Originally Posted by
nomess
Canada loves taxes, and they love increasing them. Basically they just starve new entrants from oxygen. Conducting a return flight in a domestic country should not have one liable for $200 in taxes. It’s just madness.
Most domestic flights in USA or OZ are in the order of $20-$50 taxes each way tops.
In Canada, airports and the air navigation system are funded by a user pay model. In the USA and Australia, they're funded from general tax revenue. That is a major reason for the discrepancy. But if Canada changed to a taxpayer funded model starting tomorrow, the inherent cost reduction would apply to all carriers, not just ULCCs. The sad reality is taxes and fees didn't kill Lynx - their business plan did that - all by itself.