Must infants book an infant fare on airline ?

RobAMerc

Hi,

I was just wondering if I could book my 1 yo onto a flight as an adult fare - its only €8 with no taxes etc compared to €20 as an infant - hes also entitled to a seat then I would imagine no ?

Rob

metrovelvet

RobAMerc wrote: »

Hi,

I was just wondering if I could book my 1 yo onto a flight as an adult fare - its only €8 with no taxes etc compared to €20 as an infant - hes also entitled to a seat then I would imagine no ?

Rob

I have tried to do this before and was unable to. Ryanair told me it was illegal to book a full seat for a child under two.

I know some people book an extra seat for infants but I think they do it under their own names, so they actually book the extra seats for themselves, if you get me.

You could try booking One adult and One two year old plus and see if you can get away with that.

RobAMerc

I'm not actually doing it for the seat - I'm looking to save myself €24 that I see no reason to pay - I doubt his mum would allow him to sit by himself although if it was at the other end of the plane at least Dad would be happy !

zagmund

In the old days we booked our <1 year old as a child fare (instead of an infant) when going to New Zealand so we could have more space & benefit from the extra luggage. There was no problem with the airlines, but this was about 10 years ago and T&Cs have changed significantly since then.

z

Downtime

If the infant is under 6 months the child must sit on the adults' knee and will be charged a flat rate of €20/£19* or equivalent on all shorthaul routes or 10% of the adult fare on flights to the USA on Aer Lingus.

Infants - between 6 months and 2 years the passengers may choose to pay either:
€20/£19* or equivalent on all shorthaul routes or 10% of the adult fare on flights to the USA, where the infant will sit on the adults' knee.
or
Purchase a seat for the infant at the appropriate fare where the infant can sit in an approved, forward facing car seat provided by the passenger. The car seat must be restrained on the aircraft seat by the normal aircraft lap strap. Aer Lingus do not permit rearward facing car seats. The seat must be a purpose-designed children's car seat with a 5-point harness.

metrovelvet

RobAMerc wrote: »

I'm not actually doing it for the seat - I'm looking to save myself €24 that I see no reason to pay - I doubt his mum would allow him to sit by himself although if it was at the other end of the plane at least Dad would be happy !

Oh I understand that because ive tried to do this myself, but I think you have to do the booking for your child in the two years plus drop down menu.

RobAMerc

Downtime wrote: »

If the infant is under 6 months the child must sit on the adults' knee and will be charged a flat rate of €20/£19* or equivalent on all shorthaul routes or 10% of the adult fare on flights to the USA on Aer Lingus.

Infants - between 6 months and 2 years the passengers may choose to pay either:
€20/£19* or equivalent on all shorthaul routes or 10% of the adult fare on flights to the USA, where the infant will sit on the adults' knee.
or
Purchase a seat for the infant at the appropriate fare where the infant can sit in an approved, forward facing car seat provided by the passenger. The car seat must be restrained on the aircraft seat by the normal aircraft lap strap. Aer Lingus do not permit rearward facing car seats. The seat must be a purpose-designed children's car seat with a 5-point harness.

So I cannot purchase an adult fare for him and have him sit on my knee I take it ? He is 14 months.

Thanks for all the replies.

RaM

mikedragon32

RobAMerc,

I would see no reason why you could not book an adult fare for your child and then have him sit on your knee. I think the mention of using a car seat is for parents who don't want to have the child on thier knee. I can't imagine why FR would refuse you citing legal reasons (as Metrovelvet experienced) other that the fact that their infant fare often works out more expensive than the adult fare and it all goes to them as the taxes don't apply on infants.

It would be useful to have the extra space the third seat would allow. Any time we've travelled with our baby, we've been lucky that the third seat in our row has been empty anyway apart from once when the person next to me asked to be moved despite the fact our baby was asleep on my shoulder when we boarded and asleep on my wife's lap while we were waiting to push back. Instead the cabin crew moved us to the front of the plane and left him where he was. Disgusted, he was! All that extra legroom and an empty seat was heaven!

C.O.Y.B.I.B

I have had this out with them before . We are going to Paris with Ryanair 2 days before my daughters birthday and it is costing us 7 Euro each and 20 for her . 2 days later and it would be 13 euro cheaper
The other trick is with reagrd to getting a physical seat for a child on Ryanair is to sit 1 parent in the Aisle and 1 at the Window and baby sitting in the middle . Noone will ever want to move the baby and sit there . Twice I've been on a flight with only 1 empty seat on the plane which was between us

metrovelvet

The reason they legally cant sell a seat to an infant is because of the take of and landing regulations, the infant must be seated in your lap using the infant safety latch. However, I still think that is no reason why you cant book the infant on the over two drop down panel.

flikflak

metrovelvet wrote: »

The reason they legally cant sell a seat to an infant is because of the take of and landing regulations, the infant must be seated in your lap using the infant safety latch. However, I still think that is no reason why you cant book the infant on the over two drop down panel.

But how about when you go to put the passport details in? Will it accept a DOB that is under 2 years old?

Its all to do with regualtions as the seat belt is too big and the child cannot support themselves if the plane should have to emergency brake and also probably insurance. Same kind of things as having to buy a car seat in a car that already has seats.

I dont think there is any way around it as its a safety issue not a Ryanair thing. Just pay the extra money and sit with the child inbetween you before take off, use the baby belt on take off then when the sign goes off (provided you managed to keep your extra seat) pop the baby back in the spare one.

C.O.Y.B.I.B

flikflak wrote: »

Its all to do with regualtions as the seat belt is too big and the child cannot support themselves if the plane should have to emergency brake and also probably insurance. Same kind of things as having to buy a car seat in a car that already has seats.

If Safety was the big concern then surely it should be done by weight (like in a car) and not age . I'm flying to Paris on Wednesday when my daughter "cant support herself in an emergency" and back on Saturday when she can Should be the parents decision . Ryanair are charging me 7 euro and my child 20 and for that she doesnt even get cabin baggage allowance . If she was over 2 she'd be 7 euro with cabin baggage and taking up a seat. Cant imagine MOL campaigning for the rules to be changed....

metrovelvet

mscull wrote: »

If Safety was the big concern then surely it should be done by weight (like in a car) and not age . I'm flying to Paris on Wednesday when my daughter "cant support herself in an emergency" and back on Saturday when she can Should be the parents decision . Ryanair are charging me 7 euro and my child 20 and for that she doesnt even get cabin baggage allowance . If she was over 2 she'd be 7 euro with cabin baggage and taking up a seat. Cant imagine MOL campaigning for the rules to be changed....

I know. Been there. Its ridiculous. Especially when they get to 18 or 22 months. Having them on your lap at meal time, with the trays and your cup of tea.