FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Carseat dilemma - long flight with 14 mo baby
Old Jul 2, 2016, 5:31 pm
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CDTraveler
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,734
Originally Posted by lblatt
Hi, as a newbie (as parent and flying with baby), Id like to ask for some help.

We plan to fly with our (will be in dec) 14 mo from zurich to jakarta, on singapore airline. Having read a lot about safety, we are buying a seat for her. However, the rest doesnt seem to be so simple...

1. Singapore airline only allows forward facing carseat. We plan to buy a convertible carseat, with the hope that we can use it rear facing if we sit in either business or premium economy bulkhead, as space isnt an issue. Our assumption is that if there is space and no other passanger is affected, then why should they care?
- Does anyone have any experience with this?
- If we are forced to use it forward facing, is that safe for a 14 mo? We checked other airlines as well (eg cathay) and they have the same rule.

2. Our baby hates carseat, screams for every minute she is in one (we dont have a car). We will definitely force her to sit anyway during takeoff and landing. However, what about the rest of flight when seatbelt sign is on? We are scared about what to do if she just refuses the carseat (and she is a stubborn one). Does anyone have any experience with this?

3. We initially planned to sit in business, but discovered that the seats are arranged 1 2 1. Thus, unless we put carseat in the alone seat (which will probably make her scream more), my husband and I wont be able to sit together. She is a handful and its much easier to handle with two :-). As it isnt safe for her to sleep outside carseat, the lie flat seat is then anyway pointless. Another option is to sit in premium economy, hopefully bulkhead.
Which option would you choose?

4. If we buy a seat for our baby, can we also have a bassinet in addition?

Thanks very much in advance for your help!
A 14 month old would likely be too big for a bassinet. She might also be too mobile: they're not meant for kids who can walk or climb. You don't want her taking a header out of it at cruise altitude.

A forward facing carseat is far better than no carseat.

Many kids resist the unfamiliar. If you don't have a car and she doesn't routinely sit in a carseat, she may just be fighting the unfamiliar. I would work out a plan to make it familiar before December. Maybe borrow or rent a car and start taking regular drives so that it becomes familiar before an extremely long trip by air. But when it comes right down to it, it should parents deciding where the child sits, not the child. My kid was also extremely stubborn, but the carseat was a battle he never won and he did learn to stop fussing about it.
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