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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Flying with an infant

66 replies

Booboostwo · 30/04/2016 14:43

This is more by way of information rather than a proper AIBU where I would be frothing at the mouth at how we had been treated.

We flew short-haul with TAP Portugal two adults, one child and one infant (19mo).

We were not given an infant life jacket on either flight - now I know that if the plane goes down, the infant life jacket is unlikely to save anyone but isn't that weird? I also think that the infant seat belt on the way back was defective because it would loosen all by itself as DS wiggled around in it.

There was no meal allocated for DS on either flights and the portion given out to the rest of us was minuscule so not much to share.

We were pre-allocated seats which we could not change and DH in another row couldn't hold DS at all, just me. We were told this was because there were no oxygen masks for infants in other rows. Does that sound right?

I never came across any of this when traveling with DD as an infant so was just curious to know if all this is standard.

OP posts:
LIZS · 30/04/2016 14:45

Sounds normal to me. You get an infant life cot rather than jacket iirc and not every row has infant masks. No meal is pretty standard unless you prebook one.

FuckSanta · 30/04/2016 14:47

The cabin crew deal with life cots for infants (surely your 19 month old is a toddler, not an infant). They don't supply meals for babes on laps for whom you don't buy a seat.

FuckSanta · 30/04/2016 14:49

I flew long haul with DD when she was about 18 weeks old. Practically everyone on the plane held her including the crew and nobody mentioned oxygen masks. Odds of needing them are minuscule anyway. And thinking about it you could have roamed anywhere when seatbelt signs were off, so no reason your husband couldn't have held your toddler for a while.

PerryHatter · 30/04/2016 14:51

The oxygen masks is right. They will have had extras allocated on your row/side of the plane.
We are usually given an infant life jacket when we board though, that's been on every flight.

Original poster
Booboostwo · 30/04/2016 14:53

FuckSanta My 19mo is a toddler but on the ticket he is classed as an infant, there are three possible categories, infant, child or adult, that's why I referred to him as an infant. I've always been given a special life jacket or cot (don't know what it is as I've never inflated it!) at the start of the flight with an infant - do you think this was with the flight attendants who would have brought it over if needed, mid- emergency landing? Sounds a bit odd.

OP posts:
Original poster
Booboostwo · 30/04/2016 14:56

I didn't know about the oxygen masks. They ended up splitting up all the families in one way or another. I was with the DCs and DH was with a lady who had been split up from her toddler, young child and DH. DH and random lady had a lovely flight in their child free row!

OP posts:
Only1scoop · 30/04/2016 14:59

Some multi purpose life jackets fit infants to adults. These are the regular ones under seats. Not all aircraft have separate ones.

Life cots would be inflated and stored prior to a ditching.

Only1scoop · 30/04/2016 15:01

No meals for infants on laps generally unless ordered, and yes oxygen configuration can vary on each aircraft.

Original poster
Booboostwo · 30/04/2016 15:03

OK thanks for that. Will try to figure out how to pre order a meal for our next flight and in a few months he'll be out of the infant ticket anyway.

OP posts:
Only1scoop · 30/04/2016 15:05

If you feel your infant seatbelt isn't fitting correctly just ask crew to re check.

curren · 30/04/2016 15:07

I have flown with my kids at similar ages.

No meal is provided unless they have a seat.

I have never been handed an extra life jacket for a baby.

Meals are always small and you get what you are given, unless you are flying premium/first/business class. Even if you book another meal it will still be small. You can request and pay for a meal for a child without a seat.

You dh could have swopped seats with you to give you a break. You don't have to remain in the seat with your name on.

Everything you have said is entirely normal.

MrsTerryPratchett · 30/04/2016 15:07

I've never been given an infant life vest and DD has flown over 30 flights. No meal is normal.

curren · 30/04/2016 15:08

Oh and if a seatbelt isn't working, tell someone and they may get you another or fix it. It's not a big deal. Things break. Turn around on aircraft is very quick. They won't check between flights.

Vaara · 30/04/2016 15:09

It's totally normal.

The only time it's ever been an issue for me was a 20 month old on a four hour flight. I didn't realise I was supposed to pay extra for food (which I think is bloody awful anyway) and they wouldn't feed him. Luckily a woman near me didn't want her sandwich so DS had it. I though that was pretty shit.

FuckSanta · 30/04/2016 15:14

I've flown a lot with DD from tiny and never been given any form of life vest for her.

Lozza70 · 30/04/2016 15:27

Both DS have been flying with me since they were 10 weeks old on many, many flights with many airlines and I have never been given an infant life vest. if you want to sit together as a family usually you need to pre book seats unfortunately. There was nothing stopping you handing your child over to your DH or you swapping seats with him so you could share the 'burden' of having an active child on your lap during a flight. Also you never get a meal for carried infants in my experience so either need to order in advance or buy food in the airport to carry on, usually much better IMO than plane food! I cannot see that the airline did anything wrong so I'm afraid YABU.

Skrewt · 30/04/2016 15:36

Not helpful but I read the title as FRYING with an infant and presumed you were wondering how to jungle infant in arms while frying some chops. Blush

Skrewt · 30/04/2016 15:37

and of course that would be JUGGLE not jungle. I'll get my coat.

arethereanyleftatall · 30/04/2016 15:46

Yabu.
We fly long haul every year since dd1 was new born. Never been given a child life jacket, never thought about it.
If your child was on your lap, why couldn't they be on your dhs for a bit?
Did you pay for a seat or food for your child then?

arethereanyleftatall · 30/04/2016 15:47

I mean why couldn't you and your dh swap seats if you wAnted him to hold infant?

eurochick · 30/04/2016 15:55

I've never been given an infant life vest either. And I wouldn't expect a meal for a lap child. If the seat belt was faulty, you should have told the crew.

Vaara · 30/04/2016 19:04

What pisses me off about not providing food for a lap child is that it's not as if the lap child travels free. Ok it's a lot cheaper (bloody should be) but no food is just stupid.

curren · 30/04/2016 19:09

We haven't ever paid for a child who sits on your knee.

Vaara · 30/04/2016 19:28

I've always paid a token amount - it might just be taxes. From memory 40€ ish for a couple of hours' flight

curren · 30/04/2016 19:35

If it's taxes, it's taxes. You aren't paying for the flight. I don't recall paying taxes either though, but can't 100% say.