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child or adult fare during France trip

Posted by on

We're due to travel with Air France over the summer and my daughter will turn twelve during the trip.

I know that whether you pay an adult or child fare in this circumstance is dependent on the airline. I can't find anything for Air France on their website or by googling, and their phone line is saturated and says to call back later.

When I try to book, it won't let me book a youth fare (12-17 years, pretty much same price as adult fare) and tells me to book a child fare. However, I have an inkling that I read somewhere that Air France requires a youth ticket in this case.

I contacted Transavia, which is a subsidiary of Air France, and they require you to book an adult fare but their system won't allow you to do it. You are supposed to book the outward and return legs on separate bookings. Transavia doesn't charge more for single tickets though, and I think Air France still does.

Does anyone know Air France's rules for this?

Posted by
80 posts

If it's not letting you book a youth fare it's because your child is not 12 yet. I would take that as meaning that it is the appropriate fare to book since Air France specifically asks for the child's birth date when searching for fares. Screenshot the inability to select a youth fare and air France's instructions to book a child fare instead. Or reach out to them on Twitter during business hours. That's good because there often isn't a discount for 12-17 year olds. The hard rule across airlines is when children turn two before a leg of a booking.

According to Air France, children over the age of two can receive a discount of up to 20% of short haul flights and 33% on medium and long haul flights. The actual amount of the discount varies depending on the fare class/code and whether the child is under 12 or not and whether the travel is inside France or between countries. That's not the whole story, though.

In practice, Air France has moved away from offering children over 12 much in the way of discounts. To receive a discount on a child over 12 you need to buy a Youth Pass, which costs 49 euros a year. It's good for up to a 30% discount on travel within Europe and a few other destinations in North Africa. So it could be good for people visiting France who will then travel by plane within France and Europe.

These are the general fare rules for families (not all that helpful, really):
https://wwws.airfrance.fr/information/passagers/familles-enfants
Here is the youth pass
https://wwws.airfrance.fr/en/information/destinations-offres/tarifs-speciaux/carte-jeune

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