I am looking to book some flights for my family soon. My youngest child will be 23 months on departure but 2 on the return journey. My travel agent has told me that both legs need to be booked as an child rather than an infant which will add about $1200 to the overall cost.
I have sent an email to the particular airline (Singapore) asking them what the policy is.
I have yet to receive a response, does anyone know what the policy is? I am guessing that every airline could be different.
+1 to this. I did this once when son was barely 1yo and learned my lesson. Don't know about SQ booking policy but I read a news article a while ago, a family got denied boarding on the return flight on a different airline as the son turned two in between and needed a child ticket on a return flight.
Fair point given that its an 8hr and 14hr flight respectively.
I guess it will be alot more comfortable if they have a seat for her and for us also.
Thanks for your input.
sounds like hell to me
I can't see why you can't book the flight there with child in your lap, but the return will require a full fare. It's not like you can tell them the kid is less then 2 while they stare at the kid's birthdate on the passport!
I hope you have a layover between flights, not backing up the 8 hour with a 14 hour with a few hours in transit?
Having just returned from Singapore with our 19 month old in our (*my) laps, I can tell you that was exhausting enough!
Your sanity is worth something…I reckon halfway through the flight they could have hired me 60 minutes of time for an extra seat for $300… what's your mindset going to be in the 17th hour of the 21 hours in the air (plus transit time, plus arriving early for boarding and clearing immigration at both ends - your actual travel time is all of these hours don't forget… the plane is just the bit where you get a seat)?
it is calculated on the age of your child on the return journey.
if she turns 2 on the trip you will need to purchase a child ticket, which should be 75% of the fare + taxes
they have their own set and same luggage allowance as you do.
things like strollers and car seats don't account to your luggage allowance.
liquids and powder for formula (if you require) are allowed for your child or infant, but check with airport customs first.
request a child meal, they are generally pretty good on SQ. I found SQ has the most children friendly staff of all the flights that we have taken our kids on. very accommodating and understanding.
Agreed.
I've only flown Emirates and Singapore with kids but Singapore offered little extra bits of service like offering to return with a meal after one parent had finished eating (wheras Emirates dumped 2 trays of food and moved on with no further thought).
exactly… and even give you first pick at the menu and re-heat it later
Is there an option to buy 2 one-way tickets, with the outbound as an infant?
for infant and child tickets they need an accompanying adult when you book.
so if it is a family travelling at least one adult will need to do the 2x one way ticket purchase
my daughter was 14 months when we went to Singapore and Hongkong that was ok.. only 8 hours or so on the lap. we had a spare seat next to us on the flight so was great she had her own seat. only on take off and landing she sat on our laps.
then she was 26 months when we took her to LA and Vegas. i'm glad at that time she had her own seat and would of been a nightmare if she had to be on our laps for 14 hours
check in luggage?
somethings in life it's better not to be tight and buying a ticket for a child on a long haul flight is not 1 of them and at that age get a day flight, they can't get comfortable trying to sleep which keeps both parents awake.
I'd argue the opposite, better to get some sleep (for everyone) or at least have a sleepy, cuddly child on an overnight, than have a wide awake and terribly bored and restricted child on a day flight.
Yes. We have 3 kids, we always try to get an red-eye flight…even paying extra, it's worthy to have sleepy kids.
Thanks for all your input so far.
I have looked at booking two one way flights but there is no saving really.
Agreed that spending the extra will probably save some tears at least.
Proposed departure is midnight for the first leg to Changi with 3 hours in between. Could be a nightmare but that's all that's left at this point :-(
Per our experience the night flight was better than the day flight.
But we only had to last 8 hours… not follow it up with an even longer stretch.
My personal experience is mixed- issues both ways.
Even better you can't predict anything reliably on how they behave.
Even better you can't predict anything reliably on how they behave.
^THIS
Hi paddyadrian,
I was in a similar situation few years back, with my son.
Think was flying Singapore Airlines (or) Malaysian Airlines.
It was adequate to just get a infant ticket(less than 2 years old), and all it mattered was the age of the child at the time of onward journey. You may not get a seperate seat, because you have booked a infant ticket on the return journey.
BUT, please confirm this via the airlines as they may have a different policy now.
All the best.
Also book for infant(child) bassinet in advance for all legs for the journey, very handy :)
Only available to infants under 6 months. We flew 6m +1 day and no bassinet :\
got bassinet seat with 14 month old on Singapore airlines
Same for an 18mo. But they will prioritise younger kids.
most airlines will reserve those seats and not make them available for general bookings and seat assignment. they will open up those seats to those who have a child or infant in their booking, or advise that you cannot check in online but rather check in earlier on the day to secure those seats and is a first in basis because there is a limited amount of those seats.
with ANA airlines we had to call them after booking the flights online and reserve the bassinet row of seats.
consult www.seatguru.com for seat allocations for your flight,
If Singapore airlines tells you that infant is fine make sure to get a response from them IN WRITING.
Even if it is policy, all it takes is one cranky check in person to make your life very uncomfortable while you try to argue your point.
According to the following link, airlines all have their own policies and Singapore does work from age at departure
http://gadling.com/2013/03/13/everything-you-need-to-know-ab…
Still, get it in writing.
I just got back from Japan last week, 3 babies couldn't stop crying, I really wanted to shoot myself, 4 hour stop over in Malaysia, no sleep, 18 hours of travel including the train ride from Tokyo to narita and driving back home from long term carpark Melbourne, (profanity) me. I hard work the next day at 5am…
Do you really want a 2yo on your lap the whole way?