Should I book a seat for my 9 month old or have her as a 'lap child'??

[CurleyShirley]

Hi All (have posted this on the long haul board but thought would try here too!)
My DH and I are flying to the US with American Airlines next spring when my dd will be 9 months (we dont have a choice on carrier, they are the only ones who fly direct). Is it worth me booking my dd a seat (costs £250) or will we be OK having her on our laps? I asked about booking a bassinet, and was told it was first come first served at check-in.
Any experience or advice??
Thanks!

Don't pay for an extra seat... unless the flight is completely full, you should be able to get three seats together, just ask at check-in. Someone sitting alone will probably switch with you.
Or if you're booking seats when you're paying for the tickets, try to get the bulkhead row, that way she can play/sleep on the floor in front of you.
At 9 months she could be too big for a bassinet anyway.
Have fun!

I disagree completely. £250 is well worth the money. I paid that for a return seat to Majorca 6 years ago so sounds a bargain. Your dd will have to sit on your lap for take off and landing but it is far too risky to expect the flight to have a conveniently placed empty seat. I would, without hesitation, book it.

I guess it depends on your budget if you want the peace of mind...
I've done transatlantics with babies three times now, and never had a problem getting a free seat, even in summer, and you're only going in spring.

Personally, I would go without the extra booking. Between the bassinet and having the baby on the lap, you are well covered.

Having flown to Australia with when Ds1 was 13 months old , iw ould pay out for an extar seat.

We paid for a bassinet , yes he did fit ! , but with hindsight we would have jsut paid for a seat.

With a bassinet we had to take him out when we hit turbulence whcih was a apin when he was asllep.

On one leg of the flight we had a spare seat next to us and he was far happier in that .

I wold really consider paying for that extra seat . A bit more room for all of you. The flight maight be full and you may end up sitting to some right old grump and have a screaming baby , bot a nice experience .

How long is the flight? If it's just London-Boston, not worth it... maybe for LA though!

Its 8 hours...

Thanks for advice, I think I am leaning towards buying a seat, it does seem good value, booking this far in advance.