Flight attendants union asking for an end to lap infants

Joined
May 6, 2005
Messages
11,900
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
I know it's not a traditional topic here, but it's "aviation-adjacent". I always felt uncomfortable allowing my child to sit on my wife's lap. I think we only did it for one trip. I know almost every US airline allows lap infants to fly at no extra charge. I think for international travel it's typical 10% of the adult fare? Not sure how this would be applied for international flights to/from the United States.

Experts agree that flying with a baby in your lap is a safety risk, but regulators still allow it​

Flight attendants want to ban lap-babies on planes​
The union is pressing for a rule change that would require all passengers, regardless of age, to occupy an airplane seat with a restraint. Currently, children under 2 can fly free on their parents’ laps.​
The AFA-CWA raised the issue Wednesday at the Federal Aviation Administration safety summit in Northern Virginia and has submitted its list of priorities, including “a seat for every soul,” to Congress. Legislators are in the process of crafting an FAA reauthorization bill, which expires in September. The union submitted the same recommendation during the last round of reauthorization in 2018.​
The tragedy that haunts Nelson occurred in 1989, when United Flight 232 crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa. Following protocol, the flight attendants instructed the parents to wrap their unbuckled babies in blankets and place them on the floor. Three of the infants suffered injuries, and one died.​
 
Why do we need federal rules.. let the companies make the rule? Well I can see it being very unpopular paying an additional 50% to fly with your infant as new parents.
 
Why do we need federal rules.. let the companies make the rule? Well I can see it being very unpopular paying an additional 50% to fly with your infant as new parents.

I understand it's typically 50% off of "full fare", to the point where most leisure travelers don't pay a child fare. I recall when my kid turned 2, we looked into the fares and Southwest had no child/youth fares unless they were called in, and then they cost more than adult leisure fares. Then there's the process of proving the age, which may require mailing a photocopy of a birth certificate or a child's government ID.
 
On the widebodies the passengers with infants will usually get a bulkhead seat. A bassinet is hooked on the bulkhead and the child can sleep during the flight. ( that’s in theory. Most babies cry)
 
I understand it's typically 50% off of "full fare", to the point where most leisure travelers don't pay a child fare. I recall when my kid turned 2, we looked into the fares and Southwest had no child/youth fares unless they were called in, and then they cost more than adult leisure fares. Then there's the process of proving the age, which may require mailing a photocopy of a birth certificate or a child's government ID.

You say 50% off of fare to the point where they dont pay child fare? So they would be paying a 3rd adult fare?
so you are agreeing with me?

My comment was buying a 3rd ticket = 50% more for a family of 3 to fly with an infant= would be unpopular.

Can you reword If I read it wrong it.

My main point is we dont need farther legislation for this if its a real issue the airlines make the rules.. no one says "infants have to fly free"
but due to its unpopularity they may wish for legislation to handle this perhaps?
 
Why do we need federal rules.. let the companies make the rule? Well I can see it being very unpopular paying an additional 50% to fly with your infant as new parents.
Why not let companies decide about kids in car seats and which direction to face, etc. this really isn’t different.
 
I've always though lap was a stupid rule - it puts infants at risk, and it provides monetary incentive for parents to put them at risk.

When my kids were under 2, we bought tickets for them, and put their car seat in the airplane. Car seats can only be in the window, by the way, in order to avoid impeding egress in an emergency.

So, yeah, I spent my own $$ to ensure the infant was safe - and I think it's time we level the playing field between caring parents, and cheap morons.
 
You say 50% off of fare to the point where they dont pay child fare? So they would be paying a 3rd adult fare?
so you are agreeing with me?

My comment was buying a 3rd ticket = 50% more for a family of 3 to fly with an infant= would be unpopular.

Can you reword If I read it wrong it.

My main point is we dont need farther legislation for this if its a real issue the airlines make the rules.. no one says "infants have to fly free"
but due to its unpopularity they may wish for legislation to handle this perhaps?

I'm saying the typical choice with children at least 2 is either half price of full fare or whatever discounted adult fare is available. If you book online with Southwest, they have two passenger lists - total passengers (including lap infants) and lap infants. I guess it's an update on what I remember, which was lap infants were never declared before getting to the airport.

I wasn't quite sure what you were referring to.

Right now I it's something most airlines offer because it is allowed and because that it would put an airline at a disadvantage to not allow it.
 
I look at it from the view of a kid who started elementary school in the 80s. My parents had a car with a buzzer if the seatbelt wasn't fastened, so they just buckled it and sat on top of it. And then me sitting on my mom's lap. Those were the days. It was probably more dangerous then than now, where children have to be in the back seat and many parents use child seats for airline travel.

But now looking at how adults have been severely injured or even killed from turbulence, it seems almost bizarre that lap infants are still allowed. I do remember taking my kid at age 2 on a plane where there was active resistance getting in a child seat on a plane. Never had a problem in the car, and our kid would even point out if we forgot to properly fasten it. But then a flight attendant said the seat could be checked in (for free) and a child wasn't required to be in an approved child seat. Worked out pretty well although I was skeptical that a regular lap belt would be safe either.
 
We flew with infants many time, and I never felt comfortable with them outside a car seat. I have no problem with them making this rule. How is it any different than it being required for an adult to wear a seatbelt on an airplane when the pilot says.

As for the screaming baby on airplane, there are two types on the airplane when a baby screams. Those who never have had a screaming baby on an airplane hate it. Those that have are just happy its not their screaming baby :LOL:
 
Why do the flight attendants care one way or the other if a kid is on the parents lap? As for costs vs. safety. If a mother has to spend another $100-$300 to fly their kid, they are more likely to drive, which is statistically over 100 times more likely to cause death than flying.
 
Babies should be secured in an appropriate child seat for their size, which should be strapped in the airplane seat with the seatbelt. I don't want to be hit by a flying baby if there's turbulence. This is a safety issue that should be mandated by federal law.
 
Back
Top