If you’re preparing for summer travel, you’re likely experiencing some sticker shock when searching for airfare. Even though the Department of Transportation just announced new rules to curb airline “junk fees,” there’s still some mystery around what exactly goes into ticket pricing. We spoke with Ryan Ewing, founder of AirlineGeeks, Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, and Mercedes Zach, travel agent at ASAP Tickets, to learn more about the factors that make flights expensive.

If you look closely when you’re buying airfare online, you might notice that the base fare is pretty affordable, but in some cases, the added taxes and fees almost double the cost. Two types of fees are added to your ticket — government-imposed taxes and fees and carrier-imposed fees. Government taxes include things like a $5.60 Passenger Fee or a September 11 Security Fee to help fund additional security, an air transportation tax, a federal segment fee, and a facility charge.

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