infant bassinet on Northwest/KLM to Italy?
 

My wife and I are flying to Italy from San Francisco with our 8-month old on Northwest/KLM. We bought two tickets for ourselves and requested bulkhead seats with an infant bassinet. Northwest says our request is confirmed in their system but that they don't release the bulkhead seats until the day of travel -- so we'll be going to the airport without knowing for sure if we have the bassinet/bulkhead.

I'm curious if others have traveled overseas with Northwest/KLM and had the bassinet/bulkhead set-up. How was it? Was there any problem getting the seats when you arrived at the airport?

The alternative is for us to buy a separate seat ticket for our baby and have him in his car seat on the plane. But I think he will be more comfortable sleeping in the bassinet (which I hope he will be doing for a lot of the flight!).

Any general thoughts or comments on doing the bulkhead/bassinet set-up vs. the car seat arrangement?

Thanks!

jd

How big is your child? Most of the bassinets on my airline are for smaller children (read young babies)so I am wondering if an 8 month old will be able to fit comfortably.Personally, I think that the carseat is a better idea for a child that age as they are use to it?

He is only 6 months old right now, but will be 8 months when we take our trip. He weighs around 16 pounds now, slightly above average in weight and height. Northwest told me the bassnet weight limit was 25lbs (which he will be under), but I'm not sure what the maximum height is.

Airplane bassinets are more suitable for younger babies. Does your baby sit up, crawl? If you were to put him in a drawer (or something of similar size to an airplane bassinet), would he want to go to sleep or get out?

A "request" is just that. If there are more parents with a baby than bulkhead seats/bassinets, you may not get one.

When we checked in for a flight once, the very tall couple with loads of FF miles got the bulkhead seats the couple with the baby in line behind them was hoping for.

If your baby is used to his car seat and regularly falls asleep in it in the car, don't you think that would be more comfortable for him on a plane than a bassinet? If he doesn't like the bassinet and refuses to stay in it, you'll be stuck holding him the entire way. I'm sure you would agree that holding a squirming 8-month old for the duration would be quite the challenge.

It's a long, long way to Italy from San Francisco. I think if you do not buy your baby a seat, you will regret it.

I agree !

Before taking along a car seat, I would call the airline, NW / KLM, as I believe the use of car seats are not allowed on most European airlines.

In addition, if you are renting a car, I would check that your seat meets that country's standards i.e usually represented by CE, as in the unfortunate event of an accident, insurance companies are not known for their sympathetic understanding.

We have used the bassinet a few times from Europe to Australia which takes around 24 hours flight time with no problems at all for our child who was a similar age and size.

At that age he was quite easy to manage, therefore I couldn't justify the extra expense of his own seat.

Once he hit 12 months and was able to walk, I bought him his own seat

Geordie

I took my daughter at 8 months from Sydney to Windsor Ontario, via Toronto. Another 24 hour flight. I was very grateful for the bassinet. While she sat on my lap during take off and landing, she was quite happy in the bassinet with toys. She also slept a lot in it.

This was several years ago and the car seat was not an option.