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Original poster

Anbody booked a flight ticket for a baby that hasn't been born yet?

24 replies

Lolasmum · 31/03/2005 12:39

I'm hoping to visit family abroad in late August, 6 weeks after my due date. To get the best price air-fare I would like to book as far in advance as possible. I will need to get an infant ticket for the yet unborn baby. Does anybody know if this is possible?

OP posts:

northerner · 31/03/2005 12:44

Hi Lolasmum. I have had to do this befoe for a conference delegate.

It was with BA and I had to book seats for the rest of the party, and only once the baby was born could I book an infant ticket.

Other airlines may differ though.

HTH

mrspink27 · 31/03/2005 12:52

hi there, we did this last year for a package holiday, the travel agent made the booking for mr a ...... even though we didnt know whether the baby was a boy or girl, and when she was orn we had to inform them of the correct name, dob etc. in the end i had an em c section and we had to cancel anyway! we were due to travel 6 weeks after due date, so you may be ok.
hope it helps

edodgy · 31/03/2005 13:13

Hi My friend ha dto book a flight for her baby before he was born and they just put the ticket in the name Baby X and then changed it to his name when he was born.

Poshpaws · 31/03/2005 13:14

Yep. Last year. We did the same as edodgy's friend.

SoupDragon · 31/03/2005 13:18

We did but it was only from Gatwick to the Isle of Man so not international. DH just had to let them know the name & sex before they issued the tickets.

blueteddy · 31/03/2005 13:19

Yes we booked a holiday b4 ds1 was born.
I knew he was a boy & had decided on his name, so it was actually booked under his name months b4 his birth!

LeahE · 31/03/2005 13:23

With some airlines you can book it well in advance but if you then need to change/add the name (from Baby X to his actual name) they will charge you an admin fee for doing it (or if you've booked a special offer fare may not let you change anything, so in that case you'd need to make sure you booked it under the right name).

eidsvold · 31/03/2005 13:30

we did this with dd1 - just booked it in the name of A xxxx and then when dd was born luckily her name started with A - when we asked the airline - Singapore - they simply said to let us know as soon as she was born and they would change the ticket for us. We had booked in Feb for a Christmas visit and dd1 was due August.

Linnet · 31/03/2005 23:20

While I was pregnant I looked at holidays abroad for when the baby would have been 5 months old. The travel agent told me that it would be better to wait until the baby was born as some airlines won't let you book a ticket without a name, they wouldn't let me book it as baby X because I wouldn't have been able to change it to the correct name once the baby arrived, very hard to change names on tickets apparently.

hana · 31/03/2005 23:24

yes - did this with air canada before dd was born 4 years ago, we just let the travel agents know name etc before the tickets were issued. They send us flowers when she was born! (travel agents not the airline)

serenity · 31/03/2005 23:58

Yes, booked tickets with Cyprus Airways in August 2003 with 'Infant X' on the forms, DD was born in November 2003 and we travelled in May 2004. DD's ticket was issued in the name of 'Infant X', even though we did give her name to the travel agents before the tickets were actually sent to us.

serenity · 01/04/2005 00:01

Ok, Dh says I'm wrong tickets did have DD's name on them

bobbybob · 01/04/2005 03:20

We looked into this and was told it was possible. All the airlines wanted to do something different. Some wanted us to have an initial for the baby though. I guess if you have the name all sorted this isn't a problem.

Hayls · 01/04/2005 14:55

Never done this but a word of warning- some airlines won't let you travel with the baby for some time after birth (could be a good couple of months, can't remember) if they born are more than 3 weeks early...

strawberry · 01/04/2005 14:58

Did this yesterday! Baby due in 2 weeks and early booking discount expired yesterday. It was no problem. Flights are with BA as part of a package. Although not covered by insurance if either me or baby can not travel due to complications.

Sponge · 01/04/2005 15:44

Don't forget to get in that passport application as soon as youy can!

Original poster

Lolasmum · 04/04/2005 09:36

Thanks all of you for this. I'm definitely going to book my flights. We'll probably save about £150.

Next dilemma is... Is 6 weeks after my due date to early to book the tickets for? I went into labour with dd on my due date so hopefully I won't be late with this one. I've checked the easyjet website and it said that they will take infants from 2 weeks old. Am I being too ambitious? What happens if I need a c-section? Do you know how soon I can fly?

Thanks Sponge for the reminder, the passport issue is something I MUST NOT FORGET! Trying to get a photo of a newborn with its eyes open may take some patience. Am I supposed to allow 4 weeks for a passport to be returned?

I'm keep to go away ASAP as in Hungary (where we're going) a weeks delay at that time of year can mean missing the summer and dd is excited about swimming in the lake near my parents house.

OP posts:

Chuffed · 04/04/2005 11:50

I too booked before dd was born. As far as I know you can't fly within 6wks of c-sec and maybe longer depending on recovery also there is dvt risk etc. Remember to get insurance as if for some reason you need to change dates etc you will be covered.

fisil · 04/04/2005 11:57

We've booked a holiday for when ds will be 8 - 10 weeks old. He is down as Infant X. Didn't know there might be an admin fee - if there is we'll call him Xavier to save our money!

Blu · 04/04/2005 16:10

And just remember that to get passport you have to have birth certificate - and in some areas you have to wait a while to get an appointment to register. So book that appointment before the chord is cut!

chloeb2002 · 05/04/2005 18:49

I added DD to a ticket long haul when she was born and it was a nightmare... sorry to be on a downer but it was! I ahd to wait for her birthcertificate and then apply for a passport. It was harder becaue i was in australia and needed her Uk passport before an Aussie one but ended up haveing passsport sent up from canberra on a flight and collected at the airport... then it wouldnt scan at immigration so we had to wait around till it was authenticated.... never ever again!

Cooperoo · 15/04/2005 15:19

I am interested in this thread. Has anyone actually flown with a two week old?? We are hoping to fly home from Cyprus to the UK for a month in July but it is quite possible that the baby will only be two weeks old. We have the passport issue sorted and know how to book our tickets (with BA once the baby is born) so that is not my worry however...
I have read that it is safe to fly after two weeks (indeed one airline would fly a baby after 48hrs ) but what do others think??

Original poster

Lolasmum · 20/04/2005 17:13

My problems are getting insurance before 8 weeks after my due date. I'm hoping to travel 6 weeks after. Also, the registering of the birth. I'm told where I live there can be a 6 week wait. We can't get a passport until we get a birth certificate which we get when we register the birth. Plus there's the wait for the passport. I don't know what to do. In the meantime, the easyjet flight prices keep going up.

As to the safety aspect, what if you need to have a C-section. Will you be OK to fly? I don't know about the baby.

OP posts:

Cooperoo · 27/04/2005 14:21

I have now booked flexible tickets with BA, more expensive now but possibly not in the long run. Do Easyjet do this? If I have a section BA want me to wait till 10 days after but I obviously wouldn't fly without my docs approval. My m/w seems confident it will all be OK. I haven't considered insurance . I am confident we are covered as the military cover us out here in Cyprus and we are considered UK residents and so NHS covers us in the UK (have NHS numbers etc). I will check this out now though. I hope you have some joy soon. It is a nightmare deciding what to do isn't it?

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