To thnk that airlines should not allow lap babies on flights?

Laughing at this ...if you crash a plane a seat belt is'nt going to be much help is it.
And are babies expected to remain locked down in their own country of origin until they can tie a seat belt. Nice

I travelled with my 1 year old in 2019 from Madrid to Athens and I booked her a seat. She sat on my lap for take off and landing with the seatbelt attachment and in her seat playing with her little toys the rest of the time.

Well I am travelling every year to Asia and europe and north Africa. I have never witnessed babies not safely strapped during take off , landing or turbulence. I cannot comment about other countries or airlines other than the big ones. But in any case we live in uk. My comments are for flights departing from the country we live in, and no flights departing from uk are allowed not to have these regulations.

I partially agree but not about the reduced cost as then the other pax pay more.

Apparently @Dinoswearunderpants would!

I don't even usually pay extra for an aisle seat. I just select that seat when I purchase my ticket. I'm still not giving it up!

Surely nobody gives their seat up if they have paid extra for it.

I travelled alone from London to Dubai on an overnight flight with my 9-month-old baby and back just one month ago. I did not sleep at all. It was one night—difficult, yes; tiring, yes, but feasible.
If a parent feels they cannot manage this, they can choose to pay more for an additional seat and bring a car seat so the baby can sleep for a short period, usually up to a maximum of two hours. After that, the baby must be moved, as it is unsafe to leave them in a car seat for longer than two hours.
We are talking about human beings who cannot sit independently and for whom prolonged restraint in a car seat is unsafe. If someone cannot travel under these conditions, then they should either not take the trip or make alternative arrangements.

If they are secured in a secured car seat leave them there....I'm.really not understanding this insistence by several posters that somehow lap carriage must be the safest option, it's contrary to all the info that's come out of decades of research.

This from a typical research paper on the subject:

:How do injuries occur?
Numerous studies have shown that adults are physically incapable of
holding onto a child in severe turbulence or in a crash, resulting in the child to being thrown
and at risk of striking objects within the aircraft, possibly incurring serious or fatal injuries as
well as injuring other people.

In aircraft crashes, lap held children can sustain crush injuries, or be trapped between the
parent and the seat or bulkhead in front of them, as a result of the lap belt restrained parent
flailing thrown forward, their upper body folding forward over the child. In response to these
occurrences, various devices (e.g., belly belts) have been developed to secure infants to the
parent. However, none of these devices provide the desired protection, because they do not
prevent the parent from crushing the child in a crash (13)."

(My emphasis)

You may laugh, but many years ago we were coming back from Paris on Eurostar. A woman had placed her baby in a car seat in the space where 2 seats back on to each other and create a V shape. This is where luggage is stored. The woman had another child on her lap. Eurostar allows children on parents laps up to age 4.

I guess, as a woman in her 50s, I'm also part of the problem with society today. If I have an aisle seat (which is always the one I'd choose given a choice), there's no way I would give it up for a middle seat, even for a short flight. That's not entitlement!

You cannot compare a car with an airoplane. It feels strange, but cars and planes are very different. Car crashes happen often and involve sudden, violent stops, and cars also have airbags that can seriously injure a baby held on a lap. That’s why a baby must always be in their own car seat in a car.
On a plane, serious crashes are extremely rare. The seat belt is mainly for turbulence, not high-speed crashes, and planes don’t have airbags. Aviation rules are based on overall risk across millions of flights.

I find that wild! European airlines, Middle Eastern airlines and Asian airlines all have the infant belt. Have travelled multiple times long and short distances across Asia and Europe. Had no idea it wasn't a thing in America

You are part of the problem with society today.

It was a 90 minute flight. You're on your own so no one you need to sit with. You could have been a decent human being and offered to move.

Your entitlement is astounding!

For many years it’s been the case that infants on laps are provided with seatbelts attached to the parent’s belt.
I flew a lot with dds as babies at various stages over 40 years ago, so they’re a long established thing.

Mind you the best ever was the ‘skycots’ for small babies on the good old VC10s (aeons ago) - a carry cot - with restraining straps - that plugged into the hat rack - if anyone remembers those! You could reach up from your seat and gently rock the cradle if needed.

I've not ever compared the laws. I've only corrected people saying or acting as if it is universal. Especially since the OP isn't in Europe or the UK.

You were factually incorrect in your post and I corrected that. Nothing to do with one country being right/wrong or better/worse. You said it was an international guideline. It is not.

The OP hasn’t said anywhere (unless I’ve missed an update) that she specifically paid for an aisle seat. Most airlines randomly assign you or you can choose to pay for a specific seat, which most people travelling alone on a short flight wouldn’t bother with. No travelling with a baby doesn’t make you “special” but if you’ve ever done it you’d know how difficult and stressful it can be. The woman shouldn’t have acted like she was entitled to the seat but if everyone was a little more kind and accommodating to each other (eg. giving up your seat to an elderly person on a bus) then the world would be a much nicer place to live. Reminds me of the time I was stuck in a packed airport overnight with loads of delayed flights with my dad & sister when I was about 12. There were very few places to sit and we finally secured two rows of seats facing each other that we could lie down on for a bit (everyone else was lying across seats too) and a woman with a baby came along and I got up to give her some of our space and my dad went mental at me. Gave me a proper row for letting her sit down and giving her “our space”. I remember secretly feeling smug cos I knew I was the better person and thinking I’d rather live in a world of people like me than people like him (maybe not that related but just triggered that memory)

@McSpoot @Balloonhearts I live in Europe and I go by guidelines we have here. Not saying that ours are better or worse than those from any other country, but we’ll all go mad if we start to compare each guideline. There are countries who don’t vaccinate against XYZ, or don’t recommend Vit D, or have different car safety rules. I chose to adhere to expert advice we have here and I think that’s a legitimate choice, but equally I’m not bothered if someone else decides to follow expert advice from country X.

Yes - most flights that I've been on. Once again, the use of these belts is not universal. In some countries, they are banned.

Poor planning on the parents part does not require financial planning on the OPs part. Its not hard to get these things done.

If anything the mother should have offered to swap with the fathers neighbour as it seems their seats were inferior

In terms of safety, which was the OPs point, in the event of an emergency landing wouldn’t most parents grab their child and get into brace position holding them? So I would say a belt child extender thing would be best. I can’t imagine a parent leaving a child in a car seat or bassinet. Hence why they are in laps for takeoff which is a more risky time.

This is the regulation , during take off , landing and turbulence the babies are strapped on the parent. Have you been in a flight where this was not the case?

Some of the none believers in belts helping in the event of an accident, even for adults, might want to take a look at the video of the United 232 accident in 1989.....horrendous to look at but 184 survivors out of over 290 total onboard...

But one babe in arms was killed and ever since one of the Flight Attendants has campaigned on the whole issue of infants and restraints.

The video is in this news report but it's not for the faint hearted or nervous flyer....but it does show what is survivable.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=qd_GHqOVlDU

I can't understand what your complaint is. Your last line states that you think it's dangerous for babies to be on laps, yet most of your post seems to be complaining that the woman wanted your seat.

If you are really asking about whether babies should be allowed on laps, then why all the unnecessary information about this particular woman who didn't want the middle seat? She had every right to ask to switch seats with you and you had every right to refuse (as would I). I can see that it was annoying that she made a big deal about it and complained to the cabin crew, but this is nothing to do with the fact that she had a baby with her or that her baby may have been unsafe.

Anyone that is demanding your booked and paid for seat is being a dick, regardless of reason, ignore them.