Baby On Aircraft

[undercover]

I will be traveling over to the UK on Qatar air next month with my wife and our new 5 month old baby. I have just been asked by my wife " where is our baby going to sit " ?

I could not answer her question as I had never thought about it until she asked me.

So you all know what Im going to ask you.... where does the baby sit ?

[Farma]

It's usual to request a bulkhead seat. They have cots that clip onto the bulkhead.

[janetplanet]

I will be traveling over to the UK on Qatar air next month with my wife and our new 5 month old baby. I have just been asked by my wife " where is our baby going to sit " ?

I could not answer her question as I had never thought about it until she asked me.

So you all know what Im going to ask you.... where does the baby sit ?

Air Canada promised us a bassinet on our 11 hour flight to Toronto. There were about 6 babies on the flight, no bassinets for any of them, no empty seats, baby was on my lap the entire time.

just pray for a miracle.

[Boo]

call airline & request a bassinet. Otherwise baby is on your lap for the flight.

[Sarge]

the baby will seat on your lap unless you pay a full adult ticket. If you're lucky and there're available free seats, the airline staff will favour you over other passengers

[QED]

On the wings would be a good idea

[Boo]

you can buy baby it's own seat & kids under 2 only cost the taxes. call your airline & see what their options for you are. at 5 months a bassinet is the best opyion, we have done lhr to bkk twice this way & my son has slept for most of the flight every time.

[think_too_mut]

the baby will seat on your lap unless you pay a full adult ticket.

Not on Thai airways. For 4 1/2 year old we paid 60% of adult fare for seat and 20kg baggage allowance.

As for 5 months old, the pic shows where they sit. Book the bassinet, if not available, book another flight where it is.

Edited November 24, 2008 by think_too_mut

[flightcrew1]

Yes, do call the airline directly to book the bassinet. If there is an airline office near you go inside and book it. Don't trust your travel agent as they can only request it and then they put the blame on the airline when you don't get it. If you do use a travel agent and ask them to request the bassinet, again call the airline to make sure they have it in the record. I have lost number of the countless times I've been told by passengers that they booked a bassinet and it was not on our list of special items. This goes for baby formula and baby food as well. Bassinets are free. If your also lucky someone like me who is a "designated baby minder" may also be on board.

[janetplanet]

Yes, do call the airline directly to book the bassinet. If there is an airline office near you go inside and book it. Don't trust your travel agent as they can only request it and then they put the blame on the airline when you don't get it. If you do use a travel agent and ask them to request the bassinet, again call the airline to make sure they have it in the record. I have lost number of the countless times I've been told by passengers that they booked a bassinet and it was not on our list of special items. This goes for baby formula and baby food as well. Bassinets are free. If your also lucky someone like me who is a "designated baby minder" may also be on board.

Flightcrew, would a seat for a 1 year old be 'just the cost of taxes' or an under 2 price?

[matcube]

fare classes : baby (below age 2), child (below age 12), adult

seats: baby no own seat, even if you pay (safety reason)

bassinet: depends on the baby size/weight. It's quite hard to convince the airline to give you a bassinet for a 14+ month old baby

Costs: child is approx 80% of adult, and airport tax is full

baby is 10% of adult, airport taxes are about 50% of full. There is a big difference here among airlines, though, some will choose to use the "official fare" as the basis for computing the 10%, others will use the same fare as the accompanying adult. That makes a big difference.

For instance, I once had two options:

ariline 1: adult 30,000 baht + 5,000 taxes = 35,000. Child 30,000 x 0.1 + 3,000 taxes = 6,000 baht

airline 2: adult 22,000 baht + 4,000 taxes = 26,000. Child 80,000 ("official price") x 0.1 + 2,500 = 10,500 baht

Then it depends on the number of adults and children in your group, if you just want to find the cheapest option. But do find out the baby's fare. And do complain if the airline apply the 10% to the standard fare as opposed to your fare!

Edited November 24, 2008 by matcube

[doubleduh]

They usually sit in the front of the aircraft, that's why I always take a seat in the back, a bit more quiet...

[dingdongrb]

They usually sit in the front of the aircraft, that's why I always take a seat in the back, a bit more quiet...

I'm not always in agreement with this.... Have you ever been seated next to someone that snores so loud it muffles the sound of the airplane engine?

As for children's costs on the flight, it is different amongst airlines, call and check. Yes the bassinet is the way to go as it does keeps the child comfy as well as mama and papa. (Mama and papa not having to hold the child, as they obviously could not fit in the bassinet.... )

[janetplanet]

fare classes : baby (below age 2), child (below age 12), adult

seats: baby no own seat, even if you pay (safety reason)

bassinet: depends on the baby size/weight. It's quite hard to convince the airline to give you a bassinet for a 14+ month old baby

Costs: child is approx 80% of adult, and airport tax is full

baby is 10% of adult, airport taxes are about 50% of full. There is a big difference here among airlines, though, some will choose to use the "official fare" as the basis for computing the 10%, others will use the same fare as the accompanying adult. That makes a big difference.

For instance, I once had two options:

ariline 1: adult 30,000 baht + 5,000 taxes = 35,000. Child 30,000 x 0.1 + 3,000 taxes = 6,000 baht

airline 2: adult 22,000 baht + 4,000 taxes = 26,000. Child 80,000 ("official price") x 0.1 + 2,500 = 10,500 baht

Then it depends on the number of adults and children in your group, if you just want to find the cheapest option. But do find out the baby's fare. And do complain if the airline apply the 10% to the standard fare as opposed to your fare!

I called my agent and he said my 1 year old would pay 80% of adult making the cost from just Toronto to Hong Kong 1500$! Is he mistaken?

[travellermom]

Ok, here is the information from a mother who travelled for 9 countries with an infant - sometimes in a bassinet, sometimes on my lap for hours, sometimes on his own seat.

If you do not want to purchase an adult seat to your child (by priority order):

1) Email Qatar Airways requesting a bassinet. As said by others do not expect the travel agent to do it for you. If there are more babies on the plane, yes, you might not be able to have the bassinet even with the request. Because of the front seats are usually reserved for premium passengers (and the bassinet is in the front), considere to offer more money to be able to have it (just considere, do not offer more money until needed). Make sure to be very sweet and humble when requesting the bassinet on your email to Qatar Airways, I used to say: if my baby cannot lie down flat, he will cry during the whole flight, disturbing the other passengers... - always worked. Middle Eastern airlines are extremely nice to children and expectant mothers (I live in the UAE) and they will do you whatever is possible to get it for you.

2) I am not sure but if you check QA home page, on the tab "Review" you will be able to see the aircraft map and the occupied seats. If you are on the bulkhead row, do not do anything. If you are seating on a "normal" 3 seats row, book a seat for you and a seat for your spouse (or whoever is travelling with you) leaving an empty seat in the middle. Usually, especially if the aircraft is not fully booked, nobody will want to seat between 2 strangers, leaving that seat empty for you to put your baby on it. For take off and taxi you will have to hold the baby. And if someone ends up sitting in the middle, he/she will want to trade seats with one of you, or better, he will want to find another seat as far as possible.

You can carry a FAA approved infant car seat on the plane, if you are lucky to have an empty seat, you can use it, if you are not you just put it on the overhead luggage.

If you are thinking in purchasing an adult seat to your child:

To be able to travel on his own seat the infant will have to use a FAA (and/or european approved) infant car seat. Make sure you have the approval on the tag. To make sure I wouldn't have trouble with it, I sent an email requesting pre-approval from the airline, I told them the type of car seat - brand, model, color, year, sent a picture (I found all the descriptions and the pictures at amazon.com) and they pre approved.

If everything goes wrong: carry a boppy pillow with you and a sling, put the baby in the sling (not for take off and landing), put the sling and the baby on the boppy pillow and relax.

On a flight from Japan to Hawaii I was by myself with lots of bags and my 7 months old baby. I didn't get the bassinet as requested (because that aircraft did not have one), but they gave me a moses, and put the baby bed on the floor in front of me. He was fuzzy, so I ended up using the sling + boppy pillow idea and we both slept through the whole flight.

Well, hope I was helpful. I am trying to put all my tips on my blog backpakerkid.synthasite.com

[undercover]

Thank you very much for all your helpful replys, I will do as flightcrew1 said and talk to Qatar directly if they ever answer their phone ? Ive now been trying various numbers for 2 days...

Also there dossent seem to be an email address to contact them ?

Sure it's there on the site, but if you follow the steps it just goes to a postal address and phone number, a bit like trying to get the email of a bank or Embassy

Edited December 6, 2008 by undercover

[Comehome]

Hi!

The baby usually sit in your or your wifes lap during take off and landing.

The the staff onboard will provide you with a special safety-belt for young children and infants.

It is first connected to your safety-belt and then around the baby.

At most airlines you need to book the babycot a few weeks in advance.

Don´t know about Qatar Air.

Ask them in time, it will be a lot easier with the baby-cot for all three of you.

Just thought about something.

Excuse me, a personal question:

Are your wife breastfeeding or will you use formula on the flight?

Since there are more strict rules about bringing liquid on the plane and through the customs, do not leave any forumla in the bottle before going through UK customs. Pour it out on the planes toilet or something.

I made that misstake when I arrived to Helsinki and I had to TASTE it myself to proove it was not any explosive etc.

It was not very nice to taste 8 hour old babyformula, but I had no choice.

They also scanned our then 8 months old baby from top to toe with a hand scanner becauses she was wearing a thick wintercoat.

I guess they are only doing their job but it felt a bit too much for us since we were tired and only wanted to get on the plane to Sweden.

There are also ear-plugs for infants to buy at pharmacies if you like.

We let our girl drink water during take off and landing and by that she stabilised the pressure herself.

Oh and by the way, 80% for a baby ticket, sounds too expensive!

Hope you will have a nice flight!

/Leela

Edited December 6, 2008 by Comehome

[Pdaz]

On the wings would be a good idea

yeah my first choice would have been the cargo hold... unruly kids kicking the seat and screaming infants.. makes for a great flight.. can't even escape them in business class.. Worse still is the bassinet idea.. Bulkhead seats used to be great for extra legroom for taller passengers.. Now they are all occupied by people with kids

Maybe adult only flights would be a money spinner ?

[mrbojangles]

On the wings would be a good idea

yeah my first choice would have been the cargo hold... unruly kids kicking the seat and screaming infants.. makes for a great flight.. can't even escape them in business class.. Worse still is the bassinet idea.. Bulkhead seats used to be great for extra legroom for taller passengers.. Now they are all occupied by people with kids

Maybe adult only flights would be a money spinner ?

Don't tell me. You've never been a kid and you've always been a grown up, although with posts like that, maybe you haven't grown up too much yet

Back on topic. My wife and baby (3 months old) will hopefully be flying out to live with me in Saudi. Does the baby get a baggage allowance? I will be flying back to the UK empty handed to pick them up, so will have mine and the wifes allowance but as i am bringing them out lock stock and barrell, i think i'll need as much allowance as possible.

[Boo]

depend on the airline but for example EVA give 10kg plus extra for a stroller, travel cot & car seat, you are also allowed to take an extra hand luggage for babies stuff, milk nappies etc.

[mrbojangles]

depend on the airline but for example EVA give 10kg plus extra for a stroller, travel cot & car seat, you are also allowed to take an extra hand luggage for babies stuff, milk nappies etc.

Cheers Boo

[wineaux]

I hate long haul flights even in business class, add a baby into the mix and welcome to hel_l. We took our 5 month old baby BKK-LHR-BKK in July with Qatar in biz class. Sure we had row 1 with the bassinet but he barely fit in it lengthways then when he wants to wriggle or sit up his head,arms,legs hits the straps. I spent most the time taking him in and out of the bassinet and walking him around the plane. On the way back we made him a camp in front of my wifes seat which worked better than the bassinet but required supervision.

I think if I (had to) do it again i would book him an economy seat and bring a front facing car seat...and a nanny

Good luck

[dingdongrb]

I usually do like the Brits do and toss them into the overhead.....

[Pdaz]

On the wings would be a good idea

yeah my first choice would have been the cargo hold... unruly kids kicking the seat and screaming infants.. makes for a great flight.. can't even escape them in business class.. Worse still is the bassinet idea.. Bulkhead seats used to be great for extra legroom for taller passengers.. Now they are all occupied by people with kids

Maybe adult only flights would be a money spinner ?

Don't tell me. You've never been a kid and you've always been a grown up, although with posts like that, maybe you haven't grown up too much yet

Back on topic. My wife and baby (3 months old) will hopefully be flying out to live with me in Saudi. Does the baby get a baggage allowance? I will be flying back to the UK empty handed to pick them up, so will have mine and the wifes allowance but as i am bringing them out lock stock and barrell, i think i'll need as much allowance as possible.

Nope I was a kid once.. But until I was a well behaved toddler my parents had enough good manners and common sense to realise that babies don't belong on long haul international flights... There's no need to be transporting screaming infants on planes.. Wait till they are older... Now cue all the 'I have to take my baby on holiday types'' My advice, stay at home with your kid till it stops crying, screaming and vomiting... Or give it a large brandy so everybody else can sleep.. After 50 hours of travelling the last thing I need is a fidgety kid and it's neurotic mother sat next to me... As I said I can't even escape them in business class .... The place 'supposedly' where you can get a rest between work places.. not.. Now what to rant about next... Overweight people who have paid for one seat but wat 1/2 of mine too.. Or lazy second rate parents that let their kids run up and down the isle and disturb the other passengers ?....

[meandwi]

We travel back and forth from Miami to BKK. 26 hours if were lucky. Usually 30 hours. We arrive 3 hours before our flight to be the first to request the bulkhead seats. We buy two adult and one baby seat, usually giving us the entire middle row. We also request it for all our connecting flights. It's always a first come first served deal, so getting there early is key to your success.

We bring a mini dvd player with two back up batteries, lots of pillows and blankets, snacks and ect. If she gets a little cranky, baby benadril puts her out for a good nights sleep. We never request a bassinett, she hates it. We spend some time sitting on the floor in front of us, playing and sleeping. Getting up during turbulance of course.

The hardest parts is the changing pressure on takeoffs and landings. So she gets breast fed during these times, and changing diapers? Make sure she has something soft to lay on while on the changing table in the laboritory.

Sure she cries sometimes, but we are quick to buy a round to the complainers.

Have a safe trip,

meandwi

[imaneggspurt]

ON THE WING IF I HAD MY WAY ! . only joking, we took our daughter at 6 months old to the uk on a 747 and had the middle row by the tv screen,they mount a cot/bed there, get to the airport early or better still try to book before,.

[mrbojangles]

On the wings would be a good idea

yeah my first choice would have been the cargo hold... unruly kids kicking the seat and screaming infants.. makes for a great flight.. can't even escape them in business class.. Worse still is the bassinet idea.. Bulkhead seats used to be great for extra legroom for taller passengers.. Now they are all occupied by people with kids

Maybe adult only flights would be a money spinner ?

Don't tell me. You've never been a kid and you've always been a grown up, although with posts like that, maybe you haven't grown up too much yet

Back on topic. My wife and baby (3 months old) will hopefully be flying out to live with me in Saudi. Does the baby get a baggage allowance? I will be flying back to the UK empty handed to pick them up, so will have mine and the wifes allowance but as i am bringing them out lock stock and barrell, i think i'll need as much allowance as possible.

Nope I was a kid once.. But until I was a well behaved toddler my parents had enough good manners and common sense to realise that babies don't belong on long haul international flights... There's no need to be transporting screaming infants on planes.. Wait till they are older...

Well i work and live in Saudi Arabia and there ain't no way i am waiting till my Daughter is "old enough" for them to come out here and join me.

Or lazy second rate parents that let their kids run up and down the isle and disturb the other passengers ?....

On that, i agree. The parents should get a slapping

[neverdie]

On the wings would be a good idea

yeah my first choice would have been the cargo hold... unruly kids kicking the seat and screaming infants.. makes for a great flight.. can't even escape them in business class.. Worse still is the bassinet idea.. Bulkhead seats used to be great for extra legroom for taller passengers.. Now they are all occupied by people with kids

Maybe adult only flights would be a money spinner ?

What a joke, children should never be allowed to ride in Business class, afterall, thats one of the reasons your paying extra is to get away from the screaming hoards. All children should be sedated and moved to the cargo hull! End of Story!

[nonthaburial]

They usually sit in the front of the aircraft, that's why I always take a seat in the back, a bit more quiet...

No they dont, they usually sit next to me whilst the parents are rows away. Blolody frustrating i can assure you

[gunnyd]

On the wings would be a good idea

yeah my first choice would have been the cargo hold... unruly kids kicking the seat and screaming infants.. makes for a great flight.. can't even escape them in business class.. Worse still is the bassinet idea.. Bulkhead seats used to be great for extra legroom for taller passengers.. Now they are all occupied by people with kids

Maybe adult only flights would be a money spinner ?

What a joke, children should never be allowed to ride in Business class, afterall, thats one of the reasons your paying extra is to get away from the screaming hoards. All children should be sedated and moved to the cargo hull! End of Story!

Some of us EVIL PARENTS don't do economy. If you don't like the idea of children on a plane than you are going to have to get with a bunch of your like minded knucklehead buddies and charter a private plane.

Just because most of us married types choose to propagate the human race does not relegate us to the back of the bus.

The reason you fly Business or First Class on any airline is 1. you can afford it. 2. you want to be comfortable during a 14 hour flight.

Frankly if you have the money to fly Business or First Class all the time, you have the money for a decent set of noise canceling headphones. That's something I have had for years. Before I had no kids I dealt with it logically, noise canceling headphones and or earplugs and the blindfold that the airlines provide adequate.

From this thread I learned 2 things. Request bassinets in advance. I will when me and the missus go back to the US of A with our 2 bundles of joy IN ROYAL SILK CLASS!. And that some of the TV members are childless heartless bastards.