LamboRich

AA / BA / Virgin - Infant/Child Comparisons
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Hi Guys, I started to do some research into the Infant/Child options and thought it might be useful to add this to a wiki, admins please put this where appropriate.
Thanks
Rich
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Remembering that:
Infant ticket = Lap Child with no seat
Child ticket = discounted ticket for a Child with a seat

------------ American Airlines ------------

AA 1) Revenue AA Lap Child ticket in USA domestic = Free + Tax (This is great value)

AA 2) Revenue AA Lap Child ticket international = 10% of fare (From Experience 20% -> 60%, see note below )

AA 3) Revenue AA Infant/Child SEAT international = 75% - 80 % of adult fare

AA 4) Miles AA Lap Child ticket international = 100% Miles

AA 5) Miles AA Infant/Child SEAT international = 100% Miles (Which is just like an adult)

------------ British Airways ------------

BA 1) Revenue BA Lap Child ticket domestic = 10% of adult fare + Discounted Tax

BA 2) Revenue BA Lap Child ticket international = 10% of adult fare + Discounted Tax (From experience 15% -> 30%, see note below)

BA 3) Revenue BA Infant/Child SEAT international = 75% - 99 % of adult fare

BA 4) Miles BA Lap Child ticket international = 10% Miles + Discounted Tax (This is great value)

BA 5) Miles Infant/Child SEAT international = 100% Miles (Which is just like an adult)

------------ Virgin Atlantic ------------

Virgin 1) Revenue Virgin Lap Child ticket domestic = N/A

Virgin 2) Revenue Virgin Lap Child ticket international = 10% of adult fare + Discounted Tax (From experience 15% -> 30%, see note below)

Virgin 3) Revenue Virgin Infant/Child SEAT international = 75% - 99 % of adult fare

Virgin 4) Miles Virgin Lap Child ticket international = 10% Miles + Discounted Tax (This is great value)

Virgin 5) Miles Virgin Infant/Child SEAT international = 100% Miles (Which is just like an adult)

------------ Notes ------------

On AA with "AA 2) Revenue AA Lap Child ticket international = 10% of fare " from experience if you upgrade J->F, I have paid ($1200-$1800 for F lap child) and ($900-$1500 for J lap child) this is nowhere near the 10% which AA claim and others think. As its 10% of a fully flexibile fare, not what you paid. This is more like 30% to 60% of a ticket with a seat.
Also no meal is provided for an infant and obviously no seat.

dstan

Thanks for compiling this info! Please note that anyone can add information to the FlyerGuide Wiki (that's the whole idea!) I've gone ahead and added a link to this thread to the existing page on Infant Fares. Please feel free to add information to that page as you think appropriate.

http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php...Fares_%28AA%29

Cannonball Run

I'm taking a 20 month old and 3 1/2 year old to PVG in November - Milesavers for the front of the 777 were available - I feel a lot better about the choice -

Great comparisons - !!!

OWdevotee

Thank you for taking the time to put this together. The AA policy on int'l lap children is absurd.

For the amount of money they charge for a lap child in J, I have taken the decision to no longer go the lap child route. Instead, I am buying my infant a Y ticket and upgrading them to J with an EVIP. So AA loses a seat in J when they could, if they were reasonable about their lap child fares in that cabin, keep the J seat for a possible revenue sale AND generate some (hopefully small) amount of incremental revenue from the lap child fare.

farrish11

Thanks for the comparisons! AA 1) doesn't seem 100% correct... flying within the U.S. we've never had to pay a dime, but U.S. to Canada (and vice versa) there's usually $20-25 in fees or taxes.

LamboRich

Yeah, i think your right, maybe i should of said North America ie Miami to Caribbean is still classified as free + Tax, i just wanted to be on the side of caution.

I think also what would be useful is the policy comparison on infants without a seat (lap child) who are under 2 on the outbound and then over 2 on the inbound.

In this situation I think BA has the policy of a complimentary upgrade to an infant in a seat on the inbound. I have no personal experience of this, so not confident to say how it works.

Xero

I know there are many here that might like the "absurd" policy, as it discourages upgrades for parents with infants and therefore, reduces the number of infants in the premium cabins.

Also, AA does not lose a seat in J. If AA knew it could sell that seat, they will never allow a SWU to clear.

If you have a confirmed J and you are trying to upgrade your infant to J from Y, be prepared for complications if the upgrade does not clear.