So we’re planning our first trip with the baby. Strange given that we still haven’t given birth, but there you have it. It should also be noted that we’re not planning a short flight, but rather a long-hauler: to Israel. Go big or go home, right?
This didn’t seam at the outset any more than an exercise in adding an infant to our normal 2-person travel arrangements. Wrong.
Kids under two can fly in the lap or in an extra seat. Different rules and fares apply to domestic vs. international on this (and clearly there’s a difference in relative importance of comfort on a 19 hour journey). Essentially, if you don’t want to drop a couple of grand on an extra seat the options are to a) upgrade — aka still hold the kid, but with more space–or b) get a bassinet– which is that boxy thing that attaches to the front panel of the bulkhead row which gives parents an option other than laps.
So after no fewer than 15 hours of calls to no fewer than 10 airlines, here’s what we’ve learned. The only 2 airlines that will come anywhere close to “guaranteeing” a bassinet are Continental and KLM. Here’s how:
Continental: unlike its peers (read: ALL other major American carriers), Continental will allow you to book bulkhead seats in advance. Not all aircraft have bassinets, but you can check with the airline in advance, and booking bulkhead seats on aircraft with bassinets provides pretty high certainty they aren’t going to run out on you. The other airlines don’t release bulkhead seats until 24-72 hours in advance of a flight (this included for us, American, on which Roy has serious status points, which would presumably have gotten us better service and Delta, on which we had enough miles for tickets, though none were available). Note: I got to the bottom of this only b/c I have a connection at Continental, who put me in touch with the product marketing people.
KLM: Consistently rated very highly for travel with kids, KLM does things a little differently. They hold reservations until midnight the following day, and will guarantee bassinets within 24 hours of a reservation. So you can hold a reservation while waiting to hear about a bassinet, presuming you time things properly. No other international airline that we looked at does this. Those include: British Airways, British Midland, El Al, Air France, and Air Canada. The catch with KLM is that you need to remember to call 90 days before you fly to confirm seats and bassinet. Again, provided you’re not a dummy on timing, not a big deal.
Honestly, with the aforementioned baby boomlet, one would think this could be made much simpler. Why torture parents with uncertainty when it would be perfectly acceptable (preferable!) to let them know in advance what is/is not feasible. Treat people like adults who are capable of making alternative arrangements!
