WWYD: Sit in lap or buy a seat?

oct11bride03 · January 2011

We're planning a trip in March. It will be K's first time on a plane. She'll be 17 months and I can't decide if we should buy her a seat or just have her sit on our laps.

Assuming everything is on-time, the flight is less than 2 hours. K is a very active kid and while she'll sometimes fall asleep in her carseat, she also hates being cooped up for too long.

WWYD?

ETA: Orbitz is showing that it's the same price for all of us. I guess I was naive to think that a child's fare would be less than an adult's...or am I missing something?

charmcitygirl · January 2011

We're flying with Jacob in about a month. He'll be 23 months old. Even at 17 months, he was VERY active. As long as its not cost prohibitive, I would probably buy the seat for her. I cannot imagine keeping him on my lap for 20 minutes, much less 2 hours.

krissyh21 · January 2011

I am going on a trip when DS is 18 months old and am planning on buying him a seat. He sits so much better in a car seat then on my lap. I would have a hard time making him sit on my lap for that long (my flight is longer then yours though).

charmcitygirl · January 2011

oct11bride03:
ETA: Orbitz is showing that it's the same price for all of us. I guess I was naive to think that a child's fare would be less than an adult's...or am I missing something?

I'm pretty sure there is no child's fare. She'll be taking up a seat and I think you're buying the seat.

pandabearlover · January 2011

If you can afford it, I would buy a seat. They are just so big and wriggly at that age it's just not worth it. I remember flying to Mexico with Betsy at 14 months and just laying her in my arms to get her to sleep, she was crowding the stranger next to me.

I don't think we've gotten a cheaper seat for our kids on any of our flight. I guess they are occupying a seat so the airline wants the full fare.

LuckySunshineBaby · January 2011

We never buy DD a seat (have to now that she's over two). It was always me traveling by myself. I flew with her maybe 8-9 trips, up until she was 2). If there is a seat open, your neighbor will likely move;) Our flights are typically 2 hours. We've done layovers, but they kinda suck. If I had a choice, I wouldn't pay the extra $. Plus, we never need a carseat (always traveling to visit family that have carseats) so I can't imagine hauling that through security by myself. DD is a runner (she ran under the security table twice). If your LO is, bring a leash.

Or a death grip on their little hands

oct11bride03 · January 2011

That makes sense, except now I'm wondering why they ask the ages of people flying - adult, senior citizen, child 2-11, child under 2...if they're all the same price what does it matter?

Did I mention I hate flying?

madhatter2003 · January 2011

oct11bride03:
That makes sense, except now I'm wondering why they ask the ages of people flying - adult, senior citizen, child 2-11, child under 2...if they're all the same price what does it matter?

Did I mention I hate flying?

It is cheaper occasionally. When we go overseas the kids are cheaper and have cheaper taxes on the flights.

I would buy a seat unless the flight was really really empty. Look at the seat plan as a rough idea of how full it is.

KYRN · January 2011

If cost is really not an issue then I would buy a seat. We flew to WDW in October, DS was about 18 months. We had a layover there and back, each leg was 1-1 1/2 hours, the flight back was right around bedtime. It was miz!!! I would have paid $500 on the spot to get him into his own seat. He ended up falling asleep about 15 minutes before we landed, but that was not enough to save my sanity. The way down was actually not too bad though. I would fly again if I had to with him on my lap if it meant the trip was off if he wasn't on my lap.

So I guess the moral of the story is, if you have the $$ get him a seat, if you don't have the $$ you'll both survive.

mrsolsenk12 · January 2011

I flew with Hayden in October when he was 17 months. It was only an hour flight but it was hard having him on my lap. I couldn't really move much and keeping him entertained was difficult. We flew Southwest and if you have a child under 2 flying, they do have "infant fares" that ar cheaper for them. YOu can't get them online but have to call directly. I think a lot of airlines do that. If you do decide to keep her on your lap, make sure you bring her birth certificate as proof of age.

kristinamh6 · January 2011

If the flight is not full, you will be allowed to bring on her car seat even if you didn't buy a separate seat. Unfortunately you won't know until you get there if the flight is full or not. We have flown with DD several times, and we've never bought her a seat. A couple times were fine, and a couple times were nightmares. Specifically the 5 hour red eye flight to Hawaii. But, the ticket would have been $700 so I'm still glad we didn't buy her one. If you can swing it financially I would probably buy her a seat. If not, it is only 2 hours and if you have help from DH I'm sure you can manage. HTH!

MonkeysGirl05 · January 2011

We'll be flying with Henry in March too and we are getting him a seat. He refuses to sit on my lap for any length of time. Now I just have to decide if I'm going to bring the car seat on board or not. I'll be flying with him solo, so I'm a little worried about the bulk of it.

ETA: I think the price of a seat is the same, kid or adult, for most airlines.

PhillySue · January 2011

oct11bride03:

That makes sense, except now I'm wondering why they ask the ages of people flying - adult, senior citizen, child 2-11, child under 2...if they're all the same price what does it matter?

Did I mention I hate flying?

I know why to they care. I hate flying too!!!! Anyways I agree with the pp. Definitely get her a seat. We just flew in October when she was 18 months and it was nice she had her own seat. She knows she need to stay put in her chair and it is way more comfortable.

Ali212 · January 2011

We travel often and always buy a seat -- have since our daughter was 8 weeks old. I honestly cannot imagine not having a seat for her.

dusk42 · January 2011

mrsolsenk12:
I flew with Hayden in October when he was 17 months. It was only an hour flight but it was hard having him on my lap. I couldn't really move much and keeping him entertained was difficult. We flew Southwest and if you have a child under 2 flying, they do have "infant fares" that ar cheaper for them. YOu can't get them online but have to call directly. I think a lot of airlines do that. If you do decide to keep her on your lap, make sure you bring her birth certificate as proof of age.

When I asked about an infant fare at Southwest, it is discounted off the highest price, so it was still more expensive than the "get away" fares that we bought our tickets with. I'm sure for some flights (especially longer ones), the cost might be lower.

We always fly with a carseat, and I actually just carry her on the plane in it (now we use a convertible seat that I strap to the stroller (Aria) with climbing webbing (same stuff that the straps for infant seats are made of). She usually sleeps for at least half of the 1.5 hour flight, which is awesome. I've flown alone with her once and again in February, and we have a routine down.

somethingchangd · January 2011

I guess I'm the odd man out, but a seat for my DS would be a huge waste of money. He prefers to sit in my lap, so the seat/carseat would go completely unused. I check the carseat with the rest of the baggage (for free).

Only you know your LO - do what you think will work best with her temperment. (I am not looking forward to having to buy a seat for him come May. I sense a lot more roadtrips in our future...)

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