Longhaul flight with 3 month old (UK-Aus) - Qantas bassinet booking dramas

[JaneElizabethBennett]

Dear Mumsnetters - my first post on here... need some advice:
Trying to book London-Melbourne with Qantas with a 3 month old but having a nightmare trying to book a bassinet on the plane.
Would love to hear if anyone had good experiences, and which airlines!

Thought I would share my experience to - as honestly the process so far with Qantas seems so ridiculous it is almost funny... Such a shame as have flown with them for years but now am completely disillusioned.

After 3 hours of calls to Qantas, this was their advice for me trying to fly Lon - Mel via Perth (which involves the direct 17 hr leg UK to Aus):

• When you book you can request a bassinet, but it can ONLY be confirmed at check-in... and there are no guarantees there will be one (which seems a BIT late to find out on the day that there is nowhere for a 3 month old baby to sleep for 24 hrs of transit).
• It could sit on my lap for the entire time (not a great option - as my understanding is young infants need to be able to lie flat for spine health, not propped up awkwardly for 17 hrs at a time)
• I could bring along an 'approved car seat' to put baby in if no bassinets available, but Qantas advisor couldn't direct me to any information or list as to what an 'approved car seat' would be for them.
• I asked if there were no bassinets, and I managed to correctly guess which car seat they would approved and bring one along, where would it go? They said any on available spare seat, but if no spare seats (which often happens on Lon-Perth) then ON MY LAP (for 17 hrs London to Perth... ?!?!)
• When trying to book seats for my partner and I, wanted to try and book near the bulkhead (where the basinets are), but was told that when flying with an infant I cannot sit in this row as it is an EXIT row... so I would need to sit elsewhere, away from the baby. Which makes complete sense.

Is it just me or does this process seem absolutely bonkers?

Surely it should be possible to confirm at the time of booking with an airline whether or not you will be able to have access to a bassinet.

Would love any advice if others have had good experience booking similar long haul with infant, and which carriers.

Also second Singapore Airlines. I was also told by my agent Emirates or Ethiad (can't remember which) also had qualified child minders/air hostesses on board from Melbourne.

Etihad have sky nannies.

Also there are seats suitable for bassinets not on exit rows. The ones without seats in front of them

Certainly on the virgin flight I took - there were sears just after premier class which had extra leg room but weren’t emergency exits. Stating the obvious but it’ll depend what type of plane

Bassinet seat are never on exit rows in my experience. International airline regulations prevent this. They are either the centre bulkhead row or one of the forward bulkhead rows where there is a wall between business/premier economy and the economy cabin.

I have never seen parents separated from a baby but have been bumped out of our pre-booked bulkhead seats (six months later) to make way for parents with a baby.

They are being crap by not explaining it better to you. A quick google will give you the airline approved list of car seats. Keep in mind the baby can't stay in the bassinet when the seatbelt sign is on. We've always gotten bassinets at check- in (it's the same on every major airline I've taken) but to be honest they are tiny and more like a baby box. None of mine were happy to stay in them for long.

No airline will absolutely guarantee you a bassinet so I'm not sure why you are singling out Qantas.

^I don’t understand why? If you have booked and paid for your flight they should guarantee a bassinet

@misspiggy19 presumably because the seats are designated disabled seats, so if passengers booking on declare a disability, their need for the seats trump a parent wanting the bassinet. You wouldn't leave your baby in a bassinet and walk off to sit elsewhere so they have limited value if you're not now sitting in the designated row.

Emirates. If you phone Emirates they will confirm you a bassinet seat over the phone as you book. I just did this yesterday for a Dublin to Sydney flight so I know it to be true. They were amazing. Spent over half an hour talking to me working out best seats and connection times.
All other airlines I've flown with only let you confirm at check in.

^I don’t understand why? If you have booked and paid for your flight they should guarantee a bassinet

They can't because they can't guarantee any seat that is booked. They tend to chop and change planes and seat layouts willy nilly for operational reasons. On my last long haul flight, our seat number changed four times despite paying extra for specific seats.