Delta Infant Policy: Lap Children, Seats and Bassinets

Car seats and strollers

• An approved car seat can be used on board where you have bought a seat. It needs the label showing it is approved for aircraft use — check before leaving home.
• 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. A narrow one fits an aircraft seat; a wide one may not.
• Use a padded bag for anything gate-checked, since it is handled like baggage.

Bassinets

• Long-haul widebody aircraft only, not domestic narrowbody flights.
• Very few per cabin, attaching to bulkhead positions.
• Request as early as possible — they are allocated in advance and the bulkhead seats go first.
• Weight and length limits apply. A baby who has outgrown them will not be accommodated however early you asked.
• Nothing is confirmed until you board. A change of aircraft can remove the position entirely.

Baggage for a baby

• A lap infant generally has no checked baggage allowance of their own. What the baby needs comes out of your allowance.
• A diaper bag is usually permitted in addition — confirm whether it counts against your carry-on.
• Formula, breast milk and baby food are exempt from the usual liquid limits in reasonable quantities. Declare them and expect separate screening.
• Pack more in the cabin bag than seems necessary, including at least one extra change of clothes for the baby and for you.

What to have ready

• Proof of the baby's age — a birth certificate or passport. Airlines do ask, particularly near the 24-month line.
• A passport for any international flight, including for a newborn. There is no exemption for babies and processing takes weeks.
• Any visa or travel authorisation the destination requires for the infant in their own right.
• A consent letter where only one parent travels, which some destinations expect.

The passport is the item that stops trips. Start it as soon as an international journey is a possibility.

Booking it properly

• Add the infant to the booking rather than turning up with a baby.
• Check the seat allows a lap infant. Exit rows do not, and some bulkhead rows have restrictions.
• Request the bassinet at the same time on a long-haul flight.
• Confirm the infant appears on the reservation in writing before you travel.
• Check the age against every segment date one more time before paying.

Getting through the airport

The flight is rarely the hard part. The two hours before it usually are.

• Allow far more time than you would alone. Everything takes longer with a baby.
• Use the family lane at security where one exists.
• You will carry the baby through the detector while the carrier goes through the scanner, so plan for your hands to be occupied.
• Keep milk, formula and food accessible, since they are screened separately.
• Change the baby immediately before boarding, not an hour earlier.
• Find the changing facilities at your departure, connecting and arrival airports in advance.
• Do not rely on buying supplies airside. What is available will be expensive and the wrong brand.

The flight itself

• Feed on the way up and the way down. Sucking equalises ear pressure, which is the single most effective thing you can do.
• Do not wake a sleeping baby for descent.
• Dress in layers. Cabins run cold and jet bridges run hot.
• Ask which lavatory has the changing table — usually only one does.
• Board last on a full flight if the bulky items are gate-checked. Less time sitting still is worth more than bin space.
• Accept help when it is offered.

What families most often get wrong

• Not checking the age on the return date. The 24-month line crossed mid-trip is the classic and expensive mistake.
• Assuming an international infant ticket buys a seat. It does not.
• Bringing a car seat without the aircraft-approval label.
• Leaving the baby's passport until the flights are booked.
• Requesting a bassinet late, when the bulkhead seats have gone.
• Trying to travel with two infants and one adult.
• Packing everything for the baby in checked luggage.

Booking a trip around a baby's day

The timetable matters more than parents expect, and it is one of the few things entirely within your control.

• Fly when your baby normally sleeps if you can. A flight that overlaps a long nap is a different experience from one that lands in the middle of the witching hour.
• Morning flights are usually better for younger babies, and they are also the least likely to be delayed.
• Overnight flights work well for some babies and badly for others. If yours sleeps in the car, an overnight has a decent chance; if they only sleep in a cot, it may not.
• Nonstop beats a connection almost every time with an infant. A connection means waking them, repacking, and another take-off and landing with the ear pressure that goes with it.
• If you must connect, leave real margin. A tight transfer that works alone is miserable with a pram, a nappy change and a feed to fit in.
• Avoid the last departure of the day. A cancellation with a baby and no onward flight is the scenario to design out.

Travelling as two adults, or as one

How many pairs of hands you have changes almost every decision on this page.

• Two adults: consider booking a window and an aisle on a three-seat row. If the middle stays empty the baby has space; if it fills, the passenger will usually swap for a window or aisle.
• One adult: an aisle seat is generally worth more than a window, because you will be getting up.
• One adult with two children: remember only one lap infant per adult, so a second infant needs a seat and an approved restraint.
• Whoever is not holding the baby carries everything else. Pack with that division in mind rather than splitting things evenly.
• Agree in advance who does what at security and at boarding. It is a small thing that removes a lot of friction on the day.

How Fond Travels can help

• We check the baby's age against every segment date, which is the mistake that costs families most on this airline.
• We price the lap option against a purchased seat honestly, including what a car seat would mean on a long flight.
• We request the bassinet early and pick bulkhead seating where it exists.
• We flag the infant's passport and visa position as soon as an international trip is mentioned.
• We make sure the infant is on the reservation, in writing, before you travel.
• 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.