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Why don't international airlines do away with child fares ?
Most domestic flights & lcc flights don't discriminate between adults and children. Obviously taxes are different but surely discounts of 25% for children should go.
Last edited by SQ22 on Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Typo fixed
Reason: Typo fixed
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
I'm a parent of a now teenager and we fly to Europe as a family at least once a year. I have never seen such a discount for child fares other than with SATA/ Azores Airlines (S4). Airlines that we have flown on are: DL/KL, LH, AF, TP, BA, VS, AA, UA.
Last edited by airbazar on Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
As a proud owner of a child... err I mean parent, I would tend to skip those airlines which do not offer a child fare. Consider the discount a PR move.
As per the LCCs, I can speak about Airasia. They advertise that adults already receive children fare, so no further discounts.
As per the LCCs, I can speak about Airasia. They advertise that adults already receive children fare, so no further discounts.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
Ok maybe thinking of airlines thst fly to new Zealand and Australia who all offer 25%off for children under 12.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
If a child occupies a seat - there should be no difference in price.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
ACDC8 wrote:If a child occupies a seat - there should be no difference in price.
It's a business decision like any other. Many places give family or youth discounts. Airlines are hardly the only business to do this. Families are a big consumer market. There's also the matter of weight. Smaller people cost less to transport than big people
Having said that, only once has my son paid less than an adult and it wasn't that big of a difference. My guess is that although some airlines do have child fares you'd be hard pressed to ever find one that is cheaper than a published discounted fare. My guess is that those so called child fare discounts are off of full fares which means, you can always find an advanced discount fare that is even cheaper. That's probably the reason why I've never noticed my kid paying less than us, over the years.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
So there's two things that make this not as impactful as it sounds:
1) The discount *usually* only applies to the base fare. For International flights on legacy carriers, the fuel surcharge (YQ/YR) and the taxes are often the majority of the fare. So it may be a 25% discount on a $100 base fare, then add $400 in YQ and $200 in tax. So the reality is the adult fare is $700 and the child fare is $675. So, in that hypothetical example, the functional child discount is 3.5% not 25%.
2) Domestic / LCC level load factors can be significantly higher than International legacy load factors. So some level of discounting goes with the territory of trying to push those load factors up a bit. This doesn't just apply to children...I have generally found that corporate discounts, travel agent discounts, student discounts, group discounts, etc to all be larger and more competitive in the international market than in the domestic market.
1) The discount *usually* only applies to the base fare. For International flights on legacy carriers, the fuel surcharge (YQ/YR) and the taxes are often the majority of the fare. So it may be a 25% discount on a $100 base fare, then add $400 in YQ and $200 in tax. So the reality is the adult fare is $700 and the child fare is $675. So, in that hypothetical example, the functional child discount is 3.5% not 25%.
2) Domestic / LCC level load factors can be significantly higher than International legacy load factors. So some level of discounting goes with the territory of trying to push those load factors up a bit. This doesn't just apply to children...I have generally found that corporate discounts, travel agent discounts, student discounts, group discounts, etc to all be larger and more competitive in the international market than in the domestic market.
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Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
airbazar wrote:Smaller people cost less to transport than big people
'Smaller', not 'younger'. Kids can be taller and heavier than their parents.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
Scandinavian Airlines also has youth fares. I'm not sure exactly why, but I have been told that they exist because of demands from the owners (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) to provide cheaper tickets for passengers aged less than 26.
I think Norwegian has something similar too, but possibly only inside Scandinavia.
I think Norwegian has something similar too, but possibly only inside Scandinavia.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
No child fares on DEN-IVC eh
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
coolian2 wrote:No child fares on DEN-IVC eh
NZ and UA both offer child fares on DEN-IVC. I haven't bothered to look at other carriers, but I'd guess they match NZ/UA.
Re: Why don't international airlines do away wiyh child fares ?
cofannyc wrote:coolian2 wrote:No child fares on DEN-IVC eh
NZ and UA both offer child fares on DEN-IVC. I haven't bothered to look at other carriers, but I'd guess they match NZ/UA.
I was joking, just because the OP feels really familiar
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