Travel with Children - Buy seat for 18m old or lap carry with 3 adults? SIN-SFO

Hi all. I'm travelling from SIN-SFO on SIA economy. Am booking my flights with Krisflyer miles. Unfortunately infant (under 2) seats cannot be booked with miles, and so I can either pay US230~ for lap child fare or US 1200 for an actual seat (and install her in the carseat). I have the option of having my parents accompany me if I don't buy my 18m infant a seat. Then we would just take turns having her in our laps. Cost-wise it's still cheaper (by 400 USD) to have my parents come with me. Parents can also use our Krisflyer miles for free economy tix. However choosing between the two options is making my head spin. I'll list the factors in bullet-form.

-None of us have travelled long-haul with an infant. This is baby's first flight. Usually sleeps well at home though.
-Flying red eye SIN-SFO, and then taking a red eye connection (no other combinations work)
-If buying a seat for her, I would have to purchase either 1. a very expensive carseat in SIN or 2. have my husband handcarry a carseat from the USA as she has outgrown her infant seat.
-If doing lapchild option, I would buy a CARES harness and use it if we can find an empty seat, or in the case of true emergency strap her into a seat and try to find another empty seat on the plane for the displaced adult (not sure if this is doable, just my idea)
-I could use the help from my parents if they came vs. inconvenience to them.
-I'm reading that its best to allow a 1.5 year old her own space?? vs. I'm not sure she will sit in her seat if we purchased one because she hates carseats.

hoping to hear some constructive crit or just honest opinions. Thanks!

Just out of interest could you not use the CARES harness if you bought a seat for her, rather than having to buy a car seat?

My own daughter was happy to sit in a seat (no car seat) on a plane at 18 months, as i don't drive I never travelled with a car seat and she also disliked having to sit in one, as she travels in cars so infrequently

If 3 of you are able to travel i wouldn't see the problem of sharing lap infant duties, i took my own daughter LHR-HKG as a lap infant at 20 months, travelling alone and managed well enough, so it is possible :)

Good luck!

Personal preference here, but I'd never take a lap baby on a flight like that, especially an older one for whom a bassinet is not possible. I think it's just as important for the parents to be rested during the flight as it is for the child because after all, someone's got to be ready to chase the child and be up when she's up despite the jet lag, and so on.

You could even skip a car seat and use CARES or perhaps even use nothing at all except the regular seatbelt, but regardless of what you decide to do there, I'd buy a seat. You could probably manage the lap thing just fine with three people, but do you really WANT to, you know?

I think a child who is a good sleeper in a crib at home will not necessarily translate to a good sleeper in the arms of others in an airplane because there is just way too my change - the position, the excitement of the whole airport/airline experience, and so on. I think your child is most likely to sleep when he or she can get into a more comfortable and familiar position by laying on the seat of the airplane, perhaps with their head on mom's lap.

Yes, but lying with her head in mom's lap means mom is trapped. She can't get up to use the restroom or whatever. IMHO, that defeats the purpose of getting the child her own seat! I want to be able to sleep too, change position, etc. without being pinned under my child.

Having the car seat on board is the safest solution. It depends on your car seat and what Singapore accepts. They're quite generous, if your seat is American, Canadian, Australian, etc. approved for air travel. The seat has to face forward though so no infant buckets.

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/travel-information/wheelchair-mobility-aids/travelling-with-children/

Why would you have to buy an expensive seat in the U.S.? The Scenera is FAA approved and is only $40-50. There are other inexpensive seats you can use and you'll need a convertible seat anyway.

I once booked a seat for an under two by adding a year to my child's birthdate. Once I got to the airport, I explained the situation and it was fine. It wasn't Singapore Air but you could see if not using miles is just a "glitch" in their computer system or whether it's because it's really not allowed. I kind of don't see the logic in that so in your shoes, I would call them and see if that can't be skirted around somehow.

With so many adults, you could probably share lap duties but they need to help you out!

A major criteria in my book would be do you need the car seat at your destination? If so, having it on board is a good idea. You know it'll get there in good shape and can use it right away.

