Pope-osterous price of papal flight

Airline passengers have grown used to paying extra charges when booking flights over recent years - a few additional euros for priority boarding, a few more euros for checking in luggage. Now it has emerged that it costs an extra €1,331 to be on the same plane as the Pope.

This is not another money-making scheme from low-cost airlines, but the difference in cost between the standard Alitalia return fare on the Rome-Malta route and the amount media organisations are being asked for a single seat to be on the same flight as Pope Benedict XVI.

Although seats on Alitalia's scheduled flights between Rome and Malta on April 17 and 18 - the dates of the Pope's official visit - are available for €169 on the airline's website, journalists on the chartered flights carrying the Pope to Malta on Alitalia and back to Rome on Air Malta are being asked for €1,500.

On the same dates, Easyjet is offering return Rome-Malta flights on its website for just €55 - Pope not included.

The application process for press accreditations closed earlier this week and the local media will be represented on-board by a single reporter from Public Broadcasting Services. The Sunday Times declined the opportunity because of the fare.

Two phone calls yesterday to the Holy See press office to enquire why the cost was so high were ended abruptly by a press officer, who would not divulge any information.

Consequently, it is unclear whether it was the Vatican or the airlines that would benefit from the hefty ticket price. An Air Malta spokesman was not aware that the cost was so high and was unable to say how the money is divided.

Despite the hefty cost, there are no guarantees that the Pope will speak directly to journalists according to the Curia's communications officer, who said he could not understand why the price is so high.

The Pope always sits in the front row of the aircraft while journalists sit at the back, and it is the Pope's prerogative whether or not he answers direct questions from journalists.

Under Pope Benedict's papacy, Vatican press office director Fr Federico Lombardi has been known to collect questions from journalists in advance and condense them into a few prepared questions for the Pope, who delivers responses over an audio system installed in the plane. Also on board will be senior officials from the Vatican's Secretariat of State, as well as the Pope's security detail.

pcooke@timesofmalta.com