CPMaverick

I have seen them used at least two dozen times across all airlines, and 3-4 times on DL. I've even had the pleasure of being in the window seat in the bulkhead with all three bassinets locked in on a 777 (SQ, not DL)! It's even something I've now considered when deciding whether to reserve a bulkhead or not.

You must be very lucky! Or fly up front.

Honestly I think the reason you don't see it on DL more often is that as stated in the thread already, they don't assist parents in getting seated in the bulkhead as much as other international airlines. Elites fill those seats up more quickly, so the parents don't get a chance to use them.

DLDiamond2013

Never seen a bassinet used ever, either, in all my years and million plus miles of flying.

LonghaulCommuter

As a parent who did a lot travel with my kids as babies, be sure to pack milk bottles and pacifiers for take off and landing. That is essential in helping them equalize the pressure in their ears. Our kids did just fine and didn't cry much at all. Parents who don't know this are the ones with the kids who cry for a long time. The little ones can't help if they are uncomfortable.

CarmenOM

I’ve seen bassinets used many times and used them for my kids 40+ years ago.

KingBraden

Do you fly international coach? I've seen them there a number of times and I fly a lot less than that.

phatcow

Recently flew with my 3 month old on a 777

1) to get a skycot, you must be seated in a bulkhead. i was already in the first row or Economy Comfort so i just went on board adn told the flight attendant that i needed one. If you are not seated in a bulkhead you will not get one.
2) delta one does not have any position for a skycot bulkhead or otherwise
3) make sure you have bulkhead!



the problem with how delta does their seating, they offer no preference for a mom flying with an infant. They prioritize elite status upgrades and EC/FC monetization. which means even though you WANT a bassinet, you wont get one as you didnt opt in and pay for a row that supports it.

a child friendly airline would block the bulkhead for seat assignments at the gate dependent on need, but delta says you are SOL unless you want to pay the moolah.

DLDiamond2013

Not as frequently as domestic, but yes. Both TATL and TPAC. Still never seen one being used. In about an hour I’m boarding an A333 being used on a domestic redeye and will chuckle if one is in use there (seated in Comfort Plus as there are about 40 million people on the F upgrade list - LAX-ATL - and I’m number 11 for either 0 or 1 seats).

Sailandfly

I went into labor in EWR on final approach. 2 days later I flew my newborn son home LGA - SDF. I kept him covered up the entire flight. I was more worried about the recycled air from the pacs and the close proximity of so many people.

He is 22 now. Hearing is perfect.

DLDiamond2013

*Mic drop* LOL

orangeandwhite

This... We used a bassinet on Delta quite a few times. Our experience was that it was our problem to get seated at the bassinet location, but that once you were there, the bassinet is part of the ship's equipment and was consistently available for the asking. The best way in our experience to assure that we'd have the bassinet was to pay up to Economy Comfort. Make sure you book the correct seat in the correct row for the aircraft you're on.

The harder question is getting the bassinet on codeshares, e.g. DL operated by AF. This was hard to nail down in our experience but we always got it in the end... people around you do want your baby to sleep and in our experience will switch to help make that happen.

Be prepared for other mothers on the plane to look on you with astonishment and complain to the FAs that they want a bassinet too / how is it you got one, and criticize their husbands the entire flight for their incompetence as your baby sleeps and theirs does not.

Keep in mind that your baby might well prefer to sleep in a car seat, in which they can stay even during taxi, takeoff, landing and turbulence, so if the seats are not expensive and/or Economy Comfort is a big upcharge, worth thinking about.

For the posters who say he'd rarely seen them used - this surprises me and might be driven by their typical routes. We've been on flights where they have several of them deployed at once.

SchmeckFlyer

We are traveling with a 4 month old infant in economy flying AMS-SEA on an A330. We both have Elite+ status with Delta. We experienced similar amounts of confusion as mentioned elsewhere in this thread, and are somewhat baffled Delta cannot (or will not) assign bassinet positions in advance. In any case, on the outbound we were able to secure a bassinet at check-in without problems (but had to arrive very early); all bassinets were in use. Our baby did not cry, had no pain whatsoever, and did very well during the flight.

The outbound was another story. Just as before, prior to day of departure we received no clarity about bassinet positions and nobody could tell us how many babies were on board. At check-in were told it was not possible to be assigned a bassinet position. In the lounge also no help. At the gate told they were still assigning seats and we would have to wait. Finally, at 45 minutes prior to departure told there were no bassinets available. After questioning the gate agent further (who employed a very rude tone and rolled her eyes several times at us), she admitted all bassinet positions had been sold or given away to status passengers without babies, and she would "certainly not" ask them to be moved.

So, I am to believe that Delta sells it's bassinet positions (right up until the flight has closed for checkin) despite knowing there are babies on board? They would rather earn an extra buck than accommodate passengers with an infant? Is this normal operating procedure? I hope passengers with limited mobility are not treated in a similar fashion. On board the flight, the flight attendants were of little help. In the end, our baby did fine on out laps, never crying. But we were thoroughly exhausted and had a truly terrible flight, not being able to eat, or being able to relax. We are reconsidering flying Delta in future until our kids are fully grown. Anybody have any insight?

Apologies for dredging up an old thread, but was not certain it was worth starting a new thread. Also, it seemed many of the issues mentioned earlier were similar to ours (somewhat shocking nothing has changed, despite all the tear-jerky commercials about inclusiveness and flying to connect people blah blah).

Frogbone

We just came back from a Europe trip with my 4 months old granddaughter. I bought her a seat right away because I knew this bassinet thing is a gong show.

trooper

And for which no extra charge is levied. When you don't have to pay for something it makes it easy for the provider to not take measures to guarantee it.

Frogbone

You still pay the 10% fare for the infant which doesn't take a seat, doesn't eat the food and weighs less than Karen's make up bag.

Costs the airline ZERO

erik123

To get a bassinet fly an airline (if available on your route) that assigns these seats at booking or will reseat a person if needed. E.g. KLM.