Has anyone travelled recently with 18 month infant on flights over 10 hours and if so, did you purchase seat? If not, how did you manage?
 

We are a party of 9 be travelling from Israel to Cincinnati including 5 children aged 6-16 + 18 mo. infant. Should we purchase a seat for infant?

Do you want the infant to be safe or not?

I've seen passengers try to manage without a seat for young toddlers and it isn't pretty.

Everyone, regardless of age, needs a seat for comfort and safety.

I'd purchase the seat. I can't get my daughter to hold still on the zoo train, much less a 10 hour flight.

You already have a pretty big airfare tab, so why skimp on buying a ticket for the infant? Safety and comfort for the baby should be top concern.

For all in your party [and those other passengers seated near/next to you], buy a ticket/seat for the infant.

And bring an approved car seat which can be used on the plane and once you land.

I can't imagine having to try and have a squirmy 18 month old on a lap [or a variety of laps] for over 10 hours - and that doesn't count potential delays.

Deb

I hate 10hr flights and I don't have to hold an infant. For your sake and the sake of your child, I too would recommend a seperate seat and car seat.

We have traveled with a child that small in the last couple of years. When he was really young we did not buy a seat but held him on our lap. How did we manage? Poorly. I wouldn't do it again.

He did sleep for most of the time because it was a red eye, however, the parent holding him didn't get any sleep. We couldn't relax or get comfortable. By the time we landed we were both pretty wasted.

Overseas tickets are expensive and I understand trying to save money where you can. But I don't think this is the place to do it.

DebitNM makes a good point about car seats. You'll need one when you get to the states of course. You will need to check with your specific airline because they all have different policies. I recommend (and have done so a zillion times on this website) the CARES harness. It's a harness that works with the airplane seatbelt to more fully strap in your child. Kids that small can have a hard time with just a lap belt because it doesn't hold their bodies in like they are used to in their car seat. It also helped my child to understand that he had to stay in his seat.

Have fun!

I did a 9 hour flight about a year ago with an 18mo. It was just me (at 7 months pregnant) and my husband. I did not want to hold my son, so we got him a seat. It made it so much easier.

I have seen parents on international flights who hold their children the entire time. Some of them have no problems at all and others have a terrible time.


It would be a lot easier with more people able to hold the baby and walk with them. If you have a baby that doesn't mind being held, I think you could get away without buying them a seat.

If you do buy the baby his/her own seat, check on the internet to see the best way to install the car seat. We used a Britax Boulevard and could only put it in the seat forward facing and had to use a seat belt extender to get a proper fit. It took us 5 international flights to figure this out and we could have avoided a lot of stress if we had just researched more.

We did it this July...I was traveling with my DD, her husband and baby, 3 flight segments, 3 different kinds of planes. It was AWFUL!! She said she would never do it again, would buy a seat rather than attempt that.

She had toys galore to entertain him, but those are terribly cramped quarters, and an 18 mos old needs room! The best segment was the middle flight, which coincided with his nap time, was the longest flight, and we had a wide body jet. Another passenger took pity on our efforts to keep everyone happy and gave up his center section seat, which had empty seats on either side, so we could lay the baby down and let him nap. He slept almost that entire flight. He did not cry on the other two, but fidgeted and squirmed and just generally wanted out. His parents were very worried about him bothering others, so spent a lot of time walking the aisles with him.

10 hours is hard under any circumstances...buy the seat, you'll be glad you did!

You definitely need to buy a seat. Try sitting on a chair (not a comfortable one, but an upright one)and holding the child on your lap in your home for as long as you can. child can't get off your lap. I bet you can't do it for anywhere near 10 hours.

Have a good trip.

Yes I would purchase a seat. Especially with 9 people traveling together, one more seat will give more flexibility and the potential for everyone to be a little more comfortable.

At least you're talking 9 people in 8 seats, with several of them kids, so there's enough room for the infant to sit around.

It's not like one parent holding a 18-month old in one seat.

Hello TYGER, when I did marketing for a US based airline for one year I so remember at one of their many meetings that lap held babies can get severely hurt if the plane hits turbulance.

I would absolutely buy a seat for the 18month old child and of course make sure I had the approved safety car seat for your little one to sit in with the proper restraints.

When we flew to Hawaii there was someone on our flight with an infant of about that age. They didn't purchase a seat, the baby was on the mothers lap. That was only a 5 hour flight and the mother and infant were both miserable very quickly. The rest of the people near them were miserable shortly thereafter. For safety and for the comfort of all involved, please get a seat.

I have done it several times, never w/a problem. In fact on nearly all of those flights we were 'given' a middle seat & were frequently given the bulk head seats as well. You can purchase a device that attached the child too you which should increase your level of safety as well as calm your fears. I am curious, where are you flying & do you have connections ? I am assuming Delta ?

Definitely get you toddler a seat and be sure you have a car seat that works with the airline seats. This is not only for your sanity (and that of those around you) but the safety of your child.

In turbulence a baby that isn;t securely strapped in can easily become a flying object - at severe risk to their safetry and that of o ther passengers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics STRONGLY recommends parent buy a seat for their infant. Would you do a 10 hour drive with the baby just sitting on the back seat?

We all went round and round with this a few months ago.

I'm of the position that a child on a lap is jut fine. There is no way in the world you can equate driving in a car with flying in a plane. Automobile deaths are I believe the leading cause of death for small children. Riding on a plane is I'm sure tons safer than going to a playground or other things you do every day.

But, ten hours is a very long time. They are awfully big at that point, and want to walk around and squirm. I think you'll just have to decide if the four adults can handle it.

One thing I should mention is that booster seats in cars for children less than 8 years old is becoming pretty standard. I did look and Ohio still doesn't have a law about that. But you may be traveling in other states where the six year old may require a booster seat. The backless ones can be purchased many places for under $20.

Check with your airline ... Quantas for example had 2 baby drop cribs at the front of their coach cabin. Granted .. a 13 hour flight from LA to Sydney is extremely long but for that family .. (they had twin infants) it worked out great. It was their toddler who wore out the parents ... so check you never know and it doesn't hurt to ask.

I wonder if OP TYGER has checked back to see our responses???