Airlines Hit Parents By Increasing Child Seat Prices

By Tony Haslam
In a bid to extract more money from customers, airlines have targeted parents, who are now going to be paying even more for holidays with their children.

Some airlines will offer an adult seat for around £10 return, while charging £20 or £25 each way for your child seat on the same flight, revealing the child seat can cost nearly five times as much as yours in the seat next to them. Others charge 10 per cent of the adult fare, which could see an increase of £50 if the adult price was £500.

Knowing that a baby bag is a necessity for parents, the parent has to fork out for an extra bag or use up some space in their own suitcase as more often than not there is no extra baggage allowance for baby bags. We compared 11 airlines and found that eight of these do not offer any extra allowance in either hand luggage or the hold; so parents have to pay more to take baby clothes, care products and changing essentials.

Bob Atkinson, travel expert from www.travelsupermarket.com, which did the research, said: “It’s no secret that budget airlines are trying to maximise profits in any way possible, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to parents that a supposedly ‘discounted’ infant ticket is likely to end up being anything but.

“The best advice is to check the small print to see what each airline will allow you to take for your children and then book accordingly.  The price with a budget airline may seem attractively cheap, but you may end up paying huge amounts for excess baggage or being forced to take very little luggage yourself.

“On low cost carriers it may actually be cheaper to book your infant a seat and simply have them on your lap during take off and landing.  They then can have the relevant hand luggage allowance, which is very generous on easyJet for example.”

Breaking the mould however are British Airways & Virgin, who are doing the opposite of their cheap flight counterparts by offering extra baggage allowance of up to 23kg free of charge to be carried in the hold, whilst allowing a baby changing bag in hand luggage. One fact all the airlines researched can boast is that they will take a pram or pushchair in the hold free of charge, while the majority will also allow a child car seat in the hold.

Finally, if you are planning on taking a child seat, check the airline’s policy regarding child car seats – this is free with most airlines although on occasions there is an additional charge. Car hire companies however will rent out a child seat often for more than the cost of buying one and taking it with you.

Travel costs for children: