Airlines bagged over grown-up charges for babies

[oz_mark]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3601458a13,00.html

She weighs little more than hand luggage and doesn't have a seat on the plane, but my daughter Catherine Emma is being hit for the same fuel surcharge as a full-grown man.


She is heading to England on Singapore Airlines with her parents later this year to meet family in the northern hemisphere. Her ticket, which gives her the right to a bassinet, costs $258, 10% of the adult fare her parents will each pay.

But the fuel surcharge on her ticket - an extra fee to cover the rising costs of jet fuel - is $337, the same as an adult, hiking her ticket price by over 130%.

Singapore Airlines is not alone in charging babies the full fuel surcharge. Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Qantas also charge babies the same fuel surcharge as they would a full-grown adult on international flights.

 

[Mal]

Bring on the "awww. How awful bad news" type stories about the Fuel Surcharges!

That may finally convince someone who has the appropriate powers to legislate them into the base price.

 

[aus_flyer]

$377 in fuel charges!! That's ridiculous - baby or adult!!

(alternatively, put the baby in a suitcase and check it through - save on surcharges, and the (otherwise) surrounding passengers will appreciate the quiet).

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

NZ is the only airline quoted as not imposing fuel surcharge on infants. Not obvious from the article which airlines were checked (only SQ, QF, NZ and EK mentioned).

 

[markis10]

I am playing devils advocate here, what about the lack of extra fuel surcharges for those that might be grossly overweight?

 

[NM]

I am playing devils advocate here, what about the lack of extra fuel surcharges for those that might be grossly overweight?

Perhaps it could be like taking a parcel to the post office. Dump all the travelling weight onto the scales (including those devils being advocated above), calculate the freight cost according to the gross mass being forwarded, hand over the credit cards (more FF point opportunities for the heavy-bodied traveller), and slap on a bar-code to identify PERMS (Payment, Entertainment, Routing, Meals, Seating).

So instead of a Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) membership card, we will all need to carry a Fuel Fine Payment (FFP) card, or a Fat Fanny Posterior (FFP) card . And I wonder if said passenger eats the right dietary supplement the night before travel (such as found in a Heinz tin), could they seek a discount based on carrying their own fuel under the Frequent Flatulence Program (FFP)?

Now, if the Fuel Fine was included in the base fare, the family identified in the original article would have paid $2917 for their adult ticket ($2580+$337). In that case, the infant fare would have been 10% of that or $291.70, which includes 10% of the additonal fare cost due to high fuel costs.

 

[JohnK]

Very funny NM.

 

[oz_mark]

Can just imagine the boarding pass:

Service Information
FAT cough
FREQUENT FLYER blah blah blah