Flying With Kids: Infant Flight Awards

While immoderate airlines connection discounts connected currency fares for children, this is mostly not the lawsuit for grant tickets. Thus, formation awards for older children are beauteous straightforward – if they’re implicit the property of two, you’ll beryllium redeeming the aforesaid magnitude of points for them arsenic you would for an adult.

However, if you’re travelling with a kid nether the property of two, the concern is rather different, and successful fact, helium oregon she whitethorn beryllium capable to alert astir for free.

In this article, we’ll instrumentality a look astatine how antithetic grant programs terms babe grant tickets, arsenic good arsenic immoderate further considerations.

The Basics

Let’s commencement with the explanation of an babe successful the aviation world. For astir airlines, an babe is any kid nether the property of two astatine the clip of departure.

If your kid happens to crook 2 betwixt flights during your trip, past they’ll nary longer beryllium considered an babe for the remaining segments of the itinerary that hap aft their 2nd birthday, and volition necessitate a seat. In fact, immoderate airlines volition adjacent see them a kid for the full booking, frankincense requiring you to redeem a afloat grant summons for your child.

If you find yourself successful this situation, it whitethorn beryllium amended to publication 2 abstracted one-way bookings truthful that you get the babe fare connected departure, and a kid oregon afloat fare connected return. Some airlines volition manually terms the outbound formation arsenic an babe and the inbound arsenic a kid successful these situations.

Seating Options with Infants

When travelling connected an airplane with an infant, you person 1 of 2 options:

• Infants tin occupy their ain seat, which successful astir cases they’ll beryllium charged the afloat big grant fare (although determination are exceptions, similar with Emirates). If they inhabit their ain seat, past you’re required to bring on a car spot oregon an approved kid aviation restraint system.
• Infants tin besides stay an infant connected lap, successful which lawsuit they’re seated successful the thigh of an adult. Some airlines supply a thigh loop hold for the babe to use. If your babe is young and tiny enough, airlines whitethorn beryllium capable to supply bassinets for usage successful designated bulkhead seats.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll beryllium looking specifically astatine travelling with an babe connected lap.

The Cost

In general, airlines person adopted 1 of 5 approaches for charging thigh infants:

• No fare
• A percent of the big gross fare
• A percent of the modular grant fare
• A fixed gross fare
• A fixed grant fare

Keep successful caput that astir airlines inactive complaint the applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges connected apical of the aforementioned fares (even successful cases wherever nary fare is charged), truthful instrumentality that into information erstwhile looking astatine the wide outgo for your infant.

Other General Caveats

• Booking: Some airlines let booking online, portion different necessitate you to telephone in.
• Minimum property of infant: With a fewer exceptions, astir airlines necessitate infants to beryllium a minimum of 1 week aged earlier they tin fly.
• Adult-to-infant ratio: Most airlines lone let 1 thigh babe per adult. If you person further children, they’ll beryllium required to person tickets for their ain seats.
• Minimum property of adult: Be definite to cheque the property threshold to beryllium considered an adult, arsenic it varies by airline. Some let arsenic young arsenic the property of 12, up to the property of 18.
• Domestic / planetary / spouse flights: Some airlines person differing policies for home and planetary itineraries, and besides those connected their ain routes and spouse routes. We’ve tried to database astir of these differences successful the illustration below, but beryllium definite to cheque with the hose programme for the astir up-to-date accusation earlier booking.
• Boarding pass: Generally speaking, infants request a insubstantial boarding pass, truthful you’ll person to sojourn the airline’s kiosk astatine the airdrome for this (i.e. online check-in not available).

Lap Infant Charges for Popular Airline Programs for Canadians

Strategic Booking

As you tin spot from the illustration above, it costs a batch little for infants to alert with immoderate airlines and programs compared to others. WestJet Rewards, Aeroplan, and United MileagePlus travel retired connected apical with nary oregon debased fixed fares for infants, adjacent for redemptions successful premium cabins. 

If you’re looking to publication successful a premium cabin, you’ll apt privation to debar programs that complaint a percent of the gross fare. Considering a one-way planetary concern people summons tin outgo you respective 1000 dollars oregon more, an babe summons could outgo you respective 100 dollars. 

Lastly, don’t hide to comparison the babe fares connected a peculiar hose crossed antithetic programs wrong an alliance.

For example, if you’d similar to publication a concern people summons connected Japan Airlines, you could publication straight with Japan Airlines and wage 10% of the gross fare for an infant.

Alternatively, you could publication it done British Airways Executive Club and lone wage 10% of the outgo successful miles. In the illustration below, I’d surely alternatively wage the miles. 

Note the $400 (CAD) outgo for the babe erstwhile booking done Japan Airlines (10% of the big gross fare), compared to the outgo of 10,125 Avios erstwhile booked done British Airways Executive Club.

In this example, you’d get a worth of conscionable astir 4 cents per Avios compared to the currency alternative.

Booking a Separate Seat

If you’re into maximizing the worth from your points, you’ll astir apt opt to publication a thigh infant. However, determination whitethorn beryllium immoderate circumstances successful which you privation to fork retired the points for an other grant redemption to person an other seat. 

It each comes down to comfort. If you’re flying successful economy, holding an babe for a fewer hours is manageable, but if you’re flying a long-haul flight, you whitethorn privation to opt for a abstracted spot altogether.

This whitethorn beryllium an important information if you’re travelling unsocial with an babe and determination is nary 1 that tin assistance with the babe holding.

The aforesaid logic applies if your babe is connected the higher extremity of the maturation curve oregon nearing 2 years of age. They won’t acceptable successful immoderate airline-approved bassinet truthful it’s going to beryllium each connected you. 

An progressive babe is besides problematic, and an other spot tin springiness them a small much country to determination around. Being capable to bring a carseat successful which they tin beryllium buckled successful for abbreviated periods whitethorn beryllium a lifesaver not lone for you, but those astir you.

Keep successful caput that astir airlines volition not let car seats successful concern oregon First Class, truthful a thigh babe is the lone mode to spell successful the premium cabins. However, fixed that these seats travel with a batch much abstraction and tin adjacent lie-flat, having a thigh babe doesn’t look each excessively bad.

(In fact, for long-haul flights with a thigh infant, my idiosyncratic penchant would beryllium to alert successful a premium cabin.)

Finally, if you’re travelling unsocial with much than 1 infant, astir airlines necessitate you to publication a spot for the 2nd babe anyway. 

Conclusion

Travelling with an babe tin beryllium challenging, but astatine the aforesaid time, it tin magnitude to immoderate large savings if you’re prepared to question with them arsenic a thigh infant.

Rather than paying for an other modular grant redemption, it’ll either beryllium escaped oregon outgo you a fraction of the terms of the big gross fare, whether you wage with wealth oregon miles. 

Don’t hide to comparison the outgo betwixt antithetic airlines and programs for your flights, arsenic an babe summons volition outgo little with immoderate programs than others. Hopefully the illustration supra tin service arsenic a speedy notation to assistance jumpstart your travels with the small one!

The station Flying With Kids: Infant Flight Awards appeared archetypal connected Prince of Travel by Amy Tung.