Airfares climb for first time in nearly two years amid soaring fuel costs: StatCan

An Air Canada flight departing for Toronto, bottom, taxis to a runway as a WestJet flight bound for Palm Springs takes off at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, March 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

MONTREAL — Statistics Canada says airfares rose year-over-year for the first time in nearly two years in March amid sky-high jet fuel prices.

Agency data shows that plane ticket prices rose 2.9 per cent last month compared with March 2025.

National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen notes that the last time the consumer price index notched a year-over-year increase for air travel was June 2024.

Doerksen says ballooning jet fuel prices is driving the recent fare surge, with airlines passing on some of the cost to passengers.

On a month-to-month basis, fares rose nearly five per cent.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran launched in late February caused an effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about a fifth of the world’s crude oil, prompting massive spikes in energy prices.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2026.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press