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Original poster

18 month old flying BA, too big for cot and BA supplied seat but

31 replies

LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune · 24/07/2009 20:10

Will be flying to SA when DS 18 months old, he is too big for the BA supplied cot or seat and I am not having him on my lap for 11 hours so I have bought him his own seat, but I don't want to take my own carseat. So. How do I restrain him confortable?

TIA

OP posts:
EldonAve · 24/07/2009 20:14

The flight attendants will prob insist you have him on your lap when the seatbelt sign is on
Otherwise they just sit in the seat
Those neck pillows are useful

Sam100 · 24/07/2009 20:17

You can buy an airline seat childs belt see here. They are not cheap though and are mainly sold in USA so may have to order online. We just took a car seat on - maxicosi priori. Meant ds could sleep in some comfort as cld still recline the seat. But we needed the car seat at the other end too so saved having to hire one from hire car company.

Sam100 · 24/07/2009 20:21

Here found one on amazon here. But it is £80! Think they are about $75 in USA.

Original poster
LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune · 24/07/2009 20:22

thanks, will look into neck pillows. Think I may see if I can pay extra for a bulkhead seats so he can sleep on the floor!

Sam100 problem with carseat is it's HUGE and would have to get it to gate.

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Portofino · 24/07/2009 20:26

They WILL insist on him being strapped to you during take off and landing. When we flew to the States last year, dd stretched across the seat between DH and I and slept. As long as you don't mind head or feet in your lap.....

Original poster
LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune · 24/07/2009 20:34

I don't mind him being strapped to me during take off and landing it's the inbetween bit

OP posts:
EldonAve · 24/07/2009 20:35

taking the car seat onboard is such a pain - we did it once, never again

millimummy · 25/07/2009 06:18

Hallo. Had a serious car accident five years ago (long before arrival of dd, now 2) and am v car safety conscious. Which maxi cosi seat was that? Is it suitable for a 27mth old? We are wondering how to transport car seat (which does not fit in the plane seat) as I do not trust car hire company car seats

Catper33 · 25/07/2009 10:53

Firstly they will not let anyone sleep on the floor for safety reasons plus it probably is not very hygienic.I don't think you can pay extra, but can request bulkhead seats. Lap Infants will be allocated to these based on age so availability will depend on the number of other infants on your flight. The arm rests don't lift up so sometimes they are actually less convinient.

I would check with BA about having a seat for an infant under 2 as they do state they must be in a car seat so you may have to take one for the plane that meets the BA car seat 'rules'. They never make it clear if this is only for take off/ landing etc if they are not on your lap or required regardless.

Original poster
LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune · 25/07/2009 12:46

My son likes to lick our rubbish bin and chew on my flip-flops, I'm not worried about the floor of the airplane.

Can you link where BA says that you have to have a car seat as I can't find anything that says this but keep hearing it!

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Catper33 · 25/07/2009 23:17

If you look on the BA web site: www.britishairways.com/travel/child/public/en_au and have a look under the 'Infant seats and carrycots'

They won't let you put them on the floor regardless as it is incredibly unsafe. I understand that it is actually quite hard to get bulkhead setas if you don't have a lap infant as they try not to put you there as they are prime seats with more leg room.

Original poster
LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune · 27/07/2009 10:27

I
have just rung BA and apparently the website is badly worded even if my child is under 2 IF I buy him his own seat no car seat is needed. Personally I think that is bizarre and blatently unsafe but I don't think I have the energy to get a 18month old, a carseat and a pushchair to the plane boarding gate (yes, yes I am sure lots of women do it with 5 children and 3 car seats).

