Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I agree. Basinettes encroach on the space of other passengers. They might make sense if the baby is traveling with two parents where the basinette is placed in front of both of those parents and no other passengers, but I've seen parents traveling with a lap brat deliberately only take one basinette seat and book a separate aisle seat a few rows back for the other adult (and of course refuse to move when someone sitting at the basinette position notices the traveling companion who seems to be the father and kindly offers to give the parents two seats together with the baby). Maybe in former times babies were more likely to be traveling with both parents and both of the parents either wanted to be seated near the kid or at least both felt responsible to attempt to care for the kid on board to minimize inconvenience to other passengers.
The first time I travelled transatlantic with my daughter I was given a bulkhead seat at checkin with a bassinet travelling alone with a 6 month old, at the time of boarding the two seats next to me were empty (I was on the aisle in the middle 4 and there was someone else on the opposite aisle) then a couple asked to move, they'd already passed me and seen I had an infant but asked to move for the extra leg room and then complained about the bassinet (they sat in their own seats for takeoff and landing)