WildRice

I decided to redeem an AC award ticket on my Miles&More account. The routing was Penticton-Vancouver-Montreal-Fredericton and back. I called back a few days later to give them my credit card for the taxes and was told that there was no tax as it is a domestic ticket within Canada. I found it kind of odd. But decided that they might know what they are talking about. But when I called Air Canada's aeroplan department, they told me that there is a 'navcan' tax and some $25 fee if I am to book through them. ( I didn't as I had already booked through Lufthansa).

Anyway, my ticket was issued, and I received the e-ticketing email. There really isn't a tax!

See the fare construction below. Should I be worried at check-in? What if Air Canada decides to collect the navcan tax at check in?

TRAVELSIG

You only pay the taxes if you book through aeroplan- not m and m. I am not sure what the logic is on this- but it is a good deal for you! BTW I just booked a Star award bkk-syd-sin-bkk with Singapore and Thai- and was told I didn't have to pay the taxes as it was a Star award. As usual, a Phd in engineering may help in understanding the complexity of award and fee calculations...

auerbal

Looks like foreign airlines don't pay tax on Canadian domestic tickets. I am not surprised they don't pay GST -- foreigners have always been exempt from that (For example if you bought a Canadian work of art, you pay tax; a foreigner taking it out of the country, is exempt -- how's that for fairness and equity?) but am surprised there were no airport departure fees. So if this wasn't a mistake, it's an interesting argument for belonging to the LH plan instead of AC. Of course you wouldn't have upgrades on AC, so not sure if it would be worth it to most.

Shareholder

Other STAR FF programs don't buy tickets in the same way as Aeroplan buys tickets from AC, thus they are not required to pass along the same set of taxes and fees as Aeroplan. Aeroplan makes a real cash payment, while the others do a credit transfer based on the amount of FF miles/points AC ultimately buys from them. If there is a balance due, that is settled as part of a bulk payment, and thus does not affect individual member bookings/tickets. [Remember, AC still buys miles/points from other STAR programs which get paid out to members of those FF programs when they fly AC. AC can pay for this in seats these programs "buy" off them for members wishing AC awards, as the originator of this thread has done.]

Altaflyer

Of course this is just smoke and mirrors as no one is REQUIRED to pass along any costs, AP just choses to charge these fees to us - they are not required to. I am quite certain that someone will pay the airport improvement fees as these are actually paid per passenger (it won't be the traveller). NAV can is just a cost recovery calculation and not a real per person charge levied by that agency.

stinger

Do you happen to know Taupo? Sounds like a familiar routing for him.

Shareholder

I guess any company can absorb any cost, and like Jetsgo lose so much money it goes belly up. In the real world, once money has passed between parties in a direct fashion as it now does between Aeroplan and AC for seats [or Air Miles and AC] all taxes and fees kick in. When the value is zero, these do not have to be applied. AIFs are levied on the passenger, not the airline or agent [which Aeroplan and Air Miles are], as are security fees and GST/HST. If you'd also like to repeal the law of gravity, go ahead. I know Ralph and they boys in The Leg do this frequently, then howl like banchees when the courts remind them they cannot really do that. [The Devine Right of Kings was abbrogated by the Magna Carta, a document I am sure most Albertans have never heard of, let alone read.]

ProudEdmontonian

Sometimes I can never figure out if you think before you post or you really are trying to be obnoxious...

WildRice

I don't know who he is.

The ticket isn't for me. It's for a friend who lives in Penticton.