cautiousjon

Hi,

I am going to be flying from LAX to LHR and back with my wife and infant son in March with Air New Zealand in Y. When we booked our flights, we paid the extra to book bassinet bulkhead seats so that our son can sleep in a bassinet. He'll be ~7 months old when we fly.

1. We calculated that our son *should* still fit in the bassinet when we fly, but what happens if he cannot? Will we be moved to another set of seats? If so, do we get a refund of our seat booking charges? If not, can we inform Air NZ sometime before we fly to move us so we can get a refund on the seat charges?
2. We recently read on the Air NZ website that we can request a "special infant meal" with the Customer Services call center. Does anyone know what this will be? Our son will likely be eating at least some solid food by the time that we fly so it would be nice if Air NZ provided something for him.
3. My wife and I both have Global Entry. During my wife's Global Entry interview, the CBP officer told her that if we travel internationally with our son and want to use Global Entry on our return, our son will also need his own Global Entry account, otherwise one of us will have to forfeit it and use the regular immigration line with him. Can anyone confirm that it is needed for <1 year olds? We're happy to get Global Entry for him if necessary.
4. Does Air NZ allow strollers to be gate checked? We plan to check-in our son's car seat at the ticket counter but would like to have the stroller with us while we're walking through security and around the terminal(s).
5. A friend had mentioned that BA has a rule that the infant has to be held when the fasten safety belt sign is on. Does Air NZ have a similar policy?

Many thanks,
Jon

brenrox

IME NZ weren't strict regarding size measurements for the bassinet...from memory my daughter was over the age limit, but on the cusp of the weight limit. They wouldn't move you from those seats though, even in the unlikely event they wont let your infant use the bassinet.

I wouldn't rely on Air NZ for a meal, I would bring my own food. Your infant may not like what they have, so would be a long trip!

I can't comment on the stroller, I always have checked it in at check-in.

smanch

I've done this several times recently with our baby who has now outgrown the bassinet. The FAs usually don't check carefully, and even if the baby doesn't fit, it's convenient to have a spot where you can put him during the flight even if he's not sleeping, while the seatbelt sign isn't on.

Last long haul we did on NZ they had formula, jars of puréed fruit, and some Heinz organic pouches. Nothing too substantial but helpful on top of the food that we brought with us. Don't forget about biosecurity stuff on either end of the long-haul if you bring stuff (toss any leftovers on the plane).

Yes, you need Global Entry (or NEXUS) for all passengers who use it, even if they're tiny infants. We have both for our baby since we travel with him frequently to the US and Canada.

Depends on the size of the stroller but NZ is generally quite nice about this. We usually bring a front/back pack to carry baby in airports and check a larger stroller through.

Yes, when the seatbelt sign is on the baby will need to be in an infant seatbelt, in the bassinet with the cover thing closed, or held. This can be a bit annoying, we were in PE with our kid and there was plenty of room for him to sleep on the floor, but the FAs wouldn't let us. Understandable of course, but would be nice if it weren't the case...

I think I got everything but lmk if you have other questions.