[Article] Airline's 'anti-family' child fare hikes attacked

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Airline's 'anti-family' child fare hikes attacked
From:The Irish Independent
Friday, 25th July, 2003
Frank Khan Tourism Correspondent

TRAVEL agents last night criticised the Aer Lingus decision to axe fare discounts for children between the ages of two and 11 for flights to the UK and Europe.

The president of the Irish Travel Agents' Association, Tony Brazil, said it was "a pity" that a State company could "take steps that can significantly undermine family life and the quality of services to the public in the name of profit."

Mr Brazil said everything Aer Lingus had done in recent months had been without any consultation with interested parties.

"At the end of the day they are absolutely destroying the goodwill they built up over many years".

Last night an Aer Lingus spokeswoman defended the decision: "In the past year Aer Lingus has dramatically cut fares right across our network by up to 50pc, making air travel accessible and affordable to a greater number of people."

Many Aer Lingus competitors no longer offer child discounts, including BMI and Ryanair. Aer Arann is now the only Irish airline that does.

Meanwhile, Ryanair last night offered to double capacity on the Cork to Dublin route following the Aer Lingus decision to abandon the route - but only if it was given a deal on airport charges, writes Ralph Riegel.

"This is all about excessive landing charges. If Ryanair is given a proper incentive package, we will more than double passenger numbers," a Ryanair spokesman vowed.

The move came after Aer Arann confirmed that it will be increasing its Dublin-Cork services from six to nine flights per day.