First, I also bitch about the high gas prices in the US. Reason? Our economy is not set up for it as much of the country relies on self transport. Air taxes are not as much of an issue as they are not as integral a part of our day to day life (regardless of what airplane nuts like us may think). Remember, $10 on each round trip is a security fee imposed by the federal government to pay for the cost of the TSA, a user paid fee, an organization that was screamed for by the right wing in the US after September 11th and one that really has done nothing to improve security. PFCs have been around for years and they are charged by airports as a way of raising income so they can pay for improvements. Other taxes are normal and would be charged if you were buying almost anything In a message dated 6/27/2005 9:18:35 PM Central Daylight Time, damiross3@xxxxxxxxxxx writes: His argument is one that is always brought up when someone complains about something. People say the gas prices are high here so the mention the gas prices in Europe. Taxes between the mainland and Hawaii/Alaska are less on a percentage basis. The 7.5% pax tax applies only to the portion of the flight between the departure airport and 3 nautical miles off shore. So, a large portion of the flight is untaxed at 7.5%. An international tax of $7 is charged for flights to Hawaii and Alaska. However, even with imposition of this tax, the total tax as a percentage of the fare is less than flights entirely within in the mainland. (The other extortions, er, taxes, (Passenger Facility Charge, Security Tax, and Segment Fee) are still applicable. The normal international tax is $14.10.