flight fees for baby under 2

[Anonymous]

For flight that require a passport (we are going to Canada), do you need your baby to have a ticket? And in that case, is it normal to be charged 10% of the full ticket price for the baby? I have spoken to friends who have flown in the US who haven't paid anything or gotten a ticket for their baby to sit in their lap, which is what we're planning on doing, but when I checked with United they told me I'd be assessed those fees. Just wondering if it has to do with the fact that it's an international flight.

[Anonymous]

Each airline can do just about whatever they want with this sort of thing. So if you want, you can check with different airlines.

[Anonymous]

The 10% plus taxes is pretty standard when you don't buy a ticket for an international flight. We've taken 2 international trips with DS and that was what we paid and when I shopped around all the airlines I looked at had the same policy, including United, Continental, Delta, Alitalia, Swiss and American. It is usually better to pay the 10% and taxes sooner, like whne you get your tickets, rather than at the airport because the fare will often be higher if you purchase the same day at the the counter.

On our last trip the taxes were actually more than the 10%, but it still was substantially cheaper than buying another seat and we managed to get an empty between us anyway.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, pretty standard to pay something on international flights. We paid $250 for my DC to go to Egypt as a lap baby. I don't know what percentage of that was taxes, etc. Our tickets were each about $1,200.

[Anonymous]

Standard - and if you are flying on miles they charge based on what the face value will be.