If you’re traveling on an airplane with an infant, the rules and restrictions for both yourself and your kids can get confusing. So before you next fly with a baby, keep the following in mind, and as always, check with the individual airline(s) with which you'll be flying to find out their specific policies.
1. A lap child—generally, a child under the age of two who does not have his or her own paid seat and who will be held on your lap during the flight—does not have a baggage allowance on most airlines. If you need a diaper bag with you on board, for example, that counts on the majority of airlines as one of your two allowed carry-on bags. If you have to check a bag for the baby, that counts as one of your checked bags and will be subject to a fee on most airlines if you check more than one bag.
2. If you’re flying internationally with a lap child, keep in mind that almost all airlines charge even lap babies a fare that is typically 10 percent of the adult fare. When it comes to flying overseas, there’s no free ride. Some airlines also don’t allow these reservations to be made online, so you’ll have to call.
3. Most airlines these days require proof of age for a lap child. At age two, a child must have a paid ticket, so airlines are checking carefully to make sure all lap children really are under the age of two. Bring a birth certificate or passport with you for proof. If your baby turns two during a trip, you have to pay for a seat for the return trip, and that typically means paying an adult fare.
4. Different airlines have different rules about the minimum age at which an infant can fly. Some airlines, for example, allow newborns as young as seven days old; on other carriers 14 days old is the minimum. In most cases you must have a doctor’s permission to fly with a baby younger than the minimum age, so if your baby is less than a month old, it’s a good idea to plan on bringing a note from your pediatrician in case any questions arise. The truth is that airline gate agents don’t always know airline corporate policies.
5. Most, but not all, airlines allow a parent traveling with a baby to check a stroller and/or car seat at no extra cost, and this can usually be done at the gate so you can use the stroller to transport your baby to the plane. A few airlines allow parents to bring a small, collapsible stroller on board (an umbrella stroller), but some do not allow strollers on board at all. When you book family flights, go onto the airline’s website and read all current baggage restrictions as well as all information related to flying with children on that carrier.
PHOTO: A lap child with mother on the plane (Jerry Driendl/Digital Vision/Getty)
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One idea is to feed them during landing and takeoff. The sucking action will help equalize the pressure in your baby's ears, just as a grownup might pop in a candy or throat lozenge.
Posted by: Peter Jefferiss | March 10, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Thanks for the info as I will have a baby in the next few weeks. But how to handle the pressure inside the plane for an infant?
Posted by: Family Vacation Guide | March 09, 2009 at 06:18 PM