Is Qantas Blaming Airports For Its New Exit Row Charge?
Charging extra for an exit row seat is, sadly, nothing new, although it’s largely been the province of budget airlines or short domestic routes. This week Qantas announced it will introduce the system on its international routes, and with a much heftier charge than we’re used to up to A$160 ($125) just to get the extra few inches of leg room (and all that responsibility if there happens to be an emergency). While passengers backlash against this new charge, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is busy complaining about how poor Qantas has to pay so much money to airports. He wants to negotiate with Qantas’s frequently-used airports to reduce costs, but some airports just won’t play ball Joyce said: Airports are very, very good at earning revenues out of everything you could imagine – if they could charge for oxygen at the airport they probably would. Hmm. Sounds a bit like the way airlines think, doesn’t it?
