is far from optimal and airfares are high. Quebec City and Montreal also have their own issues – onerous regulations, taxes here, fees there – and it seems to be the case in other parts of Canada. In the final analysis, the current system pre­vents the industry from really taking off, depriving travellers of better routes and more competitive prices.

The Canadian system is very different from its American counter­part. Owned and operated by the fed­eral government until the 1990s, our airports are now managed by local enti­ties and, again unlike our southern neighbours, without the benefit of gov­ernment subsidies. In other words, they are self-sustaining. As a result, taxes, fees and other charges are significantly higher here. Furthermore, our market structure, with its particular advan­tages and disadvantages, protects Canadian companies while imposing regulations on foreign ones.

Deterred by such high taxes, fees and charges, some carriers may decide to maximize their operations else­where – a move that would directly weaken competition and adversely affect pricing. Granted, our airports are big and attractive, but a few quick com­parisons are sufficient to appreciate the impact of high fees on, for example, a Montreal-to-Sept-Îles plane ticket. Airfare for the same distance costs 83-percent more than its equivalent south of the border, according to a 2015 Air Canada estimate. In view of this state of affairs, the Quebec government has agreed to address the issue of regional air transportation. But there are other challenges to confront.

While Montréal-Trudeau is expe­riencing strong growth, it attracts few low-cost and ultra-low-cost carriers, all of which are favoured by young travellers. Do we want these carriers? Will they meet consumer expecta­tions? For now, which city stands to benefit? Burlington? Plattsburgh? Quebec City’s Jean-Lesage Airport has just opened its expanded terminal. It’s a superb venue, but airlines often complain that its high fees prevent them from flying there.

So whose fault is that? We can’t blame the airports for levelling fees, or carriers for wanting to make a profit. But we can certainly wonder whether consumers get value for their money. So, let’s put all these issues on the table: Airport authorities, carriers, cit­ies, levels of government and other stakeholders all have a duty to act in a concerted manner. Now that we’ve identified the main obstacles to a more open and efficient market, surely we can agree on a common cause to strengthen the vitality of these infra­structures for all our markets.

Ultimately, whether reorganizing the tax system, revising fees and charges imposed on carriers, or devis­ing more direct means of involvement by different levels of government, it is basically in the interest of our top priority: the travelling public, the very raison d’être underlying these services.