Canadians now have to pay more to book flights on low-cost airline

Canadians now have to pay an extra fee when booking Flair Airlines flights.

The low-cost carrier is the latest airline to add a fuel surcharge to its airfare in response to soaring oil prices amid the Iran-United States war.

"Like all airlines, Flair operates in a dynamic cost environment, with fuel representing a significant and volatile expense," a Flair spokesperson told us on Tuesday. "As of [Monday, April 6], we have implemented a carrier surcharge to reflect these changing costs."

In March, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It's a crucial passage way for one-fifth of the world's oil supply, and its shutdown has caused oil prices and, therefore, jet fuel costs to spike.

Flair stated that it clearly displays the fuel surcharge at the time of booking, "so customers understand what they are paying and why."

The carrier surcharge is listed under Air Transportation Charges at checkout. An example booking, we input from Toronto to Vancouver in July, shows that the fuel surcharge is $40.

Travellers can click on a question mark beside the carrier surcharge to learn more about the fee.

“Carrier surcharge is collected by the airline to partially offset certain volatile, unpredictable or fluctuating operating costs and fees, and certain fare premiums linked to peak travel periods,” reads the site.

Flair follows Air Transat, WestJet, Porter, and Air Canada Vacation's lead after the airlines implemented their own fuel surcharges on certain bookings.

According to GasBuddy, gas prices in Canada reached their highest average of the year so far on Tuesday, April 7, at 181.6 cents per litre.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran if it doesn’t reopen the waterway by the 8 p.m. ET deadline. If the standoff between the two nations continues, it may impact Canadians’ wallets.

Check which services in Canada are adding a fuel surcharge as oil prices continue to rise.