Soon, air travelers to France will be making a donation toward health care in the developing world. The cost will depend on the distance flown, as well as the class of service:

The French tax, which won’t apply to transit passengers staying in France for fewer than 12 hours, will reach 40 euros on first- and business-class tickets for flights outside Europe, and 10 euros per ticket for flights in Europe. For economy-class tickets, the levy will be 4 euros outside Europe and 1 euro within Europe.

Much like a Tobin tax, the plan potentially has two simultaneous goals: funnel money to health care in the developing world, and discourage frivolous travel.

Addressing representatives of 95 countries gathered at the conference, Chirac called the French tax on air flights a simple and neutral experiment. He said the tax revenues, estimated to be about $240 million this year, would be spent on programs to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

Airlines are, unsurprisingly, opposed to anything that raises the price of tickets without sending more money to their own accounts.

So far, Algeria, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom have adopted similar measures. An as-yet unspecified international institution such as the World Health Organization or the World Bank would administer the fund.