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anniemac · 27/07/2009 11:00

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tryingtobemarypoppins · 27/07/2009 11:17

LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune take a car seat, you will all be so much more comfortable. At the air point the staff will sort out the seat and take it to the gate. Just take the pushchair air side and have a fab time.

tryingtobemarypoppins · 27/07/2009 11:18

sorry at the airport

anniemac · 27/07/2009 12:10

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tryingtobemarypoppins · 27/07/2009 12:41

I'm sure the seats they provide with BA go up to 2 years of age:

British Airways' supplied infant seats are:

?ideal for ages from 6 months to 2 years, but can also be used from birth
adjustable to a variety of positions from horizontal to vertical
?available for infants who weigh a maximum of 13kgs/29lbs
?available on all longhaul flights, except in First Class on Boeing 777/767 aircraft where only carrycots are available.
You may prefer to use your own seat which must meet the following standards:

?a seat designed to be secured by means of a normal aircraft single lap strap and face the same direction as the passenger seat on which it rests
?a purpose-designed children?s car seat with a 5-point restraining harness
?the seat must not exceed the dimensions of the aircraft seat
?the maximum dimensions of the seat must fit into an area of 17x17 inches (43x43cm).
The Civil Aviation Authority does not permit rearward facing car seats.

For aircraft take-off and landing and in times of turbulence, infants have to be seated on their parent?s lap using the infant seat belts we provide.

Original poster
LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune · 27/07/2009 13:10

Yes I am buying an extra seat, my 12 month old is currently 11.9kgs and 81cm, unless I don't feed him in the next 6 months he will defintely be over 13Kgs so can't use either the cot or the britax car seat that BA supply.

anniemac you are obviously a better person than I, being 5'10" economy is uncomfortable enough for myself never mind with a rather large 18month on my lap (didn't your legs go numb!!). It's worth the extra cash.

tryingtobemarypoppins I rang BA and it's up to me to get the car seat to the gate they will not help.

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moocowmrs · 27/07/2009 13:21

From experiance I would just take a car seat, it fitted on to the seat, I could restain DS (1 at the time) long enough to eat a meal myself, and he could sleep in comfort and I actually managed to read a bit of my book at least. This was on a trip to Canada via Paris. The car seat was not that much hassle and worth every moment on the plane, was very easy and I would never do the journey without a car seat. I think I would have resented the extra spent on the seat with out it to be honest, as DS or any child for that matter is not going to sit on the seat of their own free will if they can avoid it are they ?

bran · 27/07/2009 13:37

When DS was about 18 months we took him to Malaysia (about 12 hr flight). We brought his car seat onto the plane and it worked out very well as he was used to being strapped into it and it was comfy to sleep in.

What type of pushchair do you have? We brought a couple of bungy cords and strapped the car seat onto the back of his pushchair so that we didn't have to carry it. They are a bugger to carry any distance.

anniemac · 27/07/2009 13:53

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Original poster
LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune · 27/07/2009 14:00

I wasn't being snippy it was genuine admiration. I'm lucky and able to afford another seat I think I am going to give in and take a car seat however.

Thanks for all your responses and the bungy cord idea sounds like a good one!

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anniemac · 27/07/2009 14:33

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tryingtobemarypoppins · 27/07/2009 21:12

bran how on earth did you strap the car seat to the pram!!! I assume you mean a large careseat not a baby seat with a handle?

bran · 28/07/2009 12:25

It was a Maxi Cosi Priori. The most successful strapping was to a Mothercare Citi Lite which has quite a vertical frame at the back. I used two strong bungy cords.

I hooked one bungy cord quite high up onto a solid bit of frame at the back and let the cord dangle. Then I held the car seat up against the pushchair, so they were back to back and the top of the car seat was just under the pushchair handle. Then hooked the bungy vertically up the car seat. I can't remember whether I attached it to the frame or the handle bar. Then I put another bungy cord horizontally around the car seat to pull it firmly against the back of the pushchair.

DS had to be in the pushchair before we strapped on the carseat, and if he wanted to get out we had to put a heavy back or something in instead as it did tend to tip backwards. We also tended to push the pushchair by walking beside it rather than behind as there wasn't a lot of leg room.

I know that I have also attached the car seat to the back of a Maclaren Volo, but I can't remember how exactly and it was never quite as sucessful as Maclarens tend to tip backwards if you attach anything to the handles. It's possible that I loosened the straps on the car seat to their fullest and then hooked them over the Volo's handles and used a bungy to stop it from swinging around.