Airport Tax

You decide to go on a trip. You spend hours searching all the travel sites, even the weird ones that seem like they put your computer at risk. You finally find what looks like a great deal...$99 round trip from Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur on Sputter Airlines. You run your credit card and you get your final receipt. For some reason, the ticket now costs $159. Ahhhh! At that price, you might as well swim!

Airport taxes are a big reason for the surprise jump from list prices for flights to the final amount that shows up on your credit card receipt. Basically, the government taxes passengers for using the airport.

It's not the only add-on to the ticket price. There are other taxes, and the airline might throw on a fee or two as well. But airport taxes are among the biggest flight-related fees that come up when booking a seat on an airplane.