Really dumb question about flying with a toddler

[stillplayswithbarbies]

It's not so bad. Use a backpack for your carry-on. Hang the Marathon from the stroller handles. It's really easy if you have two adults.

One thing to keep in mind is that if there is an incident of severe turbulence and you are told to get into "brace position", that position for a lap child is "place the baby on the floor between your feet". To me, it is not ever going to be worth that risk and I will always buy a seat and take the car seat.

Just had to chime in here with the rest -- this Christmas will be Charlie's second time on a flight. It will be about 2 hours on Southwest Air. We bought him his own seat, and it ended up being about $75 less than ours -- round trip. We had to call to get his, and we got ours on line. I can't imagine trying to keep Charlie on my lap the whole time! He is a good carseat kid, though, so I am hoping it will make a difference in his tolerance of the trip. Plus it means that we get a whole row of seats to ourselves.

I didn't want to have to lug the Marathon around, so I am borrowing the "backup" carseat from the grandparents which is smaller and lighter and easier to install. We will be using it in the rental car anyway, so it makes all the more sense to bring it along. You can do a search in carseats for what brands are good on planes/secondary carseats.

Traveling by plane with a kiddo is so different than alone. In the good old days, I would never check a bag and try to get through the proceses as quickly as possible. With a kid, checking baggage is essential (in my limited experience), and building in buffer time for diaper changes, burning energy, slogging cr@p around, etc. helps alot. If you feel rushed, the stress will make everyone miserable.

Also, with Southwest at least, you get to pre-board (which is great since you don't have to get there early/stand in line to get the good seats on the plane), and families with kids all tend to sit in the same area of the plane. So you don't have to worry so much if your child gets rambunctious. You will be among kindred spirits who understand.

Charlie is not the seasoned traveler that other kids are, but in my limited experience, having a seat for him really helps and it isn't all that bad.

[carryingandstrollingabout]

2 flight experiences...

Pre-kids, my husband and I flew in a 3 seat row with a woman who had a toddler as a lap child. The row was especially tight. The flight was delayed extensively. The mom could not control the child for all those hours. We didn't expect it, and the child climbed all over us, spilled all over us. Because of seatbelt sign she had to do diaper changes on the pull down trays, right in front of us. This would not have shocked you moms, but for people without kids, it is a horror...

So if you can, I recommend buying a seat...

But that's not a guarantee! I bought a seat for my 1 year old. When we boarded, the airline announced plane was full and due to whatever, they had separated us and they couldn't put either parent with child and child would have to sit alone!!!!! But that passengers would probably volunteer to move. I was hesitant to get on plane in hopes it all worked out. Also, I just don't think lap sitting is safe, so I very much wanted her buckled into the car seat I'd brought. In the end, I boarded, settled child, then tried to convince nearby seat holders to move. Someone did, but not cheerfully or willingly or immediately. If not, I don't think it is very safe to have a stranger the only person near your child! What if they fed the child something!!!

Plane travel w/ kids is a challenge. Plan ahead as much as you can, and don't trust too much for good luck.

[Zansu]

If you post specifics about airlines and destinations, you may get more info.

I can answer for AA (domestic) and SW.

AA offers discounted infant fares (for infants occupying a seat). They are generally 50% of the full adult fare. It may be cheaper to buy an "adult" ticket for R online (direct from AA or from Expedia, etc.) rather than an infant ticket.

I place a reservation on hold online at aa.com, then call aa.com to see if an infant fare is available in conjunction with my adult fare, and whether it's cheaper. Either way, I get credit for online booking and I pay for it online, so there are no service fees.

On SW, the infant fare is based on the fully refundable adult fare. I think it's a 50% discount. I have never had an occasion where it was cheaper to do the infant fare instead of just booking the cheapest fare online. The only reason I would ever book an infant fare is if I needed a fully refundable adult fare. But b/c SW lets you apply unused tickets against a new ticket, I have no reason to ever need a refundable fare.

[kristenk]

Yep, that pretty much makes perfect sense. I have no idea why I was having such a hard time understanding.

I can see that on SW that it would be cheaper most of the time to get the discounted on line fares, esp. if you book early enough. For us, we are traveling on one busy travel day, and the cheap on line fares weren't available -- even a month in advance!

We booked DS's over the phone first, but I had the website up with the fare options at the time, so I could compare prices at the time I booked. No matter how we did it, the infant fare was cheaper than the best on line options for us (except for the 6 am flight, and that wasn't going to happen! I'll pay a premium for not having to leave the house at 4 am to catch a flight. LOL).

[Momof3Labs]

We've bought a few infant tickets from American, and they were always about 50% off of our fare (which was already cheap) - you pay all of the taxes and such, but get 50% off of the base fare. Not sure if they have changed their policy, but it is worth calling for an infant fare no matter which airline.

[kransden]

First, children under two qualify for the infant fare on most airlines, but you have to call the airlines directly in most cases. If they say they don't have an infant fare, I would call back later to double check. I worked as a CSR at TWA and you would be amazed how much lying goes on. ;)

Second, Try to buy a seat and take your carseat with you. Remember that southwest plane just had that little oops last week. Would you be able to hold your baby when the jet rams into the car? I know the chances are very slim of that happening, but how would you feel if it happend to your child? Of course if you are on the 6am flight there will probably be seats available. As for the carseat, they are the best for containing a screaming toddler! I wouldn't take your MA, I use our cheap "grandma spare". Ask your friends if they have a spare you can use or go to Wal-Mart or Target. Buy the one with the cup holder!

Good Luck!


Karin and Katie 10/24/02

Oh, I completely agree; I woudn't even consider holding her on my lap, not in a million years! The issue is whether she's flying in the first place. :)

Gee whiz. Thanks everyone for the info - but I doubt I'm taking her! I just needed to know whether I buy a ticket or it's somehow lumped onto ours; I had no idea that people kept babies on their laps, but I just wouldn't (and couldn't with this one, even if I wanted to, not even when she was 4 months old!) I also never thought about the fact that she couldn't just sit in the seat and be belted in like an adult...whoops!

I don't think this is for me, any of this. I love to travel - alone and lightly - one bag, no check-ins, no worries, red-eye flights so no lines, LOL. But bringing a stroller and a carseat and yadda yadda yadda...egads! Not for me, if I can help it. I thought maybe a diaper bag....!

I brought dd to the airport a month ago, just to pick up my MIL and just hanging out there for an hour was exhausting - and all I had was Rory and a sling! She's just too active; I can't even picture pulling it off unless we brought the stroller. And we never use the stroller, so the last thing I want to do is bring a stroller.

I think I'll breeze out to the conference in the morning and breeze back that night if I decide I can't be away from her for the weekend. All of the descriptions have helped - I know you guys meant to make it sound easy... but you're talking about people who stick diapers in their back pockets to avoid having to bring anything but the kid when we go shopping!

Thanks for the info!
Jude