Qantas to introduce extra fee for unaccompanied children

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Qantas to introduce extra fee for unaccompanied children

By Jamie Freed
Qantas will introduce an extra fee for children flying without an adult.

Qantas will introduce an extra fee for children flying without an adult.

Qantas will charge a fee of up to $90 on airfares for children flying without an adult. The airline has cited a rising number of children flying unaccompanied and increased costs in providing supervision for the introduction of the fee.

The airline on Friday advised travel agents it will charge $50 per booking on domestic and regional flights and $90 on international flights for children aged 5 to 11 who are not travelling with a parent, guardian, nominated adult or sibling over the age of 15.

On international flights of more than six hours, the minimum age range rises from 5 to 6 years old.

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Customers aged 12 to 15 can request to travel as an unaccompanied child without charge. The new fees will take effect on November 3. Bookings ticketed before then will not incur the extra charge. If the fees are not pre-paid ahead of arrival to the airport, they will double to $100 for domestic bookings and $180 for international bookings. The fee is applied per booking, not per flight. That means a return ticket including multiple sectors will attract the same fee as a single flight.

"Qantas recognises the importance of providing children travelling alone with the highest levels of comfort and support," a spokeswoman said. "Given the increasing demand for this extra support, and the increasing costs involved, we cannot continue to provide this service completely free of charge. This change brings Qantas in line with many of its domestic and international competitors."

Rival Virgin Australia already charges $40 per sector on domestic flights and $60 per sector on short-haul international flights for unaccompanied children aged 5 to 11. That means the fees for a return flight on the same booking would be higher than those charged by Qantas.

Virgin's website says it endeavours to seat those children in close proximity to cabin crew and aims to sit them next to a vacant seat when available.

Airlines' policies on not seating men next to unaccompanied children have caused much controversy in the past.

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Qantas said the extra services it provides to unaccompanied children include additional administration at airports, immigration and security processing for international flights, onboard assistance and a ground staff escort at the airport for connecting flights.

In some ports it also offers dedicated waiting rooms for unaccompanied children to provide secure care.

"The introduction of an Unaccompanied Minor Supervision Fee will assist in recovering some of the additional costs of the extra services and facilities provided for the comfort and safety of children travelling without a parent or guardian," the spokeswoman said.

Qantas, unlike some other carriers, does not limit the number of unaccompanied children that can be on a single flight.

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