As if the cost of flights weren’t expensive enough, on Monday, Jetstar slapped parents with a new fee for travelling with babies on domestic flights.
The airline added a $30 charge, each way, to carry infants on laps during domestic flights and will also charge parents up to $50 for international flights.
This new charge matches Tigerair’s fee for the same reason, but differs from Qantas and Virgin Australia who do not charge parents for flying with children under two years on their laps.
A spokesman for Jetstar said that ‘the new fee covers up to four oversized infant items, like a stroller, pram, highchair, and portable cot’ and continued to say,
“Like other oversized items, there is additional manual handling and equipment required for oversized infant items like prams”
“We know that fees and charges can be unpopular”, he continued, “but giving customers choice and charging each customer for what they actually need helps us to offer the lowest possible fares, every day”.
Previously, the airline’s policy was to allow children under two-years-old to travel for free on domestic within and international flights between Australia and New Zealand, as they do not require a seat.