International Airplane Travel with an Infant on your lap

[Anonymous]

Hi there! Without getting into the debate about whether you should buy a seat for your child, I am wondering what the fare rules are to have an infant (10 months) on your lap for an international flight. I've looked at American and United's website and they are confusing me, especially because the American reservation agent I spoke with told me the website is wrong. To read the websites, you are required to buy a ticket for your kid or to pay some percentage of a ticket. The reservation agent said you don't have to pay for a ticket, but you do have to pay the taxes for the kid.

What has been your experience? We're going to the Caribbean in the spring and want to make sure we understand the rules as we decide which flights to book.

Thanks in Advance!

[Anonymous]

I flew internationally with my 7-month-old baby on my lap, and as I recall, I did have to pay several hundred dollars. It was definitely less than the adult fare but I don't recall if it was based on a % of the adult fare or just the taxes.

[Anonymous]

I flew a lap child to Aruba and back on U.S. Air. Honestly, know one seemed to have a clue about a lap child ticket, so I just showed up early at the gate said I needed a lap child boarding pass for my child. After about of 1/2 of phone calls to corporate, the gate agent determined I had to pay 10% of my fare + about $30 in taxes for a total of $80. They printed up two boarding passes and off I went.

[Anonymous]

I paid $380 for a lap infant ticket when we traveled to Peru with my 17 month old. I thought I was paying for a full ticket since ours was only $460 but that is another story.

[Anonymous]

I've flown about 5 times to S. America with a lap child, and have done it the "right" way and the "wrong" way. For all international flights, you have to pay 10% of the regular (adult) fare plus taxes. We've taken several airlines, including American and other airlines not based in the US, and the taxes have varied from $50 to $200+, so that price will depend on which airline you fly. The first time we flew, we (incorrectly) assumed that you could just show up and buy the infant "ticket". You can do this, but it will most likely cost a lot more. We quickly found out that you have to pay taxes and 10% of the ticket prince FOR THAT DAY, not based on what we paid for our tickets. So instead of paying 10% of $500, we had to pay 10% of $2200 (which may explain what happened to pp 22:23). For some airlines, there is a "advanced options" or "more options" button which allows you select a ticket for a lap child (or child 0-2) just like you do for a regular fare. If the website doesn't have this option, you need to call the ticket agent because you may not because to purchase on line. Sometimes we've been able to check-in online, other times it's prohibited due to the lap child. Again, depends on the airline. Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

I did this last summer and a few years ago and both times had to pay a percentage of the cost of a seat plus tax. I no longer remember what the percentage was.

[Anonymous]

We flew from Korea to DC last year with our then-10 month old as a lap baby. We had to pay a percentage of our ticket (I think it was 10% too) and just paid at the airport when we checked in.