He writes that while there is “a large gap” between the U.S. and Canada, “no single factor can be identified as the overwhelming cause for this gap. Rather, a large number of relatively small factors all contribute to the gap, with the result being a loss in passengers for Canadian airports, along with their business revenues and related government tax receipts.”

The bottom line: “Cross-border air fare shopping is being driven by a ‘perfect storm’ of many different factors, including wages, productivity, fuel prices and taxes, asset prices, and airport and navigation fees. Together, these are providing a 30 per cent cost advantage to U.S. carriers.

Gill also suggests that changes in government policies “could bring 2 million or more passengers per year back to Canadian airports. . . This includes revisiting the airport rent formula as well as the structure of the Air Travelers Security Charge. For example, the federal government could shift airport rents from a rising marginal share of revenue to a f lat share of revenue, or even a fixed fee.”

For Atlantic Canada, the issue is clearly a bread-and-butter concern. “While we have a relatively modest population base of 2.3 million people, we welcome over 5 million visitors to our region every year, which makes tourism an important sector in the economic generator in Atlantic Canada,” Collins and Innes told the Senate committee. “Our 14 airports move more than 6.5 million passengers per year, which is three times the total population of the region. That number has grown by an average of five per cent annually since 2002. We are not only moving passengers and cargo in and out of Atlantic Canada; we are enabling the growth of our local economies. Our airports together generate over $2.6 billion in economic activity every year, supporting just under 17,000 person years of employment and over $500 million in wages alone.”

To their credit, airports in New Brunswick and elsewhere in the Atlantic provinces are not sitting on their hands. “The maritime airports have worked together with Air Canada’s business sales team to develop a more convenient approach to business travel in the region,” Pasher reports. “In 2012 they created the Halifax Commuter Flight Pass, which allows for consistent pricing for air travel between many Maritime cities and Halifax. You can select one traveler or business and it will give you options and cost for packages. This gives a business traveler a set cost to travel by air between a number of Atlantic Canada cities and Halifax. It works out to $245 for a one-way f light credit for a single traveler.”

Moreover, she adds, New Brunswick airports have been very aggressive in pursuing new passenger and cargo business opportunities, playing a part in creating a marketing partnership to promote Atlantic Canada’s business opportunities to airlines. “Aircraft are hot commodities and our region competes globally with other cities and towns for aircraft and in order to grow service to our region we need to stand out and be competitive on a global stage,” she says.

Still, until federal government transportation policy provides better incentives to encourage greater competition, New Brunswick’s skies are likely to remain as costly as they are friendly.