airplane w/ 9 month old-seat or no?

[jen71]

I am flying to New York in October. It is a 4 hour flight. DD is going, who just turned 2, & DS will be 9 months.
I was thinking DD could buckle into a regular seat & I could check the car seat?
Also, I would like to get DS a seat, but a few people have told me not to, to hold him (as my mom is going also.) That way the 3 of us can share a row. DS HATES being in the seat, he would only be in it I am sure for take off & landing. Which is fine with me as I think this is the safest. But besides safety, any recommendations if this is a good idea or not?

[KRL626]

I wouldn't buy the seat especially because you already will have three. Ask for the bulkhead (very 1st row) They reserve those seats for people with special needs and families traveling with children. That way he'll have a little space and might be able to sit on the floor and play during the flight. We've done that and I saw a family with a baby about 9 mos. on a flight we took to Tokyo (14 hrs!) and the baby played and slept on the floor by his parents feet almost the whole flight.

[jen71]

Thanks for the encouragement! I wish I could reserve seats, but we are taking awful southwest airlines, so you don't get assigned seats!! But I will keep that idea in mind!

[Mrs. M.]

...might be able to sit on the floor and play during the flight. We've done that and I saw a family with a baby about 9 mos. on a flight we took to Tokyo (14 hrs!) and the baby played and slept on the floor by his parents feet almost the whole flight.

Please, please, never do this. It is highly unsafe for many reasons.

- Children sleeping on the floor are not secured and likely to be tossed about during turbulence (which can happen unexpected) or sudden maneuvers of the plane.
- Little hands or feet sticking out into the aisle could easily be stepped on or rolled over by trolleys when people can't see them.
- In case of decompression, you will not have enough time to reach the oxygen mask and put it on your child. You have only about 30 seconds of consciousness at normal cruising altitude - is that enough to put your mask on, get your child off the floor and into their seat and get their mask on, while the plane is making an emergency descent?
- Aircraft aren't always properly cleaned during ground time... there might be all kinds of gross things or even broken glass on the floor or under the seat.
- Planes with entertainment systems have loads of electrical wires running under the seats... not a place for a child to play in.

If your flight attendants are worth their emergency training, they will not allow anyone to lie/sleep on the floor anyways.

[SaphirimalMei]

IMO, depending on the temperment of your son, he should do just fine without a seat of his own. Dh & I took a flight with DD last thanksgiving. She was almost 11 months old. A seat of her own would have been a total waste of money as she would not have spent any time in it at all. She prefered to be in my lap or DH's lap. She was perfectly content to hang out, have me read to her, play with a few toys and flirt with the other passengers. :)

[DisneyGirl]

IMO I would not buy a seat. I went to Disney with my DS who at the time was 9 months old and he did well the whole flight. In December we are going again and I did not buy my DD a seat.

[Sabrina]

Thanks for the encouragement! I wish I could reserve seats, but we are taking awful southwest airlines, so you don't get assigned seats!! But I will keep that idea in mind!

SWA will allow you to pre-board with children under the age of 5, per FAA regulations. Therefore, you will be able to secure seats together. I almost always see babies in the bulkhead rows on SWA.

Edit to clarify: The regulation is that the child must be seated with their accompanying adult, not that they must be allowed to preboard. SWA preboards those children and adults to ensure their placement together.

[jen71]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I was worried about him not having a seat. I guess I worry about turbulence, take off & landing. But, there eally is not alot of turbulence that time of year from AZ to NY. I was worried I was being a bad mommy.
Between my mom & me we should be ok. He is pretty easygoing these days, DD will be a little older than 2, which can be good or bad. But, I have been around some pretty annoying adults on flights, so I don't worry too much about the kids, neither one "cries" for very long.

[lawgirl4]

I fly Southwest frequently and I have to say, I can't wait until our baby is born since they *always* preboard families with young children. you will get your pick of any seat, and you'll likely be all settled by the time the first regular passengers board.

[aidensmommy]

I wouldn't bother with a seat. You'll get to board early with SW and hopefully get the bulkhead. Your son will probably fight being in the car seat anyway, plus it's bulky and gets in the way.

I haven't flown at 9mths (but have at 4 mths, 12 mths and 18mths). It's probably a good age to fly, so I wish you good luck. Bring lots of fun little inexpensive toys!

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

We bought DS (8 months at the time) a seat on SWA and would now never dream of NOT buying a seat. It was safer, more comfortable, more considerate to other passengers and he slept most of the way.

Not that I agree with this, but the flight attendant asked us as we were boarding if we had purchased him a seat. When we said yes she said, "Thank goodness. You would be amazed at how many minor injuries we deal with because people think they can hold them on their lap. It surprised me how people can be cheap when it comes to the safety of their children."

Take off and landings can be very dangerous.

If you do bring the car seat I suggest buying one of those metal carts designed for luggage. We strapped our carseat on it with a bungy and it made for a very easy trip through the airport.