Budget airline slammed for trying to charge little girl's doll an airline seat

Lida was not allowed to have her doll on a flight with her as the airline wanted to charge the doll a ticket for a seat. Photo / Australscope

A budget airline has been shamed after it tried to charge a little girl's doll the cost of a seat on the plane.

The 4-year-old — named only as Lida by local media in Yekaterinburg, in central Russia's Sverdlovsk Oblast region — goes everywhere with her treasured baby doll.

But when her mum asked low cost airline Pobeda for permission to take the doll in the cabin, she was astonished with its reply.

The airline — notorious in Russia for its extra charges — wanted her to pay the full price of a child's ticket for the flight to Sochi.

Without the price of a RUB1000 ($23) ticket — the doll would not be allowed on the flight, warned the airline.

Lida's mum — not named in local media — knew of the airline's penny-pinching reputation so she wrote to them before the flight, seeking permission to take the doll on board.

She said: "I was aware that Pobeda had a tough reputation, so I decided to write to them in advance asking permission to take the doll."

She added: "I got a reply that the doll won't fly for free.

"They have suggested that I pay for the transportation of the doll for basically the same price as my daughter's ticket."

Local media reports that the mother eventually persuaded her upset daughter to pack the doll in checked in luggage.