British charities criticize airlines for "tax on breathing"

From The Guardian in the UK:

People with lung conditions who require extra oxygen when they fly are being charged a "tax on breathing", according to charities. As well as insisting that people pay for oxygen canisters, many airlines will not allow passengers to bring their own supplies on board.

Last year, Mandy Gill, from Manchester, was quoted £2,800 by Emirates for oxygen on a Manchester to Dubai flight for her husband Sam Fisher, 45, who suffers from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

"We had already booked flights for five of us, totalling £2,500, when my husband was told by the hospital that he would need oxygen for the flight - but that usually it wasn't expensive. We were horrified when we rang Emirates and were given the price," says the 44-year-old. "Our local paper got involved and Emirates brought the price down to £100, but, by then, we'd already rebooked with British Airways."

She adds: "With many of the airlines it's a catch-22 situation - you can't take your own oxygen on board but they charge you a fortune for the privilege of using their own."

Emirates has recently dropped all charges for oxygen "as a result of feedback from customers", and is now one of the few major airlines, along with British Airways and Virgin, that does not charge, according to a recent survey by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK (PHA). They were joined this month by Cathay Pacific, which announced that from 1 January, medical oxygen bottles requested by passengers for their flight will now be offered free of charge, provided they are "qualified" to use them.

The charity also found that most airlines will not allow passengers to bring their own oxygen on to their planes - although a few, including budget airlines Flybe and easyJet, will allow it with certain restrictions.

Instead, airlines tend to charge from around £55 to £250 to provide oxygen. Helen Starbuck, 28, from Plymouth, has muscular dystrophy and has not been on holiday since having to pay for oxygen on a flight to Tenerife four years ago. "A bill for £150 or so seems exorbitant for what amounts to basically a single cylinder there and back.

"Disabled people have to constantly fight for things I feel should be made available to us when we need it.

"Why should I have to pay when I go abroad, especially as I get it free in the UK? It is a necessity that is keeping me alive and healthy."

Paul Pennington, from the PHA, says: "This is a tax on the disabled and a tax on breathing - as simple as that. Around 90,000 people in the UK need supplementary oxygen and are being discriminated against.

"Many people are on benefits and struggle to pay for a holiday as it is - this is an extra charge they can do without."

He adds: "Virgin has never charged for oxygen, and British Airways and Emirates have recently stopped. We would like to see the other airlines follow suit - we don't see why there can't be uniformity. The canister does not take up a seat, so there really is no excuse for the charge.

"Over the seven years of the charity's existence, we have paid around £50,000 in grants to our members to help them meet the cost of oxygen on flights. This is money which could be spent on something beneficial, such as respite weekends for children or a specialist nurse, rather than on subsidising airlines."

According to the PHA survey, most of the airlines who provided oxygen say that they offer it as a service to their passengers, do not seek to make a profit and levy charges to cover getting the canisters on and off the aeroplane and refilling.

Some claim that their charges do not actually cover the cost of providing the oxygen. Just six of the 22 airlines polled by the charity allow passengers to bring their own on board, generally citing safety reasons.

The PHA and the British Lung Foundation have already had some success with their campaign to bring an end to these charges, and the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign plans to raise the issue with transport secretary, Geoff Hoon, describing the charges as "grossly unfair discrimination".

Pennington adds: "We'd like to see all the airlines follow the lead of Virgin, British Airways and Emirates and stop this charge. After all, if you were taken ill on a flight
and needed oxygen, you wouldn't expect to be presented with an invoice."