soboyle

Our daughter will be 2 years and 7 days old when we arrive in Honolulu, we need to book flights to Kauai and Hawaiian airlines is charging full fare for all passengers over 2 years old, anyone with experience on how flexible this 2 year old rule is? Will they require an ID for our daughter to check her age? Should I gamble and book just 2 seats and have her sit on our laps(I sure am tempted to). I've heard of people sneaking their kids through well into their third year.

alvarki

I would definately hold my child on my lap at 2 years and 7 days...and tell the airline she's like 22 months!! They don't require ID for your child.

auntiemaria

My grandkids come from the mainland -- with ID for each of them (birth certificate), and that ID is mandatory.

If you arrive without her ID, they won't let her on the plane.

If you arrive with no ticket for her, they won't let her on the plane.

Everthing's changed since 9/11...

GoTravel

Book your child a seat. The FAA strongly recommends that you purchase a seat for your child.

Please read this---->
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/airplanetravel.aspx

The Pilots Assc, FA Assc, AMA, Pediatrics Assc and all professional groups highly recommend purchasing a seat for your child so they can be strapped into a FAA approved seat.

girlonthego

We traveled from Virginia to Florida last June (2004). I had passports for my kids and they said they did not require ID for children within the US. (They are 10 and 12.) I would call the airline and ask if infant children or children under 2, need ID. You are talking about a 30 minute flight. I would hold her on my lap for the 30 minutes. I have brought my 12 year old all the way to Hawaii from east coast on my lap when she was 15 mos. It was a long flight and not that comfortable, but 30 minutes is nothing. You wouldn't be able to strap her in without a car seat along anyway. Call the airline, if you don't need ID, than book two seats!!! 7 days! I would definitely do that!!!!

snowrooster

This is a highly debated topic (not the age, but holding child versus purchasing a seat) - trust me, I know. I posted about it roughly a year ago and was strongly advised (to put it nicely) to purchase my daughter (about 16mos at the time) a ticket. I considered it but the flight was full (our tickets had already been purchased). To make a long story short, I wished I had bought her a ticket. The flight there (only about 2 hours) was fine because there were seats available so she didn't have to sit on my lap. However the way home was a nightmare. The seats are so cramped as it is and she was miserable. I was passing her back & forth between dh and my parents the whole time trying to keep her calm and not kick the seat in front of us. So, for what it's worth, I'd buy the ticket. Either way, have a great trip!!

GoTravel

Dear Abby about flying with children

Dear Abby,

In reference to the letter from the Los Angeles plastic surgeon regarding facial disfigurement of children who are allowed to stand in a moving car, may I add my 2 cents' worth?

I am a flight attendant for a major airline, and while the captain does not usually "jam on the brakes" we DO hit unexpected turbulence. Planes can drop 500 feet in a matter of seconds. Guess where a small child who's not in a seatbelt goes? To the ceiling!

I write this out of sheer frustration with the uneducated - or perhaps lazy - parents. The FAA does not mandate that a child UNDER the age of 2 be in his or her own seat. This is shameful and absurd. We, the flight crew, are required to ensure that all carry-on luggage is safely stowed, yet our most precious cargo, these little human beings, can be on an adult's lap. I applaud parents who pay the extra money and purchase a seat for the child, and extra kudos when they bring along a car seat. If there is an extra seat available, I ALWAYS move other passengers so "lap baby" can have his or her own seat, explaining to parents that it is safer. Guess what? They give me a blank stare and say: "Oh, she won't sit still in her own seat. She'll cry. I'll just hold her"

Let me offer this graphic thought: Parents, if the plane DOES crash and your baby is on your lap, the baby becomes a human air bag for you. Your baby will die instantly. I had a passenger tearfully tell me that this happened to her. She is now crippled, and her only child (who would be 9 now) was killed.

I urge all parents and grandparents to write to Congress and insist that every passenger - even babies - be in a seat. The FAA's argument that families will not pay for the extra seat because the cost is prohibitive is unfounded. Most airlines offer a lower rate for children. The FAA says that people will turn to driving, which will cause more road accidents. This is conjecture.

I know this letter is long, but please pass along this important message. Believe me, it will be clipped by thousands of airline crews and shown to passengers.

Signed - A Concerned Flight Attendant

Dear Concerned,

You have issued a chilling warning to the parents of small children, and I sincerely hope it's one that will be heeded. A plane hitting an air pocket and suddenly losing altitude is not something we hear about every day. However, I recall that it happened to Air Force One a year or so ago, and to a commercial flight just this month - so it's something that should be taken very seriously. ALL passengers should stay buckled up while they are in their seats.

LoveItaly

GoTravel, thank you for having the nerve to write what you did. I wanted to sooooo bad but than thought "Oh, I will be slammed like I was another time when I tried to get a message across".

Again, thank you GoTravel. I pray that every parent reads, understands and follows through with your message.

kamahinaohoku

GoTravel, I agree with 99.9% of your advice. The only thing I disagree with is your statement that, "Most airlines offer a lower rate for children." International flights maybe, domestic ones rarely if ever. The impact (no pun intended) of the "air bag" discription is profound. Children should have their own seats.

soboyle

I appreciate the tips here, and will probably get her a seat, we have already paid for her seat on the long leg from NY to Honolulu, was hoping to save the $150 for the flight to kauai.

Sunnyboy

As a new grandparent let me add my $.02 - is saving $150 worth the potential risk of injury to your child? Ask yourself, would you place your child in your lap while driving down the highway or going across town in your car? Most people wouldn't so why consider doing it in an airplane that is going 10 times as fast.

uuhhhh

"....was hoping to save the $150..."

if the $150 makes a difference, just drink less expensive wine at dinner.

padams421

When we took our 2 year old and our 8 month old to Hawaii, we bought them their own seats so everyone would be comfortable. It is a $150 well spent.

knute

I think aside from the safety and comfort issue, the larger ethical and moral issue is being ignored here. If the rule is 2 years old, then a child 2 years and one day old pays his seat, anything else is flat out lying.

LoveItaly

knute, Bravo =D>

GoTravel

kamah, I'm trying to find where I wrote "most airlines offer a lower rate for kids". In all honesty, I don't know what the airlines policy is. If I wrote that, I didn't know what I was talking about and I blame it on

LoveItaly

Hey GoTravel - wine can be blamed on a lot of goofs. Thank goodness for wine!

buckeyemom

Safety aside, holding a squirming toddler in a small, cramped space is not my idea of fun or relaxing. When my dd was little we bought the extra seat. She always slept. Kids are used to being in their car seat and at that age they like the familiar...

lcuy

Funny, yeah?
Kittens have to be in an "approved" carrier stowed safely under the seat.

Your handbag has to go in the overhead bin or under the seat so as to not knock someone in the head if turbulence rocks the plane.


Adults are not allowed to take off their seatbelts for long stretches of time on a plane when turbulence is expected.

Theme parks won't allow children under a certain height to go on many carnival rides (and not just roller coasters).

Yet helpless infants are allowed to be held unsecured on a lap on an airplane.

:-?

GoTravel

I see where it was now.

kamah, I didn't write that but cut and pasted.

The text was taken from a Dear Abby column and was written by a flight attendent.