Infant seat British Airways

Reece_

We're looking at visiting family in San Diego in March, we would have our 7 month old with us. We would rather pay for him to have a seat we can put him on in his car seat but whenever I search for tickets, if you put an under 2 year old on it automatically sets it to an infant on lap.
We've read that we should call the airline to sort out his seat, my question is; can we book two adult seats first then call BA to arrange this or will we need to book everything with them when we call? It's mainly because of how much cheaper flights are when going through comparison sites than direct.

richardw

Reece_ wrote: »

.. It's mainly because of how much cheaper flights are when going through comparison sites than direct.

Who do you want to book with?
I only trust Expedia.
For the overnight return SAN-LHR would he be be too big for the bassinet?

Caz3121

Reece_ wrote: »

We've read that we should call the airline to sort out his seat, my question is; can we book two adult seats first then call BA to arrange this or will we need to book everything with them when we call? It's mainly because of how much cheaper flights are when going through comparison sites than direct.

If you were to do an online searching at all I would look for 2 adults and a child....however
Many of the third parties that advertise on the comparison sites do not have live pricing....there can be a significant difference between the price they advertise and you submit a "booking request" for and the price they can actually issue a ticket for. (have a look at the Air Travel forum on Tripadvisor and plug in some of the third parties you may be interested in into the search field)
If you book with a third party they will control your ticket and the airline cannot make any changes and will refer you back to the third party. These third parties have fees for any changes so I suspect that a booking like this would end up costing you more than booking direct.
It is maybe something a travel agent could help you with but the edreams, travegenio, travel2be, opodo, kiwi, bravofly, lastminute etc etc are online ticket sellers and not hat I would regard as proper travel agents and contracts should be entered into very carefully ensuring that you fully understand what is included and the terms and conditions, fees etc
- if you want hold luggage then it is best to purchase a ticket that includes this rather than a hand luggage only ticket and having to add bags on after. The airline website will show you side by side the comparison...third parties tend to sort by price so you may need to scroll pages before you get to a fare that includes bags

sherpa_2

I travel with British Airways regularly, London to Buenos Aires and other shorter haul flights, and have done so with my 2 kids from infancy. I've never found that you can actually buy a flight cheaper through a reseller directly with them. (Having said that, sometimes there are combinations of flights that are easier to buy through another website eg flying out with BA returning with Iberia).

I've not seen someone use a car seat for in infant on their flights, though that's maybe because of the cost of buying another seat. They are allowed, though bear in mind that they have to be front facing (if you are in economy) and "The aircraft seatbelt buckle must not lie over any part of the frame or under the structure of the car seat after tightening." - I'm not sure how easy that would be to achieve.

I've always just used the BA basinettes which were ok - I also, with my son, used slings, which were great when they were little, for getting around the airport and on the flight (for some of the time, at least).

I think you could go ahead and book the two adults, then call up and book the child seat and add it to the booking. However, if you call them they are quite good at telling you the best way of doing things - however, if you call first thing in the morning you are better placed to get through to a UK call centre - not to disparage staff based elsewhere, but UK staff have more agency to choose not to charge admin fees for example - they don't have to stick to such a strict script (which is pretty infuriating).

novelty-socks

Not sure if relevant, but one thing to note with BA is that they're one of very few airlines to offer a small seat for your baby that can slot in in place of the bassinet. It's great for larger babies - we used it on a couple of long-haul flights where my son (~10 months, at the time) wouldn't have fitted into the bassinet.

Rather than booking an extra seat and taking a car seat, it might be an option to consider.

Photo here: https://images.app.goo.gl/yqTFF7wyzodSV5dp6

In answer to your specific question, I don't know, but given how airline reservations and ticketing usually work, and the requirements around children travelling with adults, I would be very surprised if BA will let you buy a single seat for an infant on a separate ticket.

cubegame

Reece_ wrote: »

We're looking at visiting family in San Diego in March, we would have our 7 month old with us. We would rather pay for him to have a seat we can put him on in his car seat but whenever I search for tickets, if you put an under 2 year old on it automatically sets it to an infant on lap.
We've read that we should call the airline to sort out his seat, my question is; can we book two adult seats first then call BA to arrange this or will we need to book everything with them when we call? It's mainly because of how much cheaper flights are when going through comparison sites than direct.

You shouldn't even be considering going through an agent with a BA booking. They have a double the difference price promise.

leylandsunaddict

You're doing the right thing booking a seat and using a car seat. It's the safest way for them to travel. They're well secured with a 5 point harness and are in there for the most dangerous parts of the flight. Also they're securely restrained just in case you encounter unexpected turbulence. You will have to ring BA though to book a seat for an infant.

Also the bassinets and child seats supplied by the airline aren't guaranteed. They're subject to availability on the day so if you go for that option you may end up without one.