Flying with an infant on your lap

[Freiheit 7]

 

It is only irrational to you. There are probably many things that you think that someone like me would find irrational. Your opinion is not the absolute correct one for anyone else but yourself. Have a nice day.

Stop being retarded. It's not a question of opinion, it's statistics.

[kimf 7]

 

Have you not heard of boats? Oh that's right the Titanic sank, so I guess you can never go home.

Then your one and only option, as pointed out above, is to stay home. But, you still must keep an eye out for those nasty "blue ice" blocks that fall from planes and can smash through your roof and crush you or your child.

People are irrationally afraid of risks they cannot control. You are a perfect example of this. You think that because you're behind the wheel in your car that your baby is safer than in a jet where you have no control of whether it falls from the sky. A real statistical analysis of this shows what a laughable comparison the two are.

The odds of a plane crashing are miniscule compared to driving. The odds of anyone surviving said plane crash are even smaller. That is the number you should compare to the other risks you take daily with your child.

The other risk you should consider is the risk of hearing damage to your child from flying. I don't think kids like earplugs.

Of course you'll take risks in the future, unless you're already dead. Just try to be at least somewhat rational.

Boat is not an option since we usually only go for 2 weeks. Anyhow, I was also thinking about Turbulance as Eurovol mentionned earlier. I can't imagine any parent being able to hold on to their child securely for a whole 22-hour-journey. And no, I don't think my baby is safer in a car than in a plane! I think I'm rather rational, and a parent who's wondering why "airlines are allowing this breech in safety" as Sunny put it?

 

i don't understand what's wrong with strapping them in with the seatbelt which attaches to your seatbelt? it's got to be as secure as strapping them into a full sized seatbelt at least and they're got your arms, etc to cushion them rather than a big plastic and metal seat arm.

ok, so ideally you buy them a seat and put the car seat in it but car seats are designed for a 3 point harness, so will probably not be as secure as having them strapped to you.

and as MAM says, how many plane crashes have you been in? most accidents happen at home and there are statistically virtually no domestic plane crashes.

It seems that taking a car seat on board a plane is only done in the U.S.A. and nowhere else in the world. So I guess that option is out of the window for anyone not travelling within the U.S.A. I was not aware of those extra belts which you use for your baby. Are they allowed to be used during the flight or only while taking off and landing? We flew with Lufthansa a couple of months ago and they never offered us such a belt.

[Lee-Clark 5]

That's what happened for a flight and all babies went flying and died!

[the vicar 152]

 

I was not aware of those extra belts which you use for your baby. Are they allowed to be used during the flight or only while taking off and landing? We flew with Lufthansa a couple of months ago and they never offered us such a belt.

For all the flights I've been on with my kids, we've always been given extra safety belts which attached to the adults belts.(even the cheap airlines). So that the kids are strapped in. You are told to put them on during landing and take off. It's your choice if you want to keep them on during the flight. Seemed safe enough to me. It's just bloody uncomfortable having a wriggling little blighter on your beer belly.

[eurovol 126]

 

Stop being retarded. It's not a question of opinion, it's statistics.

Statistics are not emotions. How you react to statistics is an emotion of the opinion variety and you cannot tell me or others how to react to anything. That is being retarded.

[grazzenger 12]

easyjet allow a car seat and they're definitely not a US carrier they also immediately gave us a baby seatbelt. i'm surprised about luftwaffe but just ask on the next flight. you can use them throughout the flight as it's recommended that you yourself keep your seatbelt on when seated.

 

our wee boy is fine in his seat when he's asleep but won't tolerate being strapped in once he's woken up sufficiently to want to 'do stuff'.

[kimf 7]

 

Ok, so I might have been wrong in that case. But for some reason, I thought those children who survived had their own seat.

[grazzenger 12]

you're not wrong about the wriggling blighter on the beer belly, vicar! he may only be 7 months old but it's like hanging onto a sack of scrapping rabbits when he wants something.

[kimf 7]

 

easyjet allow a car seat and they're definitely not a US carrier they also immediately gave us a baby seatbelt. i'm surprised about luftwaffe but just ask on the next flight. you can use them throughout the flight as it's recommended that you yourself keep your seatbelt on when seated.

our wee boy is fine in his seat when he's asleep but won't tolerate being strapped in once he's woken up sufficiently to want to 'do stuff'.

I will definitely make sure I ask for the belt next time we fly! That is really weird that they never offered.

[ruapehu 3,756]

 

I was also thinking about Turbulance as Eurovol mentionned earlier. I can't imagine any parent being able to hold on to their child securely for a whole 22-hour-journey.

A few errors here, assuming you mean my comments and not Eurovol's regarding turbulence:

 

the longest flight is about 14 hours. 22 would be the combination of two flights; there is always a stopover in-between (may only be an hour or so). However, of course I'm not suggesting that a parent should hold their child securely even for 14 hours. In most cases on a long-haul flight, there are two parents (not aways, I know).

 

On long-haul flights, only very large aircraft are used (currently mainly 747 or 777)- with many sections and many bulkheads. Bulkheads of course do nothing to help the problem of crash on take-off, but once cruising altitude is reached, each bulkhead can be equipped with 2 bassinets fixed to the wall. Anyone travelling long-haul with a baby who does not call the airline in advance to reserve those places is neglectful themselves. Even if not reserved however, if the seats are taken up by people not in need of the bassinets, the crew will re-seat. So you have to be both badly prepared and unlucky on a long-haul flight to be stuck holding your baby the whole time.

 

During any long-haul flight, there are many times where the seatbelt sign for turbulence is NOT on. At those times, people are free to walk around. Those who choose to do so while a turbulence warning is on are endangering themselves and fellow passengers -and their own children.

 

EDIT: and as regards car-seats, I have seen these used on flights from Asia to Europe too..mot recently when a couple who did in fact have the bulkhead also had twins - and the other bassinet was taken by someone else...so they had one in a bassinet and one in a car-seat

[the vicar 152]

 

Anyone travelling long-haul with a baby who does not call the airline in advance to reserve those places is neglectful themselves.

I booked and automatically assumed we would get a safe seat for our children. Oh, silly me. If the airline doesn't have enough safety equipment for the babies on a flight they shouldn't take the booking in the first place.

[Freiheit 7]

 

Statistics are not emotions. How you react to statistics is an emotion of the opinion variety and you cannot tell me or others how to react to anything. That is being retarded.

How someone reacts to statistics is either rational or not. It's not opinion, nor anyone telling anyone else what to do.

 

When people react irrationally to statistics, more babies die.

[ruapehu 3,756]

 

I booked and automatically assumed we would get a safe seat for our children. Oh, silly me. If the airline doesn't have enough safety equipment for the babies on a flight they shouldn't take the booking.

Seat booking has nothing to do with ticketing. Ticket sales are kept totally separate. Some travel agents will undertake to do both for you, but if you book directly seating is never attended to (excet in the case of frequent flyer, where seat preferences my be automatically relayed to the system)

How does the airline know when you book how many other people with babies are going to book? And is it clear in every case which people do have babies (or children of a young enough age to use bassinets)?

Also, sometimes due to various factors, at short notice a different type of plane will be used than originally planned, affecting the umber of bulkhea places available. Would it then be acceptable to bump the last bookings with babies?

[kimf 7]

I agree with Vicar. It doesn't matter how far ahead you book a bassinet. Priority apparently goes to the younger babies. A baby could just be a week younger and get the bassinet even though you had booked it first.

"Do you really expect a baby to lie in his bassinet for 14 hours?

[eurovol 126]

 

How someone reacts to statistics is either rational or not. It's not opinion,

OK, then tell me who decides what is rational or not and how is that defined as not an opinion?

 

 

When people react irrationally to statistics, more babies die.

I call bullshit! Where is your proof?

[Freiheit 7]

Choice A: 10 babies likely die per year.

Choice B: 5 babies likely die per year.

 

Now, let's take a poll and see which one is the more rational choice.

 

Proof of what, that 10 is a bigger number than 5?

[ruapehu 3,756]

@kimf: did you read what I wrote?

 

 

During any long-haul flight, there are many times where the seatbelt sign for turbulence is NOT on. At those times, people are free to walk around. Those who choose to do so while a turbulence warning is on are endangering themselves and fellow passengers -and their own children.

Nobody expects a baby to lie in a bassinet for 14 hours. If you disregard a dangerous situation (which may be for 3 hours out of the 14, and not normally for longer than 30 mins at any one time), as in the case of turbulence, you are - even in countries which go in for suing - liable yourself. As those people who have been injured while walking around during a turbulence warning can testify.

[MadAxeMurderer 6,216]

 

When people react irrationally to statistics, more babies die.

Thats the most sensible statement on this whole thread!

 

Regarding airlines and "safety", safety seems to be a catch-all coverup.

 

 

As your safety is of paramount importance to us, we're going to delay your flight

[the vicar 152]

 

How does the airline know when you book how many other people with babies are going to book?

Shouldn't it be first come first served. Then people with babies booking later are informed that no baby bed thingies are available. It can't be that difficult to keep track of how many baby beds thingies have been reserved. Could it be the airline/travel agent is afraid of losing ticket sales?

 

baby bed thingy = bassinet

[ruapehu 3,756]

 

ould it be the airline/travel agent is afraid of losing ticket sales?

May well be a factor. I also find it annoying that I can't book my seats when I buy my tickets an have to find somewhere else to call to do that - and I relasie tat if you don't do these trips often, its not something you would necessarily think of. Having once been stuck for 14 hours in the middle seat of a 5-across, I no longer forget to do it in advance

 

But I still am not sure if it would even be possible given the current system for the airline to know exactly how many of the bookings are for potential "basket-cases" if this is not specifically pointe out by the parents