The surcharge of $6 that taxi companies charge visitors for airport pick-ups - when the actual price charged to operators is less - concerns the Queenstown Airport Corporation.
Taxi operators were not, as reported in Friday's Queenstown Times, charged $6 for every pick-up by the QAC.
Rather, they pay a fee of $3.45.
QAC chief executive Steve Sanderson said the airport was worried taxi companies might be using this to overcharge visitors to town.
However, Alpine Taxis managing director Mark O'Connor said the $6 fee was to cover the costs of leasing space in the airport's taxi rank, as well as the pick-up fee.
"When we put that $6 on - and all companies decided to go the same way - that was the figure that we all sort of agreed would do to cover our annual costs and our per-item cost."
Although he could not speak for the others, he said Alpine Taxis did not recoup the annual cost of the lease through the surcharge last year.
"Every time our company goes through there's obviously $3.45 a time that goes towards our annual charge that we have to be in there, and we are at this stage subsidising the airport."
Mr Sanderson said the taxi fee was in line with, or less than, fees at most New Zealand airports, and their taxi ranks offered superb business opportunities for taxis.
