1

We (my wife and I) have a long trip ahead of us and we have a 20 month old infant. I know that infants have no seat but it is very hard to hold a 20 month baby boy during a long flight.

So I am wondering if it is possible to by him a child ticket so he could have his own seat?

Do airliners care if I reserve a child ticket for an infants?

Improve this question
7
  • 1
    Related question. Basically, if you want to cough up more money, the airlines will be happy to take it.
    – mkennedy
    Commented Oct 14, 2020 at 22:42
  • @mkennedy I wouldn't say that,.why? Cause infants occupy no seat but pay 10 percent of an adult ticket which is a sweet deal for an airliner, however a child will occupy a seat that could have been sold to an adult without 50 percent or 25 off. Child seat is not what airlines wants to see (opposite of infants)
    – Iman Nia
    Commented Oct 14, 2020 at 22:55
  • @Iman: That logic only applies if the flight was going to sell out. Especially these days, that may be less likely. The airline would certainly rather sell you a child ticket and get 50% of a ticket price, than leave the seat empty and get nothing at all.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 0:05
  • What airline, flight, and class of travel is this for? Some airlines can provide bassinets for babies, though only on certain flights, and with limited capacity. Exact conditions vary.
    – jcaron
    Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 0:36
  • 1
    @jcaron AFAIK bassinets are for less than one year old babies (size limitation) our baby doesn’t fit into a bassinet And thanks for the hint(take off landing lap time). We might use that extra seat for few hours. But it will help us to strech our cramped arms. So it worth it. Qatar airways says they don’t allow infants in first class. Which is quite understanable. I wouldn’t want to see an infant beside me crying the whole flight (14 hours)
    – Iman Nia
    Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 9:29

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
6

Yes, you can most definitely purchase a "Child" ticket for your sub-2 year old infant in order to secure them a seat. As you're obviously aware there's generally no need to purchase them a seat if they are under 2 years old (although you may still need to buy them a ticket that lists them as a lap-child), however if you do this then you will potentially have to hold them the entire flight.

Depending on the airline you may find that there is no such thing as a Child ticket (or if there is, that it is the same price as an Adult). Even if there is a discounted child ticket it's worth checking to be sure if there are any other differences between that and a normal adult ticket - sometimes the difference in price is minimal (eg, a 10-20% saving) but the child may have a lower baggage allowance and it may actually work out cheaper to purchase them a full ticket and use their allowance if you have additional checked bags.

Improve this answer
1
  • One other point is to check with the airline directly. Different airlines have different policies and advice. Also, if a child ticket is purchased then you might lose access to the bassinet, so again best to speak to the airline to determine the best way to do this.
    – jason.kaisersmith
    Commented Oct 16, 2020 at 9:38

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .