Airline to charge you a $30 fee to bring your baby onboard

As if flying with a kid isn't bad enough.
 By 
Jenni Ryall
 on 
Airline to charge you a $30 fee to bring your baby onboard
A child tax is coming. Credit: Shutterstock

As if traveling with your baby wasn't hard enough, an Australian budget airline has started charging parents to fly with their infant on their lap.

Jetstar confirmed it would begin charging a $30 fee for a child under two years old for each domestic leg -- that's $60 for a return flight with your child in their worst state. It also noted it would begin charging an extra $10 on international travel, which brings the total fee to $50.

In good news, you can take four extra items of carry on for that amount -- such as prams, cots and highchairs -- so at least you are getting something for your hard-earned money.

The company said the fees bring it in line with the other cheap airline in the local market, TigerAir, which also charges a $30 fee for infants. Larger local carriers Virgin and Qantas don't have a baby fee for domestic flights -- but charge 10 percent of the full fare for international flying.

To be fair, the extra fees are still cheaper than the costs associated with taking your tot on many international airlines, which also charge 10 percent of the full adult price.

So no matter where you are in the world, traveling with a baby is a total punish. Have a heart, Jetstar.

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Jenni Ryall

Jenni Ryall is Mashable's VP of Content Strategy. She spends her time launching cool, new things such as Mashable Deals and Mashable Reels. On the other days, she is developing strong partnerships with companies including Apple News, Flipboard, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit.

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