second birthday between the outbound and return flight

[Victoria2002]

Anyone know which airlines allow a child to travel on infant fare (for the whole trip) if they turn 2 during a trip? The stakes are high as am looking at New Zealand & Aus from UK. Tia

I don't know of any but personally I'd buy a seat for a child over one on a long haul flight of that length .You need the room and rarely get spare seats on planes these days . I always took car seats on board to strap them into too which made the trip a lot easier . Don't bother with the cares harnesses , they are not worth the money .

BA did when we flew within Europe last year but I agree that long haul might be hard with a 2yr old on your lap.

Y'all's having I've done it before with an 18m old to NZ on my own-very very tough as he barely slept in 24hrs flight BUT I would not buy a seat as it cost £2000pp!! Will be on my own with 2 this time but hope my older DS will be more manageable & possibly glued to the games/films on the in-flight entertainment.

I believe that they are not allowed to not give a 2 year old their own seat - I think it's air authority regulations not airline rules.

There may be certain airlines who give you the seat free on the return leg. Iirc BA used to do this, but airlines are much tighter these days.

I don't think there's any way round this as the law requires your 2 year old to have a seat on the return journey (which you have to pay for). I think if you're booking direct with the airline, they will account for this in the price quoted.

I flew to Japan when my DS was 22 months old and wouldn't have done it without a seat for him. He wasn't a big toddler, just active and having that extra bit of space made it easoer to cope with.

I'm pretty sure it's the law that they have to have their own seat. (My son turns 2 over half term so I have looked quite carefully!)

There may be the odd airline that is a bit lax about things like this but personally I wouldn't want to fly with them.........

Here, it's still BA policy to charge you the infant fare but give you the seat:

www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/family-travel/planning-your-trip

The best forum for flying questions is FlyerTalk, OP, if you want to ask the same question about different airlines.

Thanks yonic will try there. Mumoftwo you do get a seat but you don't pay for it-my son will turn 2 on New Year's Eve so am Xmas trip to NZ will vary in price by £2000 or more depending upon this policy.

I think you will need to buy him a one way ticket for the return leg. In which case you might as well buy one for both journeys as it will be hard with no seat. There are hardly ever any empty seats on flights any more. And they are always middle seats.

I have booked seats for under twos on Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and BA but have to deal direct with them not book on the websites. As the infant gets older the less likely you get the bassinet aisle . I had one turn two on a trip and I seem to remember it was age on the inbound trip that needed to be specified. BA I think gavea consession and pretty sure the others discounted the fare . You do theoretically have to take them onto you lap during turbulence the same as if they are in the bassinet. Christmas the flights will be jam packed. If you are travelling with 3 be sure to get a window row blocked off now.

Thanks yallahabibi am planning for Xmas 2016 (already!) I gotta work out which airlines have the policy of giving you a "free" seat on the return journey then book it as soon as the tickets are released (12m in advance I think).

No airline releases tickets more than 365 days ahead but there are small variations in the exact number of days so check once you've picked your aorline. You will probably need to call because of your unusual situation.

Thanks Yonic

British Airways. We did this last year. Looked at quite a few airlines and as far as I remember they were the only ones that gave you the seat on the return journey but only charged you for an infant return fare.