For a toddler, I recommend learning to change her standing up. Airplane changing tables are small and 18 year olds often wont cooperate lying down in strange places. Also schedule a well baby doctor's visit a few days' prior to flying. While it's a myth that children need to drink on take-off and landing (please let her sleep!) flying with an ear infection is painful. Make sure her ears are clear and healthy.

Here are my non-commercial flying tips. It's long so just skip to the parts that are relevant to you.
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com

Hi all. I'm travelling from SIN-SFO on SIA economy. Am booking my flights with Krisflyer miles. Unfortunately infant (under 2) seats cannot be booked with miles, and so I can either pay US230~ for lap child fare or US 1200 for an actual seat (and install her in the carseat). I have the option of having my parents accompany me if I don't buy my 18m infant a seat. Then we would just take turns having her in our laps.Have you telephoned the airline to make sure that an under-2 can't travel on a FF ticket? I see that you can't book an infant fare FF ticket, but I wouldn't automatically assume that means an under-2 can't travel on one. My son did 2 FF trips in his first year, we just had to use the adult mileage calculator for his tickets, albeit that was on 2 other airlines.



p.s. no way would I attempt to travel that far with a lap child of that age. does she walk? is she used to being confined/held without respite for that many hours at a stretch?

Already called the ticketing people. They don't allow infant seats (lap or otherwise) to be booked with miles. Cash only. She does walk some now @ 14 mos. I guess by 18mos she might be even less willing to be confined. She does not do well in her carseat at all though.

Edited: I see what you mean by asking if she can go under an adult fare. Have not asked specifically about that, but I won't be surprised if they refuse. No harm trying I guess.

Yeah, I agree that mom is somewhat trapped with the child's head in her lap. I also totally agree that carseats are the best and safest option. I was just trying to think outside the box a little for a family who doesn't own a carseat and doesn't need one for any reason except this flight.

When I take a trip, we do carseats

..Unfortunately infant (under 2) seats cannot be booked with miles, ...

you most certainly can book an award seat for an infant, you just don't get any discounts

Already called the ticketing people. They don't allow infant seats (lap or otherwise) to be booked with miles. Cash only. She does walk some now @ 14 mos. I guess by 18mos she might be even less willing to be confined. She does not do well in her carseat at all though.

Edited: I see what you mean by asking if she can go under an adult fare. Have not asked specifically about that, but I won't be surprised if they refuse. No harm trying I guess.If you get her a FF tix in the child category for her to have her own seat, I can not imagine when you attempt to board the plane the anyone would say, "Oh, she's actually under the age limit for children, so you must instead purchase an infant ticket for her." If she has a valid ticket in her own name for her own seat, does anyone here think the airline would refuse to allow her to fly? Or make the OP purchase another class of ticket on the spot?

No, you definitely don't get to book infant fares with FF miles on any airline that I know of, but many/most/all of them allow you to book a ticket for the child using the adult mileage chart - i.e. same number of miles that your ticket, or a grandparent ticket, would cost. Try doing it electronically, and if that doesn't work, then phone them. I'm guessing if you have enough miles for multiple transpac tickets, you likely have status and could a priority line to help you with the problem.

Thank you all! Navigated ticketing phone morass and obtained a seat for my child using FF miles. :) Now the only questions are whether to carseat or CARES, and whether grandparentals wish to come with us.

I would use the CARES as it is so much easier to lug around the various airports. I would check the carseat if you need it after you land.

It's not a good idea to check car seats as luggage. They are often damages and lost by the airlines. The OP has three other adults so taking the car seat should be a no brainer!

If i read the OP's post correctly they don't have a car seat, please correct me if i'm wrong

Yes, we don't have a carseat (yet), although we will need one in the US. Have decided on travelling with CARES because the thought of buying carseat in US, schlepping it to SIN as luggage and then travelling back with carseat on the plane is daunting.

CAREs is not without its issues, but I'm hoping that since my child will be 18 mos at time of travel, it will not matter too much.

Edited to add: Grandparents decided not to travel with us, so its me and my toddler in two seats.

Thank you all for the concrit.