Air fares, fourth quarter 2018
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Released: 2019-06-26
$224.60
Fourth quarter 2018
-1.1% 
(year-over-year change)
Base air fares in Canada, domestic and international combined, averaged $224.60 in the fourth quarter, down 1.1% from the same quarter in 2017.
Base fares do not include the goods and services tax, air transportation taxes or user fees, such as airport improvement fees or fuel surcharges. Average air fares are calculated for each flight stage—that is, when the passenger boards the aircraft at one airport and departs the aircraft at another airport.
The average domestic fare was down 1.4% from the fourth quarter of 2017 to $167.00, while the average international fare decreased 2.2% to $281.60. This marked the third consecutive decline in international air fares.
Among the 10 selected cities where passengers boarded the plane (enplanement), Regina (+6.9%), Winnipeg (+4.0%) and Saskatoon (+3.6%) recorded the largest increases in average domestic air fares, while Calgary (-4.9%) and Toronto (-2.8%) posted the largest declines.
Toronto ($190.70) edged out Vancouver ($188.20) as the city with the highest average domestic air fare, followed by Winnipeg ($178.60) and Regina ($170.00). These four cities recorded average domestic fares above the national average. Saskatoon ($155.60) posted the lowest average domestic air fare for the second consecutive quarter.
Chart 1
Average domestic and international air fares
Chart 2
Average domestic air fares for 10 major Canadian cities
Note to readers
Average air fares are base fares and do not include the goods and services tax, air transportation taxes or user fees, such as airport improvement fees or fuel surcharges. All fares in this release are base fares.
Average air fares are calculated for each flight stage. When the passenger boards the aircraft at one airport and departs the aircraft at another airport, this is considered a flight stage.
The Fare Basis Survey covers Air Canada (including Air Canada rouge, Jazz, Air Canada's Canadian regional code-share partners), Air Transat and WestJet.
The data in this quarterly release are not seasonally adjusted.
The Fare Basis Survey is being redesigned.
Contact information
For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
For more information on the current definitions, data sources and methods of the Fare Basis Survey, click on the Related information tab of this release. Readers who wish to know more, or to consult with Statistics Canada about the redesign of this survey, can contact us (statcan.transportationstats-statistiquesdutransport.statcan@canada.ca).
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