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Ask for special travel service in advance

Friday October 21 2016
plane

If passengers expect airlines to step up their service levels when they have special travel needs, then it is important to share as much detail as possible with the airline. FOTOSEARCH

On a domestic flight somewhere in Central Africa recently, I witnessed a most bizarre incident that led to the offloading of a passenger and her two children on instructions of the pilot.

It appeared at the time of purchasing her ticket, whatever her intentions were, the said passenger had declared her two children as infants. The implication being that since infants don’t need seats of their own, while children from two years on do, and this being a full flight, the children had no seats.

This is why is it important for reservations staff to always ask how many adults, children and infants are on a particular travel itinerary. In most, if not all cases, reservations clerks will always ask for proof of identity of travellers.

For airlines, it is important to identify and classify passengers in terms of adults, children (two to 12 years old) and infants (up to two years old) for various safety and operational reasons.

There can only be a limited number of infants allowed on a particular flight. The number will depend on the aircraft type being used for the flight, which determines the number of cabin crew available on board. For example, a 50-seater CRJ-200 aircraft may have a maximum of no more than five infants allowed on board depending on regulation and airline policy.

Most airlines will charge the infant fare at only ten per cent of the full adult fare since they are not expected to occupy their own seats.

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Children above two years of age are however expected to occupy their own seats and pay 75 per cent of the adult fare in most cases.

Whether the affected passenger in this particular case that I witnessed was trying to find her way around paying the child fare, is another thing, because she ended up missing the flight altogether as the pilot had to step in and insist that the mother and her children be offloaded.

The incident woke me up to the many situations where travellers in the region fail to provide airlines with vital information necessary for ensuring their comfort.

Passengers need to know that most airlines have clearly defined special services or special assistance items that’s if they are told during the ticketing process, they will make arrangements to offer if it is within their policy.

Failing to declare a special situation or circumstance to the airline in advance of the travel date is counterproductive and disruptive to the otherwise normal scope of service.  

Take the case of a pregnant passenger. While many airlines will welcome such passengers to travel with them, they remain alert to the risks involved hence many will not agree to carry an expectant passenger who is in their 32nd to 36th week of pregnancy even with a fit-to-travel letter from a doctor.

It is not strange then that a number of babies have been born on board aircraft because the mothers failed to declare or disclose the accurate due dates — the closer one is to delivery or 40 weeks, the higher the risk of going into labour.

Many airlines are however keen on showing their soft sides when it comes to unaccompanied minors (children between the ages of five and 12 travelling alone).

However, they also expect that parents will be gracious enough to inform them in advance if you doubt your child’s ability to travel alone.

Airlines must be notified in advance to prepare for special assistance needs like a wheelchair for passengers with reduced mobility, those traveling with medical oxygen, medication and medical conditions, those allergies, who need special or extra seating, travelling with visual or hearing impairment, travelling with service or emotional support animals, among others.

If passengers expect airlines to step up their service levels when they have special travel needs, then it is important to share as much detail as possible with the airline. I once witnessed a passenger complain bitterly about there being no diabetic meals on board, yet he had not made a request for a special meal in advance.

Most of the special travel needs information is readily available on airline websites and also within the reservation system if booking for your travel through an agency.

It is important to remember that the airline reserves the right to refuse carriage where certain information pertinent to safety preparation is not declared in advance.

Carriers are in some cases limited by the provisions available on the aircraft type they use.

Michael Otieno is an aviation consultant based in Nairobi. Twitter: @pmykee143. E-mail: [email protected].

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