Travel with a 1 year old. What would you do re seats?

[WAC1]

Hello!
We are travelling to the US (9 hour flight) with our 18 month old

We have three options for flight

1. 2 seats in premium economy
2. 2 seats in economy
3. 3 seats in economy so we have a seat each

Option 3 most expensive, then option 1 (about £200 less than option 1) then option 2 (about £500 less than option 1)

Any thoughts or wisdom from anyone who has travelled with an 18 month old?! Thanks

3 seats all the way.

3 seats 100%

The extra seat would help a lot but I wouldn't be paying an extra 700 quid for it. What times the flight? Will the baby sleep? My dd3 was 18 months last time we went away, only a 6 hour flight but she spent the whole of it running up and down, climbing up or crawling under seats and cackling with laughter. She had her own seat and only deigned to sit in it when eating. However she did sleep all the way home so that helped

Would your toddler nap better in your lap or his own space?

Mine sat on my lap in economy until 2.

9 hours, 18 months, own seat.

The flight there is a daytime flight. Flight back is a nighttime flight.

When we flew to the west coast of the US (family live there) the beginning of this year it was actually fine, he just crawled up and down the aisles.

We've never flown premium economy so I'm not even sure if it's worth the extra money? Has anyone flown premium economy British airways?

Thanks for your input!

In Premium economy, will the armrest go up? If so, that is possible. If the armrest is fixed, 3 seats.

We always put ours on our lap right up until the time they travelled back aged just 2 using the rule for return flight the same as outbound.

Yes it's a pain and they are heavy but the saving covered nearly 2weeks accommodation. We booked one of the infant seats bulk head spaces so had more leg room.

In premium economy it’s very likely a fixed armrest so absolutely no way to that.

BA arm rests are fixed in premium economy.

Even if you bought an extra seat he needs to sit on your lap for take off and landing and if the fasten seat belt sign is on e.g. if there's turbulence. I always just sat them on my lap on longhaul at that age. You can request the bulkhead as soon as you book, even if you don't want to use the britax seat they give you it's worth it for a bit more space.

I did that flight a lot with my older DC and never bought an extra seat. I always called in advance and booked a bulkhead seat and they gave me a sort of car seat on the front shelf that he could sleep in. Otherwise, he actually preferred to be on a blanket on the floor with his toys or walking around. You can also ask if they can put you in a seat with a spare seat next to you. Obviously, if the flight is full, they won't be able to do that, but I found the airline staff were always really helpful, particularly if I was on my own.

This is a joke right?
No one could be that selfish to think that's reasonable?
If true you must have been loved by tired passengers and cabin crew trying to do their job ....

Oh don't be so ridiculous! She never got in the way of the cabin crew obviously, and most of the climbing was over our families seats as we were most of two rows, she did also make friends with a little boy her age and they played peekaboo etc. It was a day flight, she slept for an hour, snacked for maybe another hour but for the majority of the flight she was wild. She's always like that, she's the youngest of 5 and they're all totally different. Some kids sit still and some don't. She didn't hurt anybody and would have been far more annoying if she screamed like a banshee cos I'd physically restrained her. If you're that horrified by an 18 month old being energetic you wouldn't last long in my house

The cheapest option. It's just a flight, it's fine

What will you do if you pay for 3 seats and your DC ends up on your lap all the way?

3 seats

It's a very very long flight with a hot wriggly child on your lap.

3 seats if you can afford it.

Depends on the size of your baby. At 1 neither of mine were very big and we just put them on our laps

When we flew to Sri Lanka with 16mo twins, we got the bassinet seats. The babies were too big to lie down fully but they could sit in them and play. Also walked up and down the plane a number of times in between food service!

Omg. That's terrible entitlement . I would hate to be on a flight with you I like to sleep on a flight or read a book how about parenting your child

I wouldn’t do a flight of that length with a child that age without three seats.

Don’t be that parent that lets their kid run up and down the aisle!

Option 3

aside from being the most comfortable because the child will have a seat, it is far safer. The law that allows lap children is not because lap children are safe at all. It is because lap children are safer than people choosing to drive instead. Regulators were worried people would choose to drive rather than buy an extra seat and on the whole, being a potential projectile is safer than being in a car on a road trip (especially when the law was written)

I saw someone mentioned holding the child on takeoff and landing. Don’t do that. Bring a flight approved car seat. The child will be much more comfortable and safer.

Do what you like in your own house but thankfully most people alter their behaviour when it impacts others 🙄