hlphillips2

All of the websites (including the TSA site) specifically state that empty seats can be used for an infant under 2 if the parents were planning to hold the child on their lap. However after calling the airline last night to recheck the rules about formula on board, the rep mentioned in converstaion that they no longer allow extra seats to be used by a lap child. My daughter is 10 months, so buying a seat that she probably won't use seems nutty. Truthfully my biggest concern is the infant car seat that I'd prefer to bring on the plane or gate check to avoid damage. But the rep told me that I would be required to check it at ticketing.

Has anyone flown with an infant lately? Have the rules changed?

Thanks,
Heather

AAFrequentFlyer

I could see the airlines reasoning. You did not pay for a seat. While you can move to a different seat if you purchased one, by allowing you to sit a baby in an empty seat they would basically be giving it away for free.

I see the requirenment of checking a car seat when you don't have a ticket for the baby as a way of protecting their revenue. No car seat, you can't sit the baby in a seat you didn't pay for.

AAFrequentFlyer

Here is your answer from FAA, the Federal Aviation Agency, the regulator for overseerer agency for air travel:

<i>The FAA <b>does not require the use of CRS's on commercial airplanes&gt;/b&gt; because a <b>mandate would require parents to purchase an extra airline ticket for their child</b>, forcing some families who can't afford the extra ticket to drive, a statistically more dangerous way to travel. However, the FAA strongly recommends the use of CRS's or an alternative FAA-approved device based on a child's weight. A child safety device is an FAA-approved alternative to using a hard-backed seat and is approved only for use on aircraft. It is not approved for use in motor vehicles. For example, the FAA has approved a new harness-type device appropriate for children weighing between 22 and 44 pounds. <b> Airlines currently allow children under the age of two to fly free of charge as &quot;lap children,&quot;</b> not the safest way for a child to travel. <b>Many airlines offer half-price tickets so parents can be guaranteed that their child can travel in a CRS or device</b>. Parents should call their airline to ask for a discount and/or <b>ask what the airline's policy is for using empty seats</b>.</b></i>

http://makeashorterlink.com/?D11312FED

hlphillips2

Thanks.
According to the NWA website:
Government-Approved Child Seat: Northwest accepts government-approved child seats in addition to normal carry-on or checked luggage provided approved space is available. When checking your child seat you can bring your car seat to the gate to be loaded there.

Which contradicts what the agent told me (the requirement to check the seat at ticketing). I may just print out the page from the website to bring along in case there's trouble. Like I said, I'm more concerned about the car seat being ruined in general baggage than about an empty seat, since she'll probably be on our laps regardless.

soccr

If you find an empty seat, consider that the same as winning $10K on a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Buy her the seat, and please don't let her travel in your laps -- at least not at take-off and landing or in any kind of turbulence. She'll become a projectile.

A_Traveller

Holding a toddler or infant in your lap vs. purchasing a seat while flying is always controversial. soccr is right, an unrestarined child could become a projectile if the plane hits any severe turbulance. Parents normally wouldn't think of driving in their cars without putting their children in proper CRS's mainly because they can easily perceive the dangers when travelling down the road at speeds anywhere from 25 to 75 mph. In airplanes there is no sensation of speed so it's easy to forget that you are actually travelling at 350 to 400 mph. That's very fast and at those speeds an unrestrained child can easily be ripped from a parent's grasp and thrown through the air.

Obviously spending $400 or $500 on an airline seat for a baby may put a financial strain on young parents so they use all types of faulty logic to justify their decision not to purchase the &quot;extra&quot; seat. The truth is that if something untoward were to happen to their child while in flight they would berate themselves for not spending the money to protect their child.

Every parent has to make their own decision and do what is right for them.

OT

The airlines have equipment to cover the safty issue. The infant will not be &quot;loose&quot; on the parents lap. A child seatbelt, which is fastened on to the adult's will be given to the parents.

Have you enquired about reserving a basinette for her? She may still be small enough to fit into one, and give you some space when she is asleep. You will however, have to remove her from the the basinette during any turbulence.

FainaAgain

On my last 2 trips: one domestic, one international, all seats were sold out.

CarolA

I have never seen this &quot;child belt&quot; and don't think it's a common accessory on most American airlines.

hlphillips2

I'm absolutely planning to use a Baby Bjorn (basically a front harness) for takeoff and landing, regardless of whether I can put her in an empty seat or not. I would much rather have her strapped to my body than be forced to fumble with car seat buckles if heaven forbid something should happen. The agent told me it should be fine to use, though the flight attendants have the last say.

Thanks for the responses.

MoeMom

The attachment to the regular seat belt is not approved for use on American carriers. They are not allowed to be used. Also, a &quot;snuggli&quot; type of carrier is also not approved for use on board the aircraft. Would you ride in your car with your baby in a Snuggli? No? Then please don't in an aircraft. The Snuggli is not designed to protect a child in the event of an emergency. The only acceptable form of restraint is an approved child safety/car seat properly belted into the seat.

idgyeaw

As far as whether or not they would give you an empty seat for free, my guess is that each airline makes its own rules. I have no definitive proof of this statement, but I know that Alaska Airlines will give your infant a seat if they have one available. We almost always bought a seat for our daughter when she was an infant, but twice we chanced it in hopes of getting her a seat for free. The first time we arrived at the check in desk early and asked if they had any available seats - they did and they moved us around so we had a seat for her. The second time they didn't have any available and she had to fly on our laps - a miserable experience which we have never again chanced. Also, they would not let us keep her in the Baby Bjorn on the flight. As far as travel cots or infant &quot;seat belts&quot; that fit over your lap, I have only seen those on int'l flights, thought it looks like the seat belts may be coming to domestic flights. For us the question of buying seats became a no brainer, especially since both our kids would always fall asleep in their car seat as soon as the plane started moving.

My guess with the issue on carrying your car seat on board is that unless you have a ticket for a 3rd seat in which to put it then they will make you check it at the gate. Every time we have flown with our children they take the stroller at the gate and then bring it back up to the gate when the plane lands (except for BA which checks it all the way through to the final destination). So, if you have your infant seat inside the stroller they will probably take both of them at the gate.