I thought it was free to fly with a baby

Not if you go internationally!

I am not sure if this is a new thing?

I am trying to book a trip to the UK in the fall for me and the baby. Most of the airlines charge 10% of the adult fare for an infant. It does not sound too bad, BUT they also charge all the "taxes and charges" in FULL. At the moment there is a $400 fuel surcharge on tickets to the UK!!

Therefore, I have to pay about $500 for the pleasure of having my baby on my lap for 11 hours. Yes, he does not even get a seat for that!

And tickets for adults are at least $1000. This sucks, I am used to going back and forth for $500.

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

I knew nothing about it until my friend booked her trip for Spain this summer. She didn't buy a seat for her 20 month old (talk about a nightmare) and it STILL cost over $400. She was flying with her two older kids, so they'd have a row for Ana to be Ana in ... but I still can't imagine it was pleasant.

FYI (just 'cause no one told me until my boys were too old for me to use it), for domestic flights most airlines will sell you a seat for 1/2 the adult fare. Or at least they used to ...

[Tenacious_D]

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

OMG!! I didn't realize that ticket prices had gone up that much...I remember flying to London for under $200 a few years ago...but I thought babies were always free!! note to self....

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

Ughhhh.....what a rip off, Bugs. Is there any way you could swing the extra $500 to pay for the seat? If you already have to pay that much to have the baby on your lap, then it might be worth it to just pay for a seat for him.

[alison]

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

That's nuts!!! Keep us posted. I'm curious what airlines are going to charge for/take away next. Coin-operated bathrooms???

[Cumberland]

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

It is only for international flights though. I still remember being a little shocked at how high the taxes were. My sister is taking her baby to Ireland next month and said that the taxes are different depending on the city you fly into. She said London Heathrow is the most expensive in Europe, Amsterdam is the cheapest :huh:

[SuzySunshine]

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

Ugg - that sucks!

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

Interesting about the different taxes for different airports.

I really want to fly to Gatwick because it is just an hour drive from my parents but there are no direct flights from here. So I decided that flying to Heathrow and taking a train is the lesser evil than having to connect somewhere to Gatwick.

I found flights in September for 1300 for us both, a deal

I thought about just paying for a seat for him but I am already seriously stretched, AND asking parents and grandmother to chip in for the tickets! And they apparently give you a bassinette, so at least there is somewhere to put him down, if he fits in the thing and will be put down

Crazy times.

[Cumberland]

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

Here is the deal with the bassinette: you dont necessarily get one. It helps to call way in advance, ask for it, follow up 24 hours before and then ask again as soon as you check in. I know this because we had one ( it is the bulkhead only and they have a limited number), it was taken away, given back and then taken away after we got to the gate. I was calmly hysterical to a male flight attendant who moved us around and got it back for us. This was Air India, and the reason it got taken away was so a crew members parents could have the bulkhead seat instead of the couple traveling with a 2year old and a 2 month old

You also cant use the bassinette on take off or landing or bad turbulence. And also the flight attendants can rarely be bothered to pull it out until you are international- ie if you are going from LAX to NYC, no, but from LAX to gatwick, yes.

[MDPhDWife]

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

That really stinks. My best friend just took her son to Spain last week to visit her IL's and I didn't realize how much tickets cost! Luckily for her, her FIL is a pilot so they all fly for free on standby. Damn, with the way things are going, I may need to go work for an airline, just for that reason alone! Especially with interviews coming up in the not too distant future.

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

I second the bassinette "harassment" idea...bug the hell out of the airline at every corner and you MAY get one! Grrrr, when we flew to Australia last year we were assured by the travel agent, the check in agent and then the gate agent and got on board...nope no bassinnette. It was a total PITA flight and although each leg was 12 hours it felt like a 100.....we have flown with some great airlines, but not those ones. They wouldn't let us walk him around and it was terrible.

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

That sounds like a nightmare Sarah!

I booked online yesterday, with British Midland, although the flight itself is with Air New Zealand. I called BM right afterwards to ask about a basinnette, and they said I could not do anything until I checked in on the day. I was suspicious after the advice here, so I called Air NZ. She said of course you have to ask in advance! Idiots.

I am excited to be there to see my family and friends but so not looking forward to the journey!

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

the ticket is free, but you still have to pay the taxes. i don't *think* it was a change to the rules (the friend I learned about it from has taken her kids to Spain every summer for the past 8 years, so she's done the under 2 thing plenty of times).

[spotty_dog]

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

Yeah, and the taxes might not be as high if you're not flying into Heathrow. I have a friend who's trying to decide whether to squeeze in a trip to Germany before her toddler turns two. I warned her about the taxes, and she found that it's just an extra $120 for the lap child. Still worth racing to beat that two-year-old deadline vs. paying for a whole ticket!

Re: I thought it was free to fly with a baby

Yes it seems like they charge 10% of the ticket price, plus taxes, so it is still a lot cheaper than when a child turns 2, when it seems like they can charge whatever they want! I looked a bit into getting a seat for Jack and it was going to be almost the same as my ticket price.

The taxes do seem to vary. I looked at about 10 different airlines and there was a big difference.

ETA: I was really curious to see what exactly his ticket cost, and in my booking it lumps all the taxes together so I could not tell. So I called and found out that his was only $62 plus $53 in taxes! The first few airlines I tried definitely had whopping fuel surcharges for him too, so the moral of the story is to shop around!!