prams, buggies, car seats and flights

[Paulone]

Our boy will soon move from being classed as an 'infant' for the purposes of booking a flight to being classed as a 'child'.

This means he'll get his own seat, but what does it mean if we want to bring his buggy? Do we need to book this in separately and pay for it as if it is a 'bag'?

Only Ryanair (good old Ryanair!) makes it clear on their website that car seats, travel cots and the like are to be paid for. Other's don't and there is a confusing, interchangeable use of the term 'infant' and 'child' on occasion.

Parents of other jetsetting two-year-olds... what's the rule of thumb on this one? I've explored the issue with non-Ryanair check-in desk staff and it seems to be a bit of a grey area - i.e. sometimes they'll let you through and other times they'll make you pay.

I would have thought there would be more clarity surrounding this - after all a two-year-old still needs a pram, kids up to the age of six or seven can still be in car seats and I'm sure they fly more often than people with skis, bowls or snooker cues.

 

[Ceist Beag]

We've never had to pay extra for a buggy so I just assumed it was treated as something you don't have to pay extra for - they just take it when you're boarding the plan to put in with the luggage. I would have imagined car seats are treated as luggage by most but have never brought these with us so can't help out there.

 

[thedon]

Hi Paulone,

Another tread that may be of interest to you.
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=120365

 

[huskerdu]

As a generalisation, all airlines allow a collapsible buggy as hand luggage without extra charge. You are allowed bring this to the door of the plane. This applies to children as well as infants.

As a general rule, everything else is ordinary luggage and must be paid for, for short haul anyway, I have no experience of long haul flights with kids.