Posted by
Slammy
17 yrs ago
I'm booking a flight to London and apparently they don't give the bassinet seats to babies over 6 months old. It's true that my baby probably might be a bit big for it at 8 months... but on a 13-hour flight, where is the baby supposed to sleep?
Am I supposed to hold her the entire time?
Any tips from seasoned travellers on this point?
Please support our advertisers:
8 month MAY fit in bassinet, but probably not.
- Option 1: Get a seat for baby (paying for it). You can then bring your car seat and mount it. Most comfortable for baby and you.
- Option 2: Baby sleeps in your lap.
- Option 2b: The stars line up and there are free seats to plop baby down into.
In any case, don't expect to sleep at all. Expect to eat little.
May the Force be with You.
Please support our advertisers:
cd
17 yrs ago
Unless you pay for an extra seat, then yes you are expected to hold them the entire time. If there are spare seats the check in staff will normally try and block an extra seat for you, but this is not guaranteed.
I did the London trip holding a 22 month old the whole time, not fun.
Please support our advertisers:
are you flying alone w/baby? this may prove challenging (see other threads on the topic) especially at meal time, if the flight is full. you might want to bring your own, easy to eat food as chowing down on the food crammed onto the tray with a baby in your lap is not fun.
axptguy's solution #1 would be strongly recommended if you can afford it...you and baby will be infinitely more comfortable.
at the very least, try to book a bulkhead seat (where the bassinet WOULD go), for a little extra room, tho the tray tables there are usually crap. you might be able to gather enough blankets from the crew to have baby sleep by your feet (not ideal, but we're talking about 13 hrs here! lol)
Please support our advertisers:
I had my first experience of travelling with a nearly 7 month old at xmas. We flew with Virgin Atlantic. Blessedly it was only to Australia, so 8 hours, not the long haul you are having. We had a skycot on the way over which was great, although any turbulance and you have to take baby out. So I ended up just holding him most of the way anyway, instead of disturbing him going in and hour all night.
The flight back was a different story. They only would give me a bassinet and he HATED IT!! I tried putting him in it and he just cracked it. I even tried when he was asleep, but just trying to click him in was a task in itself. By that stage he was over 7.5 months old and whilst he would have fit, it was just too tight.
I ended up nursing him the entire way. He was pretty restless, but I just put my seat back and lay with him on top of me and each time he woke up, I would hand him over to my husband, and do the toilet run, eat something, drink something, have a stretch, then do it all over again!
Best advice is try to travel mostly during the night if possible. You wont' get any sleep, but at least it's night time so baby knows to sleep. The carseat thing is a good idea, I think we might do that on our trip home mid-year as he will be 12 months old, can they go in one at that age?
Just on another note, thanks everyone for your advice about travelling with bottles, I ended up taking 4 filled with water and 2 cleaned empty ones. We were not questioned at all and it was fine. Why did I worry!
Please support our advertisers:
Hi all - thanks for your replies. Some further questions:
1. I have a baby car seat carrier that attaches to the car via the seat belt. How would I affix this to an airplane seat?
2. Neenib - what's a skycot?
There will be three adults flying as well as baby, so thankfully I won't be doing it alone. I never thought about what people do with babies on a flight until now that I have to do it! Why on earth we pay up to 50% of the airfare for the baby and get nothing for it!
Please support our advertisers:
really 50%? Air Canada under 2 yrs is 10% in your lap...I think if i was paying 50, i'd pay the balance and get another seat...
Please support our advertisers:
"1. I have a baby car seat carrier that attaches to the car via the seat belt. How would I affix this to an airplane seat?"
With the seat belt and a belt extender (which the crew will provide). You might want to double check that your model car seat works on a plane (the manual should tell you).
"what's a skycot?"
AFAIK it is one of those cots that hands from the overhead luggage bins, out over the aisle. No bigger than a normal bassinet.
Please support our advertisers:
JoTs
17 yrs ago
Like all the others say, unless you pay loads more money and buy a seat for your baby, your 8 month will be sleeping on your lap... try it with a 23 month old... then it gets interesting!!! All I do is count down the time... 1 hour gone is 1 less hour to spend on the plane!
Please support our advertisers:
most plane crews will not let a child sleep on the floor ..
suggest you take some sandwiches or snacks to eat, as with a baby in your arms / lap you cant put the tray down - though with 3 adults I guess you might be able to pass the baby back and forth if you dont get a bassinet.
dadda - re the forward facing seat - cant you just turn your rear facing seat round? I am assuming it is a baby capsule many of which are rear facing for a period of time. I think they say they have to be rear facing as otherwise the person in front cant recline. And they will also insist it is in the middle seat if middle of plane or window seat if side of plane as no one could climb past in an emergency.
Please support our advertisers:
I'm considering getting a seat for the baby now, as the child fare is actually not that much more than the infant fare. But even so - it's not really comfortable for the baby to be sleeping in the infant carrier for such a long time, right? I would rather she could lay out flat.
The more I think about this vacation - the more hard work it sounds. We will arrive in London and then drive up to Leeds. Then drive from Leeds back to London and fly to Paris. Stay in Paris a few days and then to Lyon for a friend's wedding, then back to Paris and fly to HK. Am I being too ambitious to think we can drive to all these places with an 8mo? :-(
Please support our advertisers:
"I'm considering getting a seat for the baby now, as the child fare is actually not that much more than the infant fare. But even so - it's not really comfortable for the baby to be sleeping in the infant carrier for such a long time, right? I would rather she could lay out flat."
Way better in an infant carrier than in your lap. It is perhaps not good for baby's back if you have her in a baby carrier all day every day, but one flight is no problem. And sure, baby will eventually squirm, but you can always take her out.
Lying flat is of course ideal, but unless you splurge for business class...
"The more I think about this vacation - the more hard work it sounds. We will arrive in London and then drive up to Leeds. Then drive from Leeds back to London and fly to Paris. Stay in Paris a few days and then to Lyon for a friend's wedding, then back to Paris and fly to HK. Am I being too ambitious to think we can drive to all these places with an 8mo? :-("
It depends on the 8 month old. Certainly it is easier than with a 13 month old. However you may be taking on too much. We all want to be "cool parents" who take our baby everywhere but babies have a way of imposing their own agenda. ;)
Please support our advertisers:
"We all want to be "cool parents" who take our baby everywhere but babies have a way of imposing their own agenda. ;)"
LOL - how true this is!!! :-)
Found this website:
http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Cathay_Pacific_Airways/infants.php
It says personal car seat must be forward facing and cannot be used in business class.
Dimensions of bassinet: 76cm x 38cm x 20cm.
Thanks for your replies everyone!
Please support our advertisers:
The skycot we used in Virgin was attached to the wall of the bulkhead. They set it up once you are up in the air. It's basically a rectangle small cot. It was great when they are smaller and particularly on a night flight. The only downside is when you hit turbulance and you have to take them out.
On our flight coming up in July, we have booked the carseat this time as our baby is way too big for the cot now.
The cot is definitely worth looking into though. But make sure you say cot, not bassinet, otherwise they give you the bouncer looking thing which lies flat and you have to strap the baby in like a straight jacket, it's horrible!
Please support our advertisers:
I had a look at Virgin Atlantic website - you're right, seems their cots are for kids up to one year of age, unlike Cathay which is under 6mo...
Please support our advertisers:
From memory when I spoke to them before xmas, they said up to 9 or 11 kilos, so technically my baby just made it and I think it would have been fine for the way home also, except they gave me that silly flat bassinet thing, bloody awful!
You are lucky however that you will be able to do "pass the parcel" as we say with teh other adults. Having said that, if you are anything like me, sometimes it's just easier to hold the baby yourself because I can't relax when i hear them crying or are being unsettled. Damned hormones!!
Please support our advertisers:
Sorry Slammy I meant to add, if you can afford to purchase another seat, it really would make all the different and perhaps book the carseat. Even if it gives you just a couple of hours, at least it's enough for you to at least scoff something to eat and maybe at least try to snooze. Good Luck!!
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail