Etiquette: lap infant by myself & clubs, etc.
Aug 27, 2011, 11:49 pm
#16
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: PHX/SFO/LAX
Programs: AA-EXP (1.7MM), BA-Slvr, HH-Diamond
Posts: 7,784
We need bans on children in lounges!!!
Aug 28, 2011, 2:08 am
#17
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Programs: AA EXP 1MM, UA Silver, HHDmd, MBvLTPLT, PCAmb/Dmd, HYT Dis
Posts: 1,579
I guess RCC's do not have a kids area? A lot of the Admirals Club do - has greatly enhanced the value of my membership the past year. My 18 month old son has been on 16 flights with us since last August. My wife and I have started getting to the airport a lot earlier just so we can have some time in the lounge!
Really it comes down to your specific child. Do they travel well and can be easily calmed (i.e. crying stopped with a bottle)? Can they still go to sleep easily on your lap? And do they do ok with the pressure changes? Luckily our son was a yes to all those up until 14 months (and even now he still has no pressure issues and can be easily calmed). At 11 months we took him as a lap child to Thailand and back in J and there were no issues (LAX-BKK; BKK-HKT; HKT-BKK-ICN-NRT-LAX). He practically learned to crawl and pull up in the Bangkok, Seoul, and Tokyo Star Alliance lounges. Everyone was very friendly and seemed to enjoy watching.
Around the same time/age I also did a transcon alone with him in F. We travel with a luna lullaby pillow for him to sleep on, and for that flight it was nice having a little more space up front to take full advantage of the lap radius (this is a big pillow, and in coach it goes into the middle seat). Even if there had been an issue, the woman sitting next to me was a grandmother and would have been fine with it. But there were no issues - just lots of comments about how well behaved he was as we left the cabin.
When they start walking, the lounge part is still ok (even more so with the AA Children's Rooms), but I would think having them as a lap infant in F gets much more difficult if you are traveling alone (i.e. having a stranger next to you). Our experience has been that sleeping positions are harder to come by for our son on flights the past few months, and often he shifts over into the next seat. If you have the F row to yourself with both parents traveling plus the lap infant, then I think you are still ok. At least I hope so - my son's last travel as a lap infant will be LAX-FCO and back in J this December. Morning or red-eye flights have also been the best times to travel. Afternoons not so great.
If your daughter flies well, I say enjoy F while you can. Pretty soon it will be a challenge just occupying her time for 5+ hours. Stickers are useful distractions and I can get about 10-15 minutes out of each of the Duck Duck Moose iPad apps, but would have killed for the extra space in F on our LAX-BWI-LAX travels last week. Unfortunately we were on WN, so no such possibility. And of course in a 3 seat coach row we had our first in-flight issue -- a dropped bottle knocked over the guy's coke in the seat next to us. Luckily he had two kids, his clothes were wash and wear, and between the free drink WN gave him and the 16 drink coupons I gave him, he seemed happy enough. But as far as lap travel goes, everyone would have been much better off had we been up front!
Really it comes down to your specific child. Do they travel well and can be easily calmed (i.e. crying stopped with a bottle)? Can they still go to sleep easily on your lap? And do they do ok with the pressure changes? Luckily our son was a yes to all those up until 14 months (and even now he still has no pressure issues and can be easily calmed). At 11 months we took him as a lap child to Thailand and back in J and there were no issues (LAX-BKK; BKK-HKT; HKT-BKK-ICN-NRT-LAX). He practically learned to crawl and pull up in the Bangkok, Seoul, and Tokyo Star Alliance lounges. Everyone was very friendly and seemed to enjoy watching.
Around the same time/age I also did a transcon alone with him in F. We travel with a luna lullaby pillow for him to sleep on, and for that flight it was nice having a little more space up front to take full advantage of the lap radius (this is a big pillow, and in coach it goes into the middle seat). Even if there had been an issue, the woman sitting next to me was a grandmother and would have been fine with it. But there were no issues - just lots of comments about how well behaved he was as we left the cabin.
When they start walking, the lounge part is still ok (even more so with the AA Children's Rooms), but I would think having them as a lap infant in F gets much more difficult if you are traveling alone (i.e. having a stranger next to you). Our experience has been that sleeping positions are harder to come by for our son on flights the past few months, and often he shifts over into the next seat. If you have the F row to yourself with both parents traveling plus the lap infant, then I think you are still ok. At least I hope so - my son's last travel as a lap infant will be LAX-FCO and back in J this December. Morning or red-eye flights have also been the best times to travel. Afternoons not so great.
If your daughter flies well, I say enjoy F while you can. Pretty soon it will be a challenge just occupying her time for 5+ hours. Stickers are useful distractions and I can get about 10-15 minutes out of each of the Duck Duck Moose iPad apps, but would have killed for the extra space in F on our LAX-BWI-LAX travels last week. Unfortunately we were on WN, so no such possibility. And of course in a 3 seat coach row we had our first in-flight issue -- a dropped bottle knocked over the guy's coke in the seat next to us. Luckily he had two kids, his clothes were wash and wear, and between the free drink WN gave him and the 16 drink coupons I gave him, he seemed happy enough. But as far as lap travel goes, everyone would have been much better off had we been up front!
Last edited by dbuckho; Aug 28, 2011 at 2:41 am