marcbolam

If anyone has travelled away with kids of 1 - 2 years old, what would you recommend to have them seated on the flight? own seat with car seat or bassinet? and how was the flight?

Luma

See if these help.....

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hlight=toddler

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hlight=toddler


I've managed travelling on an 11hr flight with a 1yr old on my lap and a 3yr old. But I wouldn't like to do it travelling from the UK to Australia.

If you can afford to pay for a seat for an under 2yr old then go for it - it will make easier

Welshie

Car seats on airplanes aren't allowed. Bassinets have a weight limit so check that before you go. When I took mine long haul when he was one I had to carry him. He was too big for the bassinet. Wasn't too bad, but a bit awkward and he did sleep most of the way. I'd recommend their own seats anyway if possible....so much easier!

Karen and Iain

I had nathan on my knee when he was a few weeks short of his second birthday, on way out he was in a spare seat so it was ok but on the way back flight was full, I can only say I would have gladly paid the full fare for a seat for him if it had been possible! However, we did survive!
Good luck Karen

greggsy

We last flew to aus when our daughter was 2 1/2 paid the extra for her own seat and it was the best money ever spent. She could watch her own tv shows and have a kip when she wanted. That was with singapore who were great.

Sattman

Hi All,

We came out last month with Cathay Pacific. We had checked out the bassinet and found that our 18mth old was way too big for it. We took our car seat onto the plane, and found it invaluable.

We flew from Heathrow at about 10pm, so she slept most of the way to Hong Kong, the HK to Syd leg was a bit more difficult as she was wide awake for most of it.

Cathay Pacific also managed to seat us in a centre row near the back so there were only three seats. The other advantage of paying for her to have her own seat was that she then had a full baggage allowance.

Hope this helps.

Martin

wargod

We recentely flew here with a 1.5 and a 3.5 - we carried the 1.5 in our arms although we did fly club class so we did have a shed load of room, personally if we fly club class again i wouldnt buy her a seat but if we flew economy then i would buy an extra seat.

And the flight was as easy as pie too!!!

Britishaussie

When we flew with Malaysian last year our baby was 4 months so he went in the bassinet easily and slept most of the way. However, there was another couple next to us with a "baby" girl who looked enormous, she had to be over 18 months and possibly nearer to 2 years old, and they still gave her a bassinet ( ). Needless to say, she didn't even use it because she was too big, as the flight wasn't full she ended up sleeping on an empty seat somewhere else! However, we are hoping that our own baby who is now nearly one, will still fit in a bassinet when we fly next Tuesday because I do not fancy having him on my lap for hours on end! He will drive us all mad.

iPom

LAst time we travelled with a 1 yr old we asked for the basinette anyway. It was useful for putting stuff in, and when he fell asleep, we put him in with his knees up. Even if he doesn't fit properly, there's a little extra room on the bulkhead and that'll come in handy.

DunRoaminTheUK

Not true I'm afraid.

We are investigating this very same problem right now as our little bundle of joy will have just turned 1 when we fly from LHR to BNE in May/June.

Cathay and Virgin (I know for a fact) do allow car-seats to be taken onto the plane where the child is between 6 months and 3 years, and has paid the child price for a seat (this is Cathay's stipulation). My wife called Cathay this morning and they confirmed this adding only that the child must be located by the window and that the car-seat must be structurally sound (i.e. not damaged).

We were more than willing to pay the extra for him to have his own seat as the alternative option of holding a child that wriggles 24/7 for the 24-bit just doesn't bear thinking about.

BAY

Yes they are ! Well they were when we flew Heathrow to Melbourne on Singapore Airways a couple of years ago and I'm not aware they've been banned since

Rudi

I thought it was the law that children had their own seat once they hit the age of 2 anyway?

Rudi

Luma

I don't know about the law but you generally get charged about 75% of a full adult price for a toddler over the age of 2yrs.

gjs

[QUOTE=BAY]
Car seats are also allowed on Malaysian airlines as long as you let them know in advance the brand of car seat and its dimensions.The child must be between 6 months and under 3 years and must weigh up to 40lb and be 40inches tall or less.Phoned them up today to check this after our travel agent told us they weren't allowed.
Ironically although our ankle biter is a tiddler at around 30lb and maybe 32 inches tall we were told that we can't take his seat because he will be over 3 when we fly!
Apparently it's a Head Office thing....so thats OK then. Can't be using any of that common sense stuff.

DunRoaminTheUK

[QUOTE=gjs] One thing I've learnt about a few travel agents recently is that they know "Jack-Sh*t" about a lot of things and will generally provide you with very misleading information. Austravel told us a load of bull about bassinet requirements for babies with Cathay Pacific, when we flew with them last year.

Why not put your 3 year old boy into a paid seat? I imagine at 3 years old that they should be able to make use of the seat without the aid of a car seat?

BTW, we have been quoted (online with Ebookers) £1150.90 for a one-way 1/6/2006 passage in economy, with Cathay, for 2 adults and 1 child (not infant price) or £3,294 if you do the same trip in business.