Taking a 4 month old on a flight

Hi all,
Looking to head off with our 4 month old in about a months time and was wondering what the best way to fly with them is? Ive heard you can pay a small fee for an extra seat and take your car seat with you?

Any experiences and advice much appreciated!

How far you flying?

Was thinking about Canary Isles for some much needed sun, but quite a long flight

I never did when my kids were small. We didn’t go abroad for 8 years. But loads do so good luck.

Ok. We flew L’pool Belfast this Christmas with our 8 month old so not a very long flight but friends flew to California (11hrs).

If you take a car seat on board it has to fit in with their guidelines which are quite strict. We had our daughter in a lap belt during take off and landing which meant I could feed her and stop her ears exploding! Our friends were given the option of a bassinet which attaches to some part of the plane in front of them but I think this is for long haul only which I don’t think the Canaries are.

If you go for the lap belt option ask if the flight is full before boarding. If it isn’t place your child on a seat between you and missus while others are boarding. This means no-one will sit in the seat and you get extra room for baby during flight.

Also remember you can carry 2 items for free in the hold. This includes any 2 of pram, car seat, pushchair, travel cot. If your car seat clips onto your pram then it counts as 1 item. Don’t forget that baby does not have hand luggage allowance and that you may not be able to buy a seat for an under 2 year old on-line if you go the car seat route.

Hope some of this helps. Oh yeah, and if you fly from Liverpool allow at least 1.5hrs to get through security or be prepared to pay an extra £3 per person inc baby to fast track the queue.

lap, walk around, normally loads of goodwill from other passengers, kid will be happier and less likely to moan if it meets laods of new interesting people. We took our four month old on an easyslut flight brs-gva for morzine. She was fine.
Anyone who moans about the presence of a kid is a see you next tuesday, full weight.

That’s a pretty long flight for a 4mo – we went out with an 18mo in November and were worried about that, but at least there’s lots to do to amuse one that age, and he normally cries very little anyway. How much do you really need that sun?

The youngest we’ve flown anywhere with was 11mo, at which point he was almost walking, so a totally different thing (also a much shorter flight) – he just sat on Mum’s lap, so can’t really help much, though I can see the point of a car seat for a little one.

If you go for the lap belt option ask if the flight is full before boarding. If it isn’t place your child on a seat between you and missus while others are boarding. This means no-one will sit in the seat and you get extra room for baby during flight.

On Easyjet (which is presumably who you flew with) maybe – doesn’t really work with allocated seating where you might be sitting in somebody else’s allocated seat (though if you’re lucky the cabin crew might move you or help you out). Luggage advice also presumably an EJ thing.

Anyone who moans about the presence of a kid is a <swear filter avoidance>

Even somebody who has to sit behind one crying for 4 hours on a flight?

Even somebody who has to sit behind one crying for 4 hours on a flight?

Yup.

Yes, all advice is Easyjet advice but the seat thing is worth a shot if cabin staff seem nice. Also worth a mention to check-in staff.

Thanks guys! All good advice and will look into it with travel agent tomorrow. Thanks again

we flew 4 times with my youngest when she was 14-16 weeks old (& 3 older kids) short flights (under 2 hours) so just on our laps. all went just fine. (v. easy baby tho) choose a flight that’s likely to be quiet if you can and you’ll def be guarantees a free seat next to you! having kids has it’s pluses in that respect! 😉

oh.. biggest PITA was the odd twatty customs officer.. do you know exactly how to dismantle your buggy? I mean far more dismantled than you ever would normally?

Flew to colorado (about 10 hours) with our 3 month old in the summer and she slept both ways 🙂 we were quite nervous before though that she might cry all the way!

We flew BA and got a bassinet on the bulk head seat which is free … Would definitely recommend that over a car seat unless the flight is only a couple of hours.

Hey I can trump that. The wife took ours to Australia when he was six months old. Total journey time was something like 22 hours including three hours in Singapore. At that age it’s the easiest air miles you will do especially if you’re breast feeding (well not you obviously but you know what I mean). It’s when they get a) mobile b) curious and c) independent that the fun with flying any distance starts.

I had a kid screaming hysterically for 8 hours sat right behind me on an overnight flight back from Ghana – would have quite easily strangled it if I thought I could have got away with it.

Congratulations on the strangest willy wave ever there Geetee

Buying a seat for the little one will give you the most comfort if you can afford it.

Having said that, I don’t think its necessary when they’re very small and not moving around much. 4 months is still young enough to use a travel bassinet for long-haul flights, but every airline has different policies on these. Some you may have to book (and pay for) in advance, others you may get free priority. Or turn up and keep your fingers crossed for a sympathetic move to a row with free seats. Check with the airline website.

We’ve just taken our 8 month old on a 6-flight family tour over the Christmas holidays without booking a seat for her. For the domestic flights <1hr, we just booked as normal and she sat on our lap. For the 9.5hr Vancouver>London flights, we booked bulkhead seats to get extra floor space. The outgoing flight was very quiet and the staff moved my wife & baby to a row with empty seats anyway, lots of sleep for everyone. For the full return flight, there was enough floor space for us to make her a bed between our legs with blankets & pillows, not great but lots better than a standard row.

Time the feeds so that they are due a bottle by take-off, drinking should help them equalise their ears. Same for descent, or at least have a dummy available.

Also check about prams if you plan to take one up to the gate. Some airlines will let you take any old thing up to the gate, others are a bit pedantic and insist its a small umbrella type.

I had a kid screaming hysterically for 8 hours sat right behind me on an overnight flight back from Ghana – would have quite easily strangled it if I thought I could have got away with it.

Had the same thing when i was away with work last week.

Flying back from Rome Airport to Paris CDG to catch a connection to manchester, there was a cockup with my ticket and i was downgraded to economy only to find me sitting in front of a screaming baby for two hours. Not what you want after working 58 hours over the previous 5 days. Not that great tbh even with my noise cancellers on. Only consolation was the air france flight to manchester. Work paid the flights so i had premium seats, front row of the plane, and no crying babies.

But then again, i don’t have kids, so i would think that it’s not that sensible to take a small baby on a plane.

footflaps and anto164 – apparently you chaps are <swear filter avoidance> according to toys. How dare you complain about children on flights?

Make sure you have a breast / bottle / dummy handy for the descent. Now’t like a good sook to equalise the ear pressure. You can even share it with the wean if it gets too noisy.

I travel/fly on average 3 days a week so I have experienced pretty much all forms of discomfort. Also, I have traveled with my kids back and forth between South Africa and the UK since they were born. It’s an overnight flight and both of mine have been great. We’ve never really had any problems but then we have always gone very prepared. As bad as it may sound, give them something to help them sleep if need be. It doesn’t just help you and the other passengers but also the child.

Anyone who moans about a crying baby on a flight is a **** period. We were all that age once and small children do not naturally scream and cry, if they are screaming continuously then something is usually wrong. Yes it’s uncomfortable for everyone but so is rerouting a flight because of a heart attack patient or whatever. These things happen, part of life and all that.

That said, there is nothing more annoying than an unprepared parent and I see a few of them regularly. I’ve been on a long flight with a visibly ill/in pain baby where the parent just plainly refused to give the child any medicine because ‘calpol is bad for babies’. I do sometimes feel like giving them a smack round the head.

At that age nothing phases/affects them much and it will be like any other day they may be happy they may be sad who knows.
Look on the birght side if they cry for the whole flight other peole are more angry that you. personally when I hear a crying baby I smile for it is not mine and I can ignore it happilly

I reckon it depends a lot on the baby, if you’ve got a good sleeper who is easy to encourage to sleep, then it could be okay, but it could be a nightmare.

Ours isn’t a good sleeper, and we found that trips staying away at that age had a tendency to mess up her sleep patterns for a week or so, which was a pain.

We did find travelling by train a million times easier than long car journeys, as you could walk around with her, I’d guess planes are similar in that respect, and few people would worry about a car journey with a baby.

Congratulations on the strangest willy wave ever there Geetee

😀

Quite, although to be fair to the wife, I wasn’t even with her. She did this entirely on her own.

I thought I’d lucked-out on a flight over to Perth with two empty seats next to me, only to get a young mum and her 2yo in the previously spare seats. Not much of an issue, until it traspires her way to stop it going mental and to try to make it sleep is to keep feeding it sugar 😯

personally when I hear a crying baby I smile for it is not mine and I can ignore it happilly

+1 – somebody else’s problem 🙂

I am afraid I am in the Please Please Don’t camp, well for long flights anyway. If somebody sat behind you in an enclosed space in which you were trapped for 12 hours and blasted on an airhorn at intervals of something between continuous then just as you were finally falling asleep, every 15 mins, would you think that was reasonable behavior ? No, you’d be away to Council Noise Control, or calling the UN to invoke the Geneva Convention.

And you can prevent this, just don’t take the baby on the flight. Or drug it, or put it in the hold luggage, anything.

I have heard people on buses complain about noise from young persons music playing devices, yet this kind of thing is considered OK.

And this is from bitter experience, and the perpetrators did just shrug and act like I was the mean old bad lady.

Flights of less than 6 hours during the day, just acceptable. Flights of 30 hours that involve hundreds of people trying to sleep, selfish selfish selfish.

Miserable old lady!!! 😀
I think I touched a nerve with aracer. But you misunderstood my post. I meant people who complain to you on the aeroplane about your baby.
Imagine the stress you are under if your baby won’t stop wailing. Do you think having a person moan in your ear about it is suddenly going to give you magic powers to calm the child down? Whatever your opinions may be that is fine with me, I just don’t think anyone has the right to moan at someone mid-air.
Ultimately its up the airlines, they are happy (and I think rightly so) to take kids with all the problems that entails. If you don’t like it either shut up or don’t get on the plane.

Edit: I’m not accusing anyone here of this, and your opinion is valid and acceptable, complain to the airlines.

I have heard people on buses complain about noise from young persons music playing devices, yet this kind of thing is considered OK.

This is about choice, the person playing the music can turn it down. You can’t just turn a baby down.

There is an answer to the wailing baby – I never get on a plane without earplugs. Absolutely essential.

Remember to feed the baby on take off and landing. Feed on take off may well have added bonus of sending it to sleep!

This is about choice… You can’t just turn a baby down.

No, but unless the journey is absolutely essential you can choose not to do it.

No, but unless the journey is absolutely essential you can choose not to do it.

So I see, essential travel on public transport only, for families with small kids, because a few people are intolerant and miserable? Are you actually proposing this seriously?

No, but unless the journey is absolutely essential you can choose not to do it.

What pleasure travel is absolutely essential though?

If you are choosing to go in cattle class in a flying cigar tube with wings then you have to accept you will be with every offering society has to give!

selfish selfish selfish.

Far from it, its public transport, for everyone. Its like the people who complain on Easyjet when the person in front tilts there seatback! You paid for sh*t service and leg room so you have to expect it.

So I see, essential travel on public transport only, for families with small kids, because a few people are intolerant and miserable? Are you actually proposing this seriously?

Err, I was just posting an alternative viewpoint. Don’t be chump and put words in my mouth.

Yes I don’t remember insulting you, I think I just questioned your “alternative viewpoint” and thought through the consequences of the quite frankly moronic and intolerant viewpoint you posted.

Err, where did I propose that families with small kids should only make essential journeys on public transport? I was simply offering the viewpoint that parents do have an element of choice about whether their baby disturbs other passengers on the aeroplane.

And I didn’t insult you, I offered you advice 😀

Is it just me that keeps reading the thread title as:

Taking on a 4 month old in a fight

????

Oh. It is. Sorry. 😉

Unless it’s essential, I wouldn’t want to put myself or others through the pain.

I came back from Dubai on business, in business class and there was a small baby in economy in one of the ‘cot’ set ups on the front row of seats behind. It had one hell of a set of lungs, i’ll give it that.

Thankfully the flight wasn’t particulary busy, and the crew could see people were getting increasingly wound up over it, so people were moved. They ended up with a cabin pretty much to themselves. You could see they wanted the ground to open & swallow them up.

I couldn’t put myself or my children through that experience, nor could I inflict it onto others, of which most have paid a lot of money for the privilage.

Not really sure what the answer is, but also i’m not sure its fair on X number of other people to make already slow & frustrating experience even worse.