No-frills Wills: British royals take commercial flight to see queen

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Prince William has taken a commercial no-frills flight to visit his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, winning plaudits and favorable comparisons to his brother Harry after the younger sibling was criticized for using private jets.

William, wife Kate and their children took a Flybe flight to Aberdeen en route to Queen Elizabeth’s Scottish summer residence in Balmoral.

British newspapers said the flight cost 73 pounds a ticket ($89.16) and published pictures of William carrying the family’s luggage by hand to the plane.

“We were delighted to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their family on board one of our flights again, this time when they flew from Norwich to Aberdeen with our franchise partner, Eastern Airways,” British regional airline Flybe said in a statement.

Kensington Palace declined to comment on the flight.

The trip came after high profile criticism of William’s brother Harry over his use of private jets to take trips with wife Meghan.

Singer Elton John defended Harry and Meghan after they took a private jet to stay with him in southern France. John said he had paid for the jet for security reasons and had also paid for carbon offsetting of the flights.

British media criticized Harry and Meghan as hypocrites for their use of private jets while also campaigning on environmental issues, the latest episode in the couple’s increasingly difficult relationship with the British media.

William’s use of a commercial flight was held up as a shining example to his brother in the newspapers, with the front page of the Sun newspaper declaring “Wills gives Harry a flying lesson.”