Aeromexico Infant Policy: Ages, Fares and Bassinets

Lap or a seat of their own

The safest way for a baby to fly is in an approved child restraint in their own seat — in turbulence an adult's arms are not a restraint. A lap infant is legal and extremely common, but it is the affordable option rather than the safe one.

On a short cross-border hop a lap is entirely manageable. On a long-haul sector without a bassinet, a seat is worth pricing properly.

Car seats and strollers

• An approved car seat can be used on board where you have bought a seat, carrying a label the airline recognises.
• Approval marks differ between regions — check a US-bought seat before travelling rather than at the gate.
• Strollers and car seats are generally carried at no additional charge, checked or gate-checked.
• Gate-check the stroller so it stays with you through the terminal.
• Use a padded bag for gate-checked items.

Crossing the border with a baby

This is the section that matters most on these routes, and the one with the longest lead time.

• A passport for the baby on any flight between the United States and Mexico, including a newborn. Processing takes weeks.
• Check immigration status before travelling where it is not settled. Leaving the United States has consequences no family timetable changes, and that is a question for an immigration attorney rather than an airline.
• Check requirements by the baby's nationality, which may differ from the parents' where passports differ.
• A consent letter where only one parent travels, which Mexico expects in many cases and does ask for.
• Carry the birth certificate, which settles the relationship question where surnames differ.
• A baby born in one country to parents of another frequently needs documentation arranged before travel rather than being covered by the parents' status.

Booking a trip around a baby's day

• Fly when your baby normally sleeps where the schedule allows.
• Morning flights are usually better for younger babies and least likely to be delayed.
• Consider a coach for the final leg, which in Mexico is comfortable and frequent and avoids a second take-off and landing.
• Nonstop beats a connection almost every time.
• Avoid the last departure of the day.

Travelling as two adults, or as one

• Two adults: a window and an aisle on a three-seat row often leaves the middle empty.
• One adult: an aisle seat is worth more than a window.
• Only one lap infant per adult.
• Whoever is not holding the baby carries everything else.
• Agree in advance who does what at security and boarding.

Getting through the airport

• Allow far more time than you would alone.
• Use the family lane at security where one exists.
• You will carry the baby through the detector while the carrier is scanned.
• Keep milk, formula and food accessible.
• Change the baby immediately before boarding.
• Find the changing facilities in advance at both ends.
• Do not rely on buying supplies airside.

The flight itself

• Feed on the way up and the way down. Sucking equalises ear pressure.
• Do not wake a sleeping baby for descent.
• Dress in layers.
• Request a baby meal in advance on a long-haul flight if the child is on solids.
• Ask which lavatory has the changing table.
• Accept help when it is offered.

What families most often get wrong

• Leaving the baby's passport until the flights are booked. It is the item that cannot be hurried.
• Assuming a baby is covered by the parents' status rather than needing their own documentation.
• Not checking immigration status before leaving the United States.
• Expecting a bassinet on a short cross-border flight. There are none on the narrowbody fleet.
• Travelling without a consent letter where only one parent is going.
• Not checking the age against the return date.
• Booking a second flight where a coach would have been easier with a baby.

The first flight, and what actually goes wrong

Parents booking a first flight with a baby almost always worry about the wrong thing. The crying is what everyone fears; it is rarely what causes the problem.

What actually goes wrong is timing. Families arrive with the margin they would allow themselves alone, then find that a nappy change, a feed, a security queue with a pram and a child who will not go in the carrier have eaten an hour. The fix is simple and unglamorous: leave earlier than feels reasonable, and accept that you will sometimes be sitting at the gate with nothing to do. That is the good outcome.

The second thing is supplies. People pack for the flight rather than for the day. A two-hour flight that becomes a six-hour day after a delay needs more feeds, more nappies and more changes of clothes than the schedule suggests — and airside there is frequently nothing to buy, or nothing in the brand your baby will accept.

The third is the other passengers, and here the worry is mostly misplaced. Cabin crew deal with babies constantly and are generally very good with them. Most passengers are more sympathetic than parents expect, particularly if you look like you are coping rather than apologising. Walking the aisle with an unsettled baby is normal and nobody minds.

A short packing list for the cabin bag

• More feeds than the flight needs — assume a delay.
• More nappies than the flight needs, with wipes and a changing mat.
• Two changes of clothes for the baby, and one top for you. Both get used more often than people expect.
• Nappy bags, since not every aircraft lavatory has a bin that takes them.
• A muslin or blanket, which doubles as shade, a feeding cover and something familiar.
• Any medication, including infant paracetamol if your doctor approves it — a baby who becomes unwell in the air is not a situation to improvise.
• A dummy or comforter, and a spare, because the first one will go on the floor.
• The documents in one folder rather than spread between a bag and a phone.

How Fond Travels can help

• We raise the baby's document position before anything is booked, which on cross-border routes is what decides whether the trip happens.
• We get the actual infant fare for your route rather than estimating.
• We request the bassinet where the aircraft has one, and tell you when it does not.
• We plan the whole journey including the road leg, which with a baby is frequently easier than a second flight.
• We check the consent and relationship documents that Mexico asks for.
• We answer at any hour, which with a baby in the house is more useful than it sounds.

To plan a trip with a baby, call +1 (323) 800 6001. A travel expert answers any hour.