I want to travel with my baby that is only four and a half month on a plain for the first time but do we have to pay his fair to go on the plain???confused first time parent....
You have to hold the baby for the entire flight. You don't have to buy a ticket but the airline does need to know that you will have a child in lap. You can check the stroller or car seat at the gate to make it easier.
It's been awhile since I've done this, but I flew on Southwest and Air Tran with my son several times. Their policies (at least a few years ago) were that the child must be under the age of two and held in your lap in order to not have to buy the extra ticket. The flights we took were no more than two hours, so it wasn't a huge deal. Also, I nursed him (under a cover) during take-off and landing to help with the ears during the pressure changes. It is doable.
On a transatlantic flight, I sat in next to a new mother traveling alone with her three-month old baby girl. They were going to Germany to meet up with her husband who had been deployed for six months and had never met his daughter. She was amazing and did everything she needed to do one-handed and the baby was an angel. (I did help her get her tray out when the meal was served.) We were in the bulkhead where there was extra leg room. Many airlines have these little collapsable cardboard "cribs" that fit on the floor in the bulkhead row. If possible, sit there. You cannot sit in an exit row, which tend to have more legroom, if you have an infant in lap.
Good luck.
welcome to mamapedia.
It depends upon you and the flight you are taking. If you do not want to hold your child the whole flight - then yes - you will have to pay for a seat for him.
I can tell you as a parent who traveled with a six month old on a six hour flight? I would pay for their seat. It makes life MUCH easier for all involved. Take the car seat with you - talk with the airlines about which ones fit their seats best - and pay for the seat. ESPECIALLY if it's a flight over 3 hours.
If you're willing to hold him the entire time and not have a seat for him, you don't have to buy a ticket. You DO need to let the reservation agent know you'll have a "babe in arms." If buying tickets online, there's usually an option for this. Make sure to also bring his birth certificate.
Everone is more comfortable if you buy a seat for your child. We always bought a seat for our daughter. It was worth it in the long run. Also, if you are holding an infant and you have turbulance, etc, it's not good.
Buy a seat.
Flying domestically you don't have to pay. The baby will be in your lap (most likely). It's getting harder and harder to find an empty seat.
I disagree that at 4.5 months it will be easier for everyone if she has a seat. At that age, you are probably going to be holding her a lot. At 9 months up, though, I'd agree that it would probably be easier (and safer) for her to have her own seat. Of course, this might make the trip prohibitively expensive, so it's a balance.
Flying internationally, the base fare for lap infants is free, but the taxes and gas surcharge for an infant can still add up to a lot of $$$.
Go to the airlines websites and read their policies. They will need to know if you have an infant in lap when they assign you a seat. You will need to be in a seat that has 2 oxygen masks (1 for you, 1 for baby) in case of an emergency.
No but you do have to let them know you will have an infant on your lap. I have been on flights many times with my kiddos at a young age and I only had one flight that was so booked that they couldn't move me to a differnt seat location where I could have an empty seat next to me.
I think your question was well answered already, but I would like to add a word of advice. . . When we traveled cross country, we found that it was better for us to fly just after baby's bedtime. He was so exhausted that he fell straight to sleep after takeoff! Also, We used the Moby Wrap. If you do not have one, I strongly suggest it (you can get them at babiesrus, target, etc) Arms can get tired when holding a baby for a long time, and the moby wrap gave me a little bit of a break. Plus, the baby felt like he was snuggled so close, and I was able to shield his eyes from the overhead lights on around us by stretching some of the fabric into a visor. Don't stress too much about angry passengers, there are really great people who will help you if you are flying alone! Good luck!
