La Première with an Infant
 

My wife and I are flying to CDG with our 15 month old infant. We booked through Delta and are flying a Delta plane to CDG and an Air France plane on the way back to the US. We're doing infant in arms on both segments and already paid Delta the nearly $1,000 for the infant ticket which is confirmed on both segments.

Here's the problem...we're flying Delta One / Business on the way to CDG, but on the way back we're flying Le Primere / First on Air France. Looking at Air France's website, it appears infants must have their own seat in Le Primere. What are we supposed to do at this point? I'm thinking we leave it alone and let it get sorted out at the airport. It could be a rule they don't actually enforce or they could force us to downgrade to Business where infants do not require their own seat (in which case Delta would hopefully provide some sort of compensation). My fear is that calling reservations now to sort it out will either result in cancelled tickets or crazy fees.

:eek: mon dieu....:eek::eek::eek: an infant in first....quelle horreur ....non non...pas possible...:cool:

From what I see here, there's a requirement for an extra ticket that you don't have. So I see a few possibilities:

- They'll allow it (not sure how likely this is as it's clearly stated)
- You can't board until you buy an extra ticket against current max-fare price at the airport ($$$$$), as you're missing a ticket for 1 passenger. Subject to availability.
- You get a downgrade as you say, but you're risking availability here as well. Chance is that you'll get stranded on a later flight because J is full.

Honestly, I wouldn't risk it. I'd just call and ask what the options are. They're not just going to blindly cancel your ticket because you ask for information on what you can do.


edit: but I do agree here with the others. Having a 15 month old infant in F.., I wouldn't be happy (bit of an understatement) as a fellow PAX in that cabin.

= Volatus horribilis for the other pax.

People with experience of flying F on AF will tell you what their experience is. Last time I flew F was too long ago but knowing how exclusive AF La Premiere product is, I would not be surprised they did not let you take your infant with you without his seat.

This rule is obviously to deter people flying with infants; unless one is afloat with cash, who would pay a La Première fare for an infant????

Here's the problem? There are other problems than you mention such as breaking the rules they have in place for a purpose. The F cabin on AF is advertised as a quiet oasis away from it all. A screaming infant on a lap? Isn't that a problem? Maybe not for you, but for the person paying $10,000 one way for F it could be a big problem. Why shouldn't AF protect them?

Did you book the RT through Delta and they are including the infant in the record? Isn't Delta breaking the AF rule if that is the case? Or, maybe the infant isn't confirmed at all and you have no ticket for it. In that case wouldn't the infant be considered a stow away and not even listed on the fight manifest if AF allowed it to board without a ticket? Worrying about this the whole trip could spoil the trip. I would vote for taking care of the problem before leaving on the trip.

I agree with others and I think you should take care of that before the trip - otherwise you're gonna be worried about it until the day of and will put a damp on your vacation.

As others also mentioned, flying in La Premiere with an infant sounds like a terrible idea. This is indeed a very exclusive and serene place, and people will HATE you there if you have a screaming child (and understandably so when they paid 6-10k for their ticket). This will make for a very unpleasant flight for not just them but also for you as you'll have to deal with even more judgment than in other classes.
Additionally, unless you are used to fly La Premiere often and so the novelty has worn out for you, it's really an experience that has so many things to enjoy and take advantage of that having an infant with you will probably prevent you to do so.
So I'd say go in business, and maybe save the La Premiere trip for a couple thing.

I know, I know, the horror of flying with a baby in first.

Thanks for the advice, I'll likely give Delta a call and see what can be done.

The infant does in fact have a ticket on all segments, his own ticket number and everything. So I think the Delta agent made a mistake when allowing us to purchase the infant in arms ticket.

Could you provide a website link regarding AF infant policy in P?
That seems strange.

For what I may read on Air France terms:

This pertains to "General Conditions of Sale for La Première ground services at Paris-Charles de Gaulle"

Tried a mock booking and got following message : "You have chosen to travel in La Première cabin with a baby. To better meet your needs and facilitate your installation on board, we invite you to contact us at the number reserved for you."

Seems to indicate there is an issue....

Yeah, it's written on this page in the reduced fares section: http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common...er_enfants.htm


==
If your child is under 2 years of age:
he or she can travel on your lap at no extra charge on flights within metropolitan France, or at a reduced fare on international flights,
you can also reserve a seat for your infant and benefit from the fare reduction listed above.

Please note: you must reserve a seat for your infant if you are traveling in the La Première cabin.

==

I really think worst case scenario I'll be moved to business at the airport and two lucky people will be bumped to first. Worst case scenario if I call, I'll be forced to have my tickets reissued at today's rates for business which are probably even higher than I paid for first. Had I not checked Air France's website (after I booked the tickets) I wouldn't have even known about this policy.

Are you sure it is the worst case scenario?

Can't you be denied boarding altogether as you infant's ticket is not a valid ticket and you have to purchase a new one, but your F ticket does not allow it and you have to purchase a new biz ticket?

Think OP has a contract with Delta for transport in F from CDG given that he paid for the infant and has a ticket issued for said infant on the flight. Air France could certainly deny boarding and/ or require the purchase of a new ticket, but would think OP would be well within his rights to go after DL for the additional cost incurred. That said, compelling DL to do the right thing could be a tremendous hassle.

I'd recommend calling AF and explaining the situation, see what they say. As someone who has travelled quite a bit in the last year with an infant, I'd say you don't want to have to be dealing with this uncertainty on travel day. Given that DL sold a ticket for the lap infant and you paid for it, I think it is up to DL to work it out with AF. If you have no luck with Reservations, I wouldn't hesitate to call corporate.