British Airways Blues

One of the perks of blogging is that it allows you to rage about things that would otherwise fester and likely result in some sort of mental breakdown years down the line.

Today's example involves British Airways. We are interested in our month-old child accompanying us to the United States. How happy we were to find out that a newborn's ticket is 10 percent of the adult fare! That's just $75.

But wait! Actually, the ticket costs more than $600. Why? According to BA, there is a $520 surcharge that includes taxes, fuel fees and other assorted costs (clutch hair, shriek, pound forehead on computer keyboard).

It should be noted that the child weighs less than most carry-on luggage and will not actually be taking up a seat. She's smaller than an inflight meal, for God's sake. I could hollow out a small space between the binding of "The Scramble for Africa" and put her inside (lightbulb appears above head and begins to shine brightly).

Oddly, another airline, KLM offers a slightly better deal. There is no charge for a newborn to accompany an adult. Unfortunately, we had already purchased our tickets through BA.

For future reference. KLM = neato (despite the shredded squirrel incident). BA = bad.

Brief photographic interlude:

 

It is a tired, tired question, but why are airlines, and BA in particular, allowed to treat people like such crap? They're so polite on the phone but then they goose you as soon as you walk in the door. There's a snickering, sneering quality to the whole thing. "You have no choice! So, just for fun, we're going to add a little tax! Hahahaha! Eat that!"

Particularly galling is BA's high minded scheme allowing you to offset your carbon emissions on each flight. Jerks.