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

It’s not free of charge, you have to pay taxes. Also would not be happy for my baby to be strapped into the car seat for extended periods, it’s not good for their spine and parents shouldn’t be doing it.

A part of me does agree. I’ve flown with babies under 2 and it’s incredibly stressful. It is free of charge to take a baby under 2 on a flight, and it’s full price to pay for a seat for them so I can see why many don’t. But I do think it would be a more comfortable experience for all concerned if babies needed a purchased seat, plus car seat, for the flight.

It does create a hassle though in needing to bring your own car seat, which I appreciate solo parent travellers would struggle with, on top of luggage.

The problem is with parents feeling entitled to your seat because they didn't plan properly.

Ignore people like OP, your 14-month old won’t be able to sit on their own seat, and that really wouldn’t be safe because adult seat belts won’t fit them. Keep them safe on your lap with the baby belt, there’s a reason why it’s being done that way. Enjoy your flight and don’t let other passengers make you feel bad because you’re flying with a baby. I fly often due to family abroad on both sides, there’s always the odd one rolling their eyes, but 99% of people are lovely.

Not sure why people are piling on the OP. I think asking about the system for 'restraining' during take off and landing is valid. I didn't know about special seat belts for infants so have been interested in the answers given.

The OP also says they weren't fussed about a 'wriggly' baby being next to them so why are people getting arsey and assuming the worst.

Yes, that is the joke the poster was making

Honestly, don’t worry. They’d only find something else to judge you for anyway. Just enjoy your holiday.

Not even for 90 minutes so the parents could share the care of their tiny baby?

No, very unlikely to sit in her own seat but now i'm worried that people will judge me 😅

Would they actually sit in their own seat? I doubt mine would have, so I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m pretty sure it’s out of the norm. If you genuinely think you would benefit, you could try ringing.

Yes, obviously you should be excluded from flying once you have a baby 🙄 Or what exactly are you proposing?
Edit: I’m flying with my baby to see his grandparents in a few weeks. Hope we don’t end up sitting next to each other 😘

When we've flown we would book a seat as it often wasn't much more that the admin fee of adding her as a lap baby and it was nice to have the extra space.

Im sure we had to call them though as we couldn't do it online - its been a few years though, we might have had to add a child and get them to change it to an infant but double check with them.

Yes, this all (usually) depends on the rules set by the local regulator (e.g.UK= CAA, Europe is EASA and the States is the FAA), and then the airlines can set their own policy which might be more restrictive.

There are not really any worldwide rules and there are significant differences across the globe.

Urgh how irritating for you - let's just BAN all babies/children from flights/holidays.

You put your baby in in the hold!

Meh. She could have given the baby to the baby's father?

It's because babies, although small, are human beings. Therefore they are allowed on all forms of public transport because, you know, their families might want or need to go somewhere.

The only way to do it is to call the airline directly. I think this is because not all short haul planes have big enough seats to fit a child seat in.

She was pissed at sitting next to a baby

You have to call them to book an extra seat for an infant.

It's definitely unsafe, increases DVT risk for the holders too. People are tight and won't buy an extra seat tho.

I’ve never heard of car seats being used for airline travel before.

guess you learn a new thing every day.

We have flown regularly with our baby (from 4 months - 18 months) and we have always had to have her strapped in with an infant belt that goes around our own belt.

Also, you can't have an aisle seat with a baby on your lap. The only time it's allowed is if it is two seats in the centre aisle, as in a business class set up, and the other passenger can exit on their side of the row.

Flown all over Asia and Europe. Maybe the rules are regional?

Genuine question, we've booked a flight for March, baby will be 14 months. When booking we had to choose the adult who would be her guardian on the flight (and, presumably, whose lap she would be on). We also, obviously, had to give her accurate date of birth. There is simply no way to book a separate seat for her, or am I missing something? To book a seat for her we'd have to book a fictitious person (older than 2 years) onto the flight?

DD always had a seatbelt extension when she was a baby but it was always Europe.

In my experience babies cause less disruption than toddlers but I've also seen some pretty shocking behavior from grown adults who at least should know how to behave...you get selfish idiots of all ages