Air travel within Canada is expensive — what goes into that ticket price?

When buying a plane ticket, you're paying for more than just your seat — you're also paying for costs such as security, air traffic control and airport improvements.

As many Canadians cancel their trips to the U.S. amid the trade war and annexation threats, costs to travel within the Great White North remains high — but there’s a lot more than just your seat on the plane that goes into the price.

The trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to turn Canada into the 51st state have spurred a surge in “Buy Canadian” sentiment, including calls from federal leaders for Canadians to axe travel plans to the U.S. and vacation in the country instead.

But when Canadians purchase their tickets, they may notice additional costs beyond their seat on the plane and baggage fee.

“The airlines have basically compounded the problem and kind of lumped a whole bunch of other things on top of the normal stuff we pay,” said John Gradek, an aviation management professor at McGill University.

When you buy your ticket, the first cost you’ll face is your base fare, the initial cost of the airline ticket excluding additional fees, taxes or surcharges and directly represents the price of the seat itself.

While there are fees you might face, such as your seat cost, carry-on or checked luggage and food on the plane, there are non-optional fees you’ll be charged when you buy your ticket.

On top of the actual base fare, most airlines add on various surcharges, the GST or HST, an Air Travellers Security Charge, an Airport Improvement Fee and a NAV (Canada) fee.

The government sales tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST) is standard in nearly everything people buy, but the Air Travellers Security Charge is not unless you’re buying an airline ticket.