Breeze Airways Infant Policy: Ages, Seats and Thin Schedules

The fare bundle decides your flexibility

• The entry-level fare is the most restricted, which is the wrong ticket when travelling with a baby — plans change more with an infant than without one.
• Higher fare tiers include change rights, which is what you want if the baby is unwell on the day.
• Decide before you pay, since upgrading a fare type afterwards is harder than choosing it at the outset.
• Count the baggage honestly — a lap infant has no allowance of their own, and on a low base fare your own is bought separately.

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.

With no bassinet available, the seat question comes up on any sector over a couple of hours. Price it rather than assuming it is out of reach, since the base fare is low.

Car seats and strollers

• An approved car seat can be used on board where you have bought a seat, carrying the aircraft-approval label.
• 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.
• Measure the car seat against the aircraft seat width.
• Use a padded bag for gate-checked items.

Booking a trip around a baby's day

• Fly when your baby normally sleeps where the limited schedule allows.
• Morning flights are usually better for younger babies and least likely to be delayed.
• Nonstop is the point of this airline, which is a genuine advantage with an infant.
• Avoid the last departure of the day.
• Check the return runs on your date, not just the outbound.

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.
• Smaller airports have fewer agents rather than shorter queues.
• 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.
• Do not rely on buying supplies airside, particularly at smaller airports.

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.
• Ask whether there is a changing table — not all narrowbody aircraft have one.
• Board at the time that suits the baby if the bulky items are gate-checked.
• Accept help when it is offered.

What families most often get wrong

• Checking the fare before the schedule. With a baby, frequency is the thing that matters.
• Buying the entry-level fare, then needing to change when the baby is unwell.
• Expecting a bassinet on a longer sector. There are none.
• Underestimating baggage on a fare where everything is priced separately.
• Not checking the age against the return date.
• Not carrying proof of age on paper.
• Taking the last flight of the day.

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 check the schedule frequency first, because with a baby a thin route is a different risk from a daily one.
• We explain what each fare tier buys before you pay, since it cannot be upgraded later.
• We count the baggage properly on a fare where everything is separate.
• We price the lap option against a purchased seat, which with no bassinet matters on any longer sector.
• We look at nearby airports with daily service where the schedule is thin.
• 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.