Volaris Infant Policy: Ages, Fares and Where You Can Sit

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.

Because the lap infant already carries a fare here, the gap between a lap and a purchased seat is narrower than on a carrier where the infant travels at no charge. That makes the seat worth pricing rather than dismissing.

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.
• 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

• 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 that 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 establishes the relationship where surnames differ.

The fare bundle decides your flexibility

• The entry-level fare is the most restricted, which is the wrong ticket with a baby — plans change more with an infant.
• Higher fare families allow date changes for the fare difference rather than a penalty.
• Decide before you pay, since upgrading afterwards is harder.
• Count the baggage honestly — on a low base fare your allowance is bought separately, and a baby's kit is not small.

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 the bus for a final leg. Long-distance coaches in Mexico are comfortable and frequent, and avoid a second take-off and landing with a baby.
• 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.
• Ask whether there is a changing table.
• 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

• Assuming the lap infant travels at no charge, as on US domestic flights. A reduced fare applies here.
• Booking an exit row, which an adult with an infant cannot occupy.
• Not checking immigration status before leaving the United States.
• Leaving the baby's passport until the flights are booked.
• Buying the entry-level fare, then needing to change when the baby is unwell.
• Underestimating baggage on a fare where everything is separate.
• 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 include the infant fare from the start, so the baby's cost is not a surprise at the airport.
• We pick a seat the restrictions allow, avoiding exit rows.
• We raise the document and status questions early, because those stop more trips than fares do.
• We explain what each fare family buys before you pay.
• We plan the whole journey including the road leg, which with a baby is frequently easier than a second flight.
• 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.