It's not often that we can report a development from a major airline that we can earnestly describe as considerate.
But that's the word we'd use to describe the latest promotion from one airline, which has said it will reimburse customers for the cost of a kid's first-time passport.
The offer is from easyJet, one of Europe's biggest cheapie carriers. The promotion is for people who are traveling with kids aged 18 months or younger. So the airline is essentially paying for Baby's First Passport.
EasyJet qualifies as a no-frills airline, more like a flying bus, the sort of carrier that baits customers with crazy low prices and then piles on fees for everything from carry-on baggage to being able to sit with your group. Come to think of it, all that sounds a lot like America's major carriers these days. But believe us when we say that easyJet is not generally known for making passengers comfortable or extending common courtesies.
But if you're British and you book your new family on one of easyJet's vacation packages by Nov. 26, easyJet will throw in a payment of £66.50 (about US$89), which is how much it costs to obtain a new passport for a baby. (Yes, even babies need passports to cross borders.)
Stuart Wright, customer director at easyJet Holidays, was quoted in the U.K.'s Metro saying, "Travel has a unique way of bringing families together, and a baby’s very first holiday is often one of those moments parents remember for years to come. By covering the cost of a baby’s first passport, we’re helping more families start making those memories that little bit sooner."
It's also smart business. If a baby already possesses a passport, then it opens destination options for the parents, too—and that's good for an airline's bottom line.
In the United States, an identical initiative would cost airlines $100 per baby, the fee amount for a first-time passport for kids under 16. Carriers often spend more than that on the vouchers thrown around when flights are canceled or overbooked.
U.S. passports for kids under age 16 are valid for 5 years before requiring renewal. Wouldn't it be nice—and wouldn't it give parents a head start on getting back into the world after a baby arrives—if an airline covered that for you?
Companies covering the cost of government paperwork isn't a radical concept, either. Many credit cards already reimburse customers after applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Good luck expecting U.S. airlines to be kinder to your children, though. Those carriers have even resisted allowing families to reserve seats together without a fee. The Biden-Harris administration tried to legally ban airlines from charging parents to sit with their kids, but the Trump administration has done nothing to finalize that rule, instead allowing the airlines to enact such policies on a voluntary basis.