Sorry - Travelling with a baby on Aer Lingus

nellie07

I know this has probably been done to death, and of course because we never had a baby before never took any notice, so please bear with me for the stupid questions, and thanks to anyone who takes time to reply -

Flying in December with a 9 month old to Lanzarote

Should I book a bassinet, if so how expensive is it?

Car seat are we allowed take a car seat + a buggy?

If I need to change the baby onboard, just do it in the toilet are there some kind of facilities like a drop down thingy!

Should I book certain seats in advance if so which ones are best, or should we just wait and queue up when they ask for parents with children to come forward (was always jealous of those people when we were childless!!)

Im a nervous wreck I would be the very one avoiding being near a baby on a plane and now here we are...

Thank you

biko

http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/knowbeforeyoufly/travellingwithchildren/

Infants under the age of 2 years may travel provided that they sit on an adult’s lap (one infant per adult) and a fee is charged per sector.
No baby / car seats are allowed in the cabin of the aircraft.
A maximum of 8 infants only to be carried on board the aircraft for each flight.
An AMSAFE CARES Harness that is supplied by the passenger may be used for securing children and children with disabilities, please contact specialassistance@aerlingus.com if use of a harness is required.

Infants between 6 months and two years old can sit on the adults' knee and will be charged a flat rate of €20/£19 or equivalent per one way flight on all shorthaul routes or 10% of the adult fare on flights from/to the USA.

http://www.aerlingus.com/help/help/inflight/

Baby changing facilities are available on all of our aircrafts. Please ask cabin crew members for locations.
Our cabin crew onboard will heat your baby food and bottles for babies and small children.

nellie07

thanks a mill, so embarassed I should have went on the Aer Lingus site first eh!

Thank you!

biko

No probs, happy to help

fm

you can bring a car seat ,we took 2 from faro home with aer lingus and we were not charged for them,they were put in with our main luggage in the hold,they didnt weight them.we flew out with ryanair and you can pay on their website-10 euro each way

Eponymous

If I can offer any extra advice, it would be to stop apologising!

There's no need to be nervous at all - just ensure that you're well organised. Baby milk, nappies etc in an easy to reach location. Keep that bag under the seat in front and NOT in the overhead bin.

Security is the biggest hassle, in my experience. Just be calm, let one of you look after the buggy and carry-on bags and the other looks after baby. Have the buggy collapsed before you get to the top of the queue for security - it saves time for everyone and spares you daggers from the people behind you. Again, all your liquids at the top of one bag so you can just grab them out to put in the tray. Whoever's got the baby wear trainers/soft shoes so you don't have to remove them. Again, it's all about getting baby through with as little stress as possible and one parent managing bags while the other tries to remove boots/high heels and then put them on again creates tension for you and it puts out the rest of what should be a smooth enough transition from security to aircraft.

Some parents swear by giving baby Calpol just prior to boarding as it kicks in as the plane is ready to go and baby sleeps. Others are aghast at the suggestion. Never had to try it, having had dozens of flights with our daughter who is now four.

tatli_lokma

Also, you can bring kids between 6-36mths in a car seat:

aerlingus wrote:

Car type safety seats may be used by children aged between 6 months and less than 36 months - in order to accommodate a child aged 36 months or older in a car seat; the child must be within the size and weight limits for that seat and special IAA approval is required, please contact specialassistance@aerlingus.com as soon as possible in advance of the flight.

But you would have to pay for a seat for them to use the car seat. Might be worth it though for comfort for all concerned if the seats aren't too expensive. Only thing that might be a problem is ensuring that the car seat is forward facing rather than rear facing.