Long-haul flight with baby – parents spread across the plane

10/10/2016 10:43:25 AM

Is your baby travelling on an infant ticket or a child ticket with his/her own seat? If he/she is still less than 10-12 kg, you can book a cot/cradle. You would need to call and book one a couple of days in advance. If you do, they will very likely move both of your seats to the row with the cot when you check in at the airport.

10/5/2016 2:19:30 AM

Most every airline in the world has multiple fare classes within the economy cabin. And while service once airborne is usually the same, preflight amenities such as seat choices are not equal. Higher cost fares, such as the full fare Y class allow you to select any seat usually in advance perhaps with a chance to be upgraded to a premium economy offering if available, whereas the cheapest class may mean center seat assigned at check in.

In this particular situation you have a bunch of things to try (in suggested order)

  • Call the airline (again) to see if you get a sympathetic ear that can
    change the L seat. Try several times, as different agents may have
    different approaches.

  • If you are an elite flyer with another airline within the same
    alliance as Air China, call your elite desk and ask if they have Air
    China’s elite desk phone number. Agents maning elite desks tend to
    be the most experienced and have more leeway in bending the rules

  • Ask at check in if your seats can be changed to accommodate the
    parenting issue.

  • Ask again at the gate if your seats can be changed to accommodate the
    parenting issue.

  • Ask your row mates if one of them would be willing to swap seats to
    the non-bassinet row.

  • Set up a schedule to swap seats every two hours. Let the baby stay
    in the bassinet and parents swap seats (the cabin crew won’t care
    who is sitting where).

With all of the ask the agent suggestions, do it politely as you are not entitled to better service because you are traveling with an infant. Simply explain that you prefer to have both parents sit with the infant.

One final, albeit expensive option, ask about upgrading the L fare to a Y fare if the agents are adamant about L fares not being able to sit in a Y fare preferred seat. Airlines will always be happy to re-ticket you to a higher fare class.

10/4/2016 3:49:56 PM

One of the best i have seen, and many frequent fliers might agree, could be:

Board the flight, find whose seat is better, yours or your wifes. Offer the better of these two to neighbour of worse seat (of these two), thus you both sitting together in competitively worse seats. Most people will happily jump to better seat, better in terms of either/or window/aisle preference, legroom etc. You could always manage a bit of discomfort in seating in exchange to be seated together.

Like, if you find that L is better, offer it to Y seat’s neighbour. It does not hurt to ask around if he does not agree, if both seats are same you think, others still might prefer one over other.

In any case, do not offer the worst of yours two seats to somebody sitting in better seat.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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