Airplane with toddler?

[Figaro]

This is the first time we didn't get my son his own seat on the plane. All the other times we've flown, we purchased him a seat and used his carseat during the flight.
Since the plane is almost half empty, we decided to risk it and save a few bucks. If no one takes the seat between my husband and me, can we use his carseat in the middle seat? I don't see why not, if no one is using it, but I can't get a straight answer from Delta. Of course, they want the additional $90.
Has anyone done this? Thanks

 

[MickeyMoose15]

They can only do this when they overbooking and place you on a different flight because this is what happened to me. Delta is not very good at giving information. Hoped this helped!

 

[The Mom]

Figaro, I've always spent the extra money. Aside from the safety factor, it keeps the little buggers (can I say that here?) from running up and down the aisles!

As MickeyMoose mentioned, sometimes they change planes at the last minute, have people who have been bumped from earlier flights, or might get a lot of standbys at the last minute. I always hated to spend the extra money, but figured it was worth it to keep him/her safe.

 

[hadleybarth]

We have done this a number of times (although I can't remeber which flights--if any--were on Delta). When we check in we let the ticketing agent know that we are hoping for an extra seat--if the flight is very empty they will block out a seat for you. We just keep the carseat with us until we get to the gate. If the flight is full you can gate check it. Otherwise, I have always been able to use my car seat (and have never even heard of someone being charged for this). The seat itself should be placed in the window seat only (some airlines are very strict about this--others seem to have never heard of this) so as not to obstruct the escape route of a passenger in the window seat. We usually go ahead and buckle in the carseat in the window seat as soon as we board the plane. If a passenger shows up assigned to the row, they are usually more than willing to move to an empty seat elswhere on the plane (no one actually wants to sit next to a toddler during a flight anyway). The one time we had someone who wanted to stay in their assigned row, he was still very happy to take my aisle seat (allowing me to sit next to my daughter) while my husband found a seat elsewhere in the plane.
Even if you cannot use the carseat, remember that your little one is still safer in the air without it than he in a car with it. I hope this helps, let me know if you need any other info we have traveled a lot with our two little ones.

 

[Figaro]

Thanks for all the advice!
If we get bumped to another flight, we're in trouble! We're leaving out of a smallish airport and there are no other direct flights to MCO during the day. We've been taking that flight atleast twice a year for the past 6-7 years and haven't had a problem....yet!
I've been keeping my eye on the flights on the Delta website and so far both flights, there and home, are pretty open. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
We've always purchased him his own seat before, but it's been a tough couple of months and every extra penny saved helps.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

You are Welcome! Good luck on the flight.

 

[faithful]

I have ridden from Arizona to Florida with a toddler in my lap because I did not want to pay for a third seat. Would NOT do it again. EVER!!!! It was memorable to say the least. The plane was full so no seat was allowed. It gets very uncomfortable after the first couple hours. You arrive at Disney worn out before the trip even starts!!! Good luck. I recommend buying the seat!! There are so many specials...try AAA, expedia, etcetera and see if there is some way to book that seat really cheap!!

 

[RogueHabit]

Kind off the topic, but not if you see what I mean.

But, anyhoo, I never heard of anyone using a carseat in a plane before, though I LOVE the idea from a safety standpoint.

When we took our first family trip with a 2 year old, we paid for a seat but had a lot of problems with the lap belt because it simply did not fit very well, and our son kept undoing it because it was such a simple catch.

I will definately be looking into this with my airline before our next trip with our 1.5 year old daughter.

 

[Figaro]

Ratcat, we always use my son's carseat on the plane! It is so much easier and safer! Plus, it helps keep the little restrained in one place LOL.

Usually, if you ask for an infant rate from the airlines, it's about 1/2 price. I think the infant rate is for kids 2 and under.

I would call the airlines directly. We went to a travel agent once and he had no idea what we were talking about. Needless to say, we left THAT office real quick!

We're leaving in 8 days and the flight is still only half booked, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! My hubby will kill me if our son doesn't have his own seat and we have to hold him.

 

[mej]

I have flown from Ireland with 2 kids under 2 years - neither had a seat! It was interesting! We did get bulkhead seats which helped because they had space to play and to lie down to sleep. Mind you, there is always someone worse off - we have friends who are coming home from Thailand for a visit - they have an 11 month old AND newborn twins!