Get a seat for 16 month old or sit on knee to Canada??

[tracyea]

Hi we are travelling to Canada with Air Canada with DD 11, DS 8 and very lively baby 16 months. Trying to decide if paying £500 for a seat for the baby who never sits still is a waste when money is tight. We could sit him on our lap instead but he does weigh a ton! If we get a seat, we need a child restraint. DH reluctant to take huge car seat that may not fit anyway. Anyone got any advice please?

I would pay out for a seat in these circumstances or at the very least for the overnight return flight back to the UK. It may only take around six hours but those six hours can seem very long indeed if baby is wriggly. The crew will give you a child restraint but the baby will need to sit on your lap for take off and landing. Also a lot of these flights are full or mainly so and in my experience at least people can be reluctant to move seats. You cannot therefore rely on there being an empty seat in the row you are placed in.

If you also look at www.seatguru.com it will show you the layout of the aircraft Air Canada uses.

BTW do not rely on the airline to fully provide re food; take some of his/her favourite foodstuffs to eat on the plane. Do leave any uneaten fruit or food behind on the aircraft.

A friend of mine had her DS (2 y.o.) sitting on her knee from London to New York and got Deep Vein Thrombosis because the blood pooled in her legs due to his weight.
Please please don't have a baby of any weight on your knees if you have another option.

AC's usual seat configuration also is 3-3-3.

we took dd (then 15m) to florida - about an 8 hour flight... she was fine on laps - got passed around between us and the grandparents and when she went to sleep she got put in a sky cot which she JUST still fitted ok :)

Once they can move, buy a seat! There just isn't enough room for a toddler as well as an adult on an economy seat.

Sharing a seat is OK for babies that you can put in a sling and have your hands free, but not for an older child.

Some airlines offer child seat - booster with a full harness and wings/headrest - specifically for their planes, worth calling Air Canada and asking.

we flew to canada in september and had our 10 mo on our laps for full flight as all bassinet seats were full. it was pretty exhausting but manageable just. on the night flight on the way back we had a bassinet but dd only just fitted in at 10 months. i know ba offer a reclining seat, instead of a sky cot/ bassinet for older babies but they don't look that comfortable. not sure what air canada offers for older babies.

we fly to canada about twice a year and flights are usually chock full so wouldn't count on there being a spare seat.

I guess it depends how much cash you have but I have never paid for seats when my children were under 2 - I guess I thought that was the advantage of travelling with young children - that they flew for virtually nothing. I always got a seat with a bassinet and plonked them in that whenever I could. I have gone with a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a 1 year old but going to Australia so maybe some advantages in that it was longer so they spent more time sleeping . But, if I had plenty of money I wouldnt think twice and would buy the seat.

Thankyou very much for all of your help. I think that I will get a seat for the return overnight journey but not for journey there which is day time. I really like the cheeky idea about seat selection so might try that going Thanks again :)

I would be still looking for a seat both ways primarily because the flight westwards to Canada is of a longer duration than the flight back to the UK.