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On an Airplane with a
3- to 9-Month-Old
Air Travel with Older Babies
By Alexandria Powell
There's another way you can keep your baby safer on the plane. When planning your trip, please consider bringing along your baby's child safety seat. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently allows children under age 2 to be held on an adult's lap, most experts – including the American Academy of Pediatrics – recommend parents book a separate seat for baby and bring their child seat.
According to the FAA, child safety seats should be no wider than 16 inches across for best fit on an airplane. Make sure your child safety seat specifically states that it is "approved for flight," and consider checking with your individual airline for rules and regulations before traveling with babies, says Jeanna Rimmer, a representative of Britax, a market leader in quality child safety seats.
As with travel in a car, your 3- to 9-month-old will need to be rear facing. "We recommend that children remain rear facing for at least one year and 20 pounds, regardless of vehicle or air travel," Rimmer says. When installing the seat, make sure to follow the guidelines for lap belt installation.
Flying with a baby is hard enough without having to deal with the grumbling a wailing baby triggers on a crowded flight. The good news is that there's a lot you can do to keep your baby calm, which helps to keep other passengers calm as well.
In addition to the safety considerations, choosing to bring your baby's child safety seat along may add to her comfort. "My sister was a flight attendant and she said that the happiest babies were always the ones whose parents were willing to pay for anadditional ticket and just strapped them into their own car seats," says Alexandra Lutz, a mom from Albuquerque, N.M., who flew from Seoul, South Korea, to Chicago – nonstop – when her son was 3 months old.
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