Etihad Infant Policy: Lap Children, Bassinets and Fares

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 thirteen or fourteen-hour sector the practical argument is strong too. A baby who does not fit a bassinet and has no seat is on a lap for the entire flight, which is hard on everyone around you as well as on you.

Car seats and strollers

• An approved car seat can be used on board where you have bought a seat, carrying a certification 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.

Documents for the baby

• A passport, including for a newborn. No exemption for infants, and processing takes weeks.
• Any visa or entry permit the destination requires for the infant in their own right.
• A transit requirement where the routing connects, depending on the baby's nationality rather than yours.
• A consent letter where only one parent travels.
• Check by the baby's nationality, which can differ from the parents' within one family.

Baggage for a baby

• Ask about the infant allowance rather than assuming there is none; Gulf carriers are frequently more generous than the US norm.
• A stroller and car seat are generally carried in addition.
• Formula, breast milk and baby food are exempt from the usual liquid limits in reasonable quantities.
• Pack for the whole journey, which on these routes frequently means twenty hours door to door.

Booking a trip around a baby's day

• Fly when your baby normally sleeps where the schedule allows.
• Leave real margin on the hub connection. A tight transfer that works alone is miserable with a pram and a feed to fit in.
• Consider the time difference, which on these routes is usually harder than the flight itself.
• Build a quiet first day into the plan at the other end rather than scheduling anything for the morning after you land.
• 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, because you will be getting up.
• 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 at the hub in advance.
• 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 if the child is on solids.
• Ask which lavatory has the changing table.
• Accept help when it is offered. Crew on these routes see a great many babies.

What families most often get wrong

• Assuming the common 11 kg bassinet limit applies here without asking.
• Requesting the bassinet late.
• Assuming the 10 per cent infant fare buys a seat.
• Booking a tight hub connection with a pram and a baby.
• Leaving the baby's passport until the flights are booked.
• Overlooking transit requirements for the baby's nationality.
• Underestimating the time difference at the other end.

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 get the actual bassinet limits for your aircraft rather than assuming the figures that apply elsewhere.
• We request it at booking and secure bulkhead seating where it exists.
• We get the actual infant fare for your cabin rather than estimating.
• We build in a workable hub connection rather than the shortest legal one.
• We check the passport, visa and transit position by the baby's nationality.
• 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.