How To Avail The Best Baby Bassinet Seat On An Airplane?
Traveling through the air is the easiest way to reach your required destination but when one is flying with infants and toddlers, things may go out of hands. When you are an economy class passenger on a plane and you need to manage more in little space, selection of seats plays a major role.
Here we are discussing the points which will help to get the best seat on a plane for you and your infant. Discover the best Baby Bassinet Seat when you are flying with infants.
Firstly, Request A Bassinet Or A Skycot Seat:
There are a number of options for requesting a bassinet. You can call your travel agent or the airline directly. Sometimes, this facility is also available online.
If you are booking with the airline, then there are chances that you may get better access to any online booking options as compared to booking through a travel agent.
Due to limited availability of airline seats for infants, try to book as soon as possible with the respective airline.
British Airways Bassinet service provides the options to the passengers to pick their seats online in advance in case you are traveling with the infants. On the other side, Qantas bassinet service will only be available on a call at the time of bookings.
You may get the seats away from your family or friends as airlines like to keep the other bassinets available for other infants
Essential Details Regarding Bassinet Sizes & Regulations Of Different Airlines:
When it comes to rules and restrictions regarding the bassinets, every airline follows a different policy. From regulations regarding the age limits to the size of the bassinets, it goes differently from one airline to another. On a general basis, most of the airlines prefer the age limit between 6 months -2 years.
Passengers are advised to check out the essential details on Baby bassinet on top airlines before picking a certain airline for their next travel.
Best Bassinet Seats: (The Middle Seats):
The best bassinet seats are considered as the middle seats but only in case the two of you are traveling with your infant. Usually, these are the DEFG seats and the reason for choosing these are that these are on a 4 across seat plan is aisle seats. Hence you don’t need to jump across any other passenger.
The pros and cons of each seat on your particular aircraft are easy to see – just by putting in the route or flight number into the search function.
Armrests Generally Don’t Lift Up:
As the bassinet seats are on bulkheads, so usually the armrests don’t lift up plus you also need to keep the area on the ground completely clear during taxi, take-off, and landing.
One must also aware of the fact that the magazine racks for these seats are not as generous as the ones behind the regular seats. But the biggest advantage for you is to use the bassinets and free relaxed at the when the baby is sleeping.
Another tip regarding using the bassinet is that you need to lift your TV out before you put the bassinet up and baby into sleep. If you don’t do so, then you will not be able to unlatch it properly and will be left with no in-flight movie to watch.
Always Take The Help Of The Ground Staff While Checking In:
Taking the help of the crew or the ground staff at the time of checking in and boarding is the best option available for the passengers traveling with the kids. In case, the flight is completely full, you can rely on them for getting the best seat.
If you get lucky and get a half-empty flight, then it becomes easier for you to manage all the stuff as you have a row of seats. You can make a bed for baby on the seats and take turns over watching them.
If the flight is empty and you have an airline approved car seat, you can easily use that in case you haven’t booked a seat for your baby.
What To Do If Your Child Doesn’t Meet The Weight/Age Requirements?
In case the bassinet seat is available but your infant is more than the required weight or age limit, it is advisable to still ask for the bassinet. Bassinet can prove a useful place to store items you need for the flight.
Talking about the longest bassinets, Qatar and Singapore airlines have the longest one. On the other side, British Airways bassinets are available on international flights for up to 2 years old.
Many airlines may have restrictions regarding the age limit to be 6 months to a year.
What To Do If The Airline Doesn’t Provide Bassinet Facility?
There are many airlines which don’t offer the bassinet facility to the passengers. Hence, in that case, try to book a window seat section. This goes well if it’s just the two of you traveling with your baby or infant.
One of the best tricks to tackle this issue is to pick the window or aisle seat and the middle seats are the last to go.
In case, this thing doesn’t work for you, then you can swap your seat with someone who has been allocated the middle seat. This will let you get the middle DEFG section seats too and you will get a spare seat for free.
Pay A Little More To Get More Space:
There are a number of airlines which offer you a bit more space for some additional charges.
Virgin Atlantic: By paying £65/$100 per sector, you can get an extra seat next to you for free up to 72 hours before a flight. This service is known as Seat Plus and only economy class passengers can avail this.
Air New Zealand: The airline offers its passengers the option of a sky couch on some of their aircraft. Basically, it has 3 seats with an extra width which is great for toddlers or if you can’t get a bassinet.
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