[kmontemayor]

I was wondering, and please pardon my ignorance, but on the return trip does your baby have his own ticket and seat, sit in your lap or ride in a car seat. I have no experience with traveling by plane with children and was wondering.

[Payne]

In December, we had to pay around $150 for a lap ticket.

[dsepme]

Depends on the age, what you want to do, and / or how full the plane is!

Children under age 2 can fly on a lap ticket. It costs about 10% of the adult fare. Generally, if you wish, you can place your child in a seat if the plane is not full.

Car seats are only used if they are FAA approved. I'm not sure which ones are and which are not. For an infant, many people advocate using a Baby Bjorn or Snuggli on the plane. If you feel safer placing your child in a car seat, you need to purchase a full-fare ticket. You can try bringing the seat on the plane when you have a lap ticket, and if the plane is full, gate check the seat.

Over age 2 is full fare in their own seat.

[kmontemayor]

Thank you for the information.

[sassycindy]

i just brought my baby home and paid $54 for the lap ticket----basically all it is is the taxes to get out of guatemala--you shouldn';t have to pay anymore than that! if your airline tries to charge you more, then they are definitely ripping you off.


cindy

[Sleepymom]

We flew Continental and we had to pay a 10% of the going rate (for a last minute ticket) x2 (twins) and I'm sure we paid about 400$.

I think 10% of the going rate is pretty common. You might be able to purchase the lap ticket in advance if you have PINK and can plan.

[Annee]

We bought a seat for our son and brought an FAA approved carseat along for safety. We did put Jesse in the carseat on takeoff and landings but he screamed horribly the whole time! It's my understanding that the airlines don't allow you to keep your child in the bjorn or snugli during takeoff and landing - you can hold them on your lap or put them in a carseat but not in a snugli or bjorn. Can anybody confirm that?

Re the airfare for the seat: we paid about $400 for his one-way ticket this past June. We bought the ticket while in Guatemala through a partner company with Velocity Travel. If we'd bought it in the U.S. it would have cost around $1000. The travel agent brought the ticket to us at the Marriott. Also, you have to make sure the name on the ticket matches EXACTLY the name on your child's passport, so we thought it safer to wait to book the seat until after we had the actual passport in our own hands.