kylechan

My first post on flyertalk =)
My wife and I will bring our 7 month old on JAL flying to Tokyo and Hong Kong. We reserved a bassinet and was asking to get seats assigned right next to it (what they called bulk head seats?). The service rep was saying these seats can't be assigned due to some regulations, and it should be available when we checked in on the date of travel.

Is that true? Is it pretty automatic/easy to get seats right next to your baby, should we check in super early to make sure? Any experience/tips?

Thanks in advance. It's our first int'l flight with our baby so really want to make sure she gets a bassinet and that we are sitting right by there.

Desirees

I have travelled several times with my children when they needed bassinets, however it was only on British Airways. How it works is that they put in for bassinet and bulkhead seating, in fact I could see online we were assigned those seats. In order to get these, I would have to book in advance, and the travel agent would always tell me those seats are not guaranteed and that I would need to check in as early as possible to be guaranteed those.
My tip would be check in as early as possible and rest after you have those boarding passes in your hand. They do reserve those seats for people travelling with young kids who need bassinets, and as long as you are there early there should be no problem getting them. The bassinet seats n BA can be put in a sitting position and a reclining position. My kids preferred them to be in a reclining one even when they were asleep. I felt it safer for them to face the aisle than facing inside since i did not want anyone spilling anything on their heads ( being paranoid as usual!).
I have another major trip coming up in two weeks when I go to India with a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old and no bassinet this time since the 2 yr old is getting a seat by himself and the worries have already begun. Hang in there, everything will be fine, hopefully, the baby will sleep most of the time, of and dont forget to offer the baby a bottle or a pacifier right during take off and landing so that their ears can pop.

D.

erik123

BA is somewhat of an exception as they will even bump their top flyers from (close to) bassinet seats to accomodate an infant - and will pre-assign these at time of ticketing. I am not sure about JL but you should make sure that they make a note in your record that you are requisting a bassinet. I would also ask this question on the JL forum as you may get better info there. As sated, checking in early will help.

Desirees

Your comment, Erik123, reinforces my decision of flying BA whenever I am travelling with my kids to India, just because of their service and their willingness to help families with small children, even though their air fares are a bit more than other airlines flying into CCU...I have had nothing but good things to say about them and i have flown with two small children alone.

travelnutz

Asian carriers always say the bulkheads are reserved for families (with baby bassinets). US Carriers have no such policy. So they are usually assigned by the Travel Agent or at the airport. You can try your Travel Agent and ask him/her to assign you those bulkheads.

foothill

SQ also puts the babies in the 1st row of Y. I once made the mistake of switching seats to the 2nd row from mid-cabin & got no sleep. I think they hold that section for boarding time, so you should be OK.

chebourashka

Just to share our experience with Lufthansa last year with a 18 month old.

I reserved the tickets in advance then the same week I called Lufthansa and reserved the bulkhead both ways, with baby on our lap. When I mentionned that we have a baby, they automatically offered to sit in bulkhead, but we were told that the baby would be too big for the wall bed that they offered.

When we got on the plane and once in the air the crew brought the wall bed for us to try, and it was at the limit for our son. Then they brought a floor bed for him that fits only in bulkhead. He slept there alsmost all the flight.

However a family with older kids in the middle bulkhead got bumped and had to sit somewhere else because there was a lady in a wheelchair who couldn't move her legs. So she seated there with her assistant and at the other window there was another couple with a small baby on the lap.

On the way back, from Italy the personnel couldn't see our flight back to Montreal, so they couldn't confirm bulkhead on transatlantic flight. Even if we booked it they could only see that it was already assigned. We were sure that we have lost our seats. However in Munich we went to the desk before boarding and they reconfirmed that the bulkhead was still under my name and reprinted our boarding passes. So we got it. 3 families with small kids this time in bulkhead.

Usually bulkhead is reserved for families with small kids or people with reduced mobility. If you are not, then they could ask you to change your seat until the boarding is completed.

Try to select the seats in advance and make them to add a note that you are with a baby, normally you won't loose it.

Uniter

I flew Virgin a few years back with our 9 month old. We weren't assigned the first row seats when we bought the tickets, but they went our of their way to make sure we had them for both flights.

Virgin was amazing ... they brought us out baby food and warmed bottles for us without us having to ask. The bassinet was a wonder as well! Plus, the first row gave our baby a bit of room to crawl around have fun. The entire flight from IAD to LHR was perfect thanks to them.

And of course, since our baby was happy and not crying, all those around us benefited as a result.

wbowles

Just a side note, we had a very bad experience with Allitalia with our toddler. They force you to use a lap or bassinet (spilