I am wondering because I am booking online a flight from the US to an international location and I am wondering if when I select 'lap' for him to sit on my lap, he will get a bassinet or something else, or I have to literally carry him the whole time if I don't buy the separate seat.
How does that work? Not all airlines offer bassinets. The airlines that do offer them only have them available in the bulkhead seats. The bassinets can not be used during take off and landing. I'm not sure, but their may be an age or weight limit when using the bassinet.
If you want to have a bassinet for your flight you'll need to call the airline and see if they're available and to reserve it. If you wait until you check in for the flight chances are you will not be able to get it.
If you do not purchase him a seat and a bassinet is not available you will have to hold him for the whole flight. Many parents use things like Baby Bjorn or an infant sling to hold the baby during the flight, freeing up their hands so they can read or do puzzles. Your best bet is to call the airline in which you are thinking of booking a flight with, and see what they have to offer. Not all airlines offer bassinets, and on the ones that do, there are only a couple of them. If it is that important to have a bassinet, I would definitely check with the airline before purchasing a ticket. I'm afraid not.
I was a Flight Attendant for 13 years and I now fly between Europe and California a couple of times a year, usually alone with my three children, plus shorter flights in between.
Neither of my airlines, both U.S. companies, provided bassinets while I worked for them. I believe the second airline finally did get approval for one just before I stopped flying... The FAA is very strict with these contraptions.
It's true that the baby can't be in them for take-off or landing. They usually give them to you after take-off and stow them before landing. Also, they should be removed during turbulence.
Use of the bassinets varies greatly from one airline to the other. I've used them twice, one on Air France and once on Lufthansa. The weight limit was much higher on Lufthansa but they gave me the wrong information on check-in, saying my year-old son was too big. He wasn't.
Rules vary as well. Air Canada, I've heard, has ones that suspend from the ceiling so you don't have to be seated at the bulkhead. I have not confirmed this but I got that from a good friend who flies them a lot with her baby. She also told me that Air Canada required that the child has to be asleep. Once they wake up, they have to come out.
Not all airlines have them and even when they do, not all of their aircraft are equiped with them. You also usually have to be seated at the bulkhead.
The only way to fly safely with a baby is to use a car seat in a separate seat onboard. A bassinet does not replace a car seat in terms of safety. Babies are allowed on laps because statistically, flying is safe and there is little chance of anything happening but if it does, these children are not protected.
Actually, the car seat was more convenient than the bassinet because I could leave my baby strapped in for turbulence, take-off and landing.
If you didn't buy a seat for your baby, ask at check-in if the flight is full and if not, ask that they "block" the seat next to yours'. It is a request they often do for families. They will then only use the seat if absolutely necessary.
If you are flying a U.S. company, here is the relevent page to consult about which seats are allowed. Most car seat sold in the U.S. are FAA approved.
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_childr...
If you are flying with a company that is not, check their policies and your owner's manual. Search by typing in the name of the airline followed by "children" to get to the right page.
By the way, car seats do NOT have to go by the window. This is true on some aircraft but if there are two aisles, you can put it in the center. Especially important if you are seated in the "bulkhead" seats. It can't block another passenger's access to the aisle, that's all.
Having the car seat onboard is also peace of mind. You wont have to worry that it will get lost or damaged with the checked bags. On my last flight, three of our four bags didn't make it but I had the seat so my daughter was safe on the 2 hour ride home.
For more information on flying with children in general, from someone who has both done it and worked in the industry, I wrote an article a few years ago. I put it on a blog to share with other parents. There are other tips on flying, including for both bottle and breastfeeding (experience with both) and how to get that seat through the airport.
Feel free to visit;
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com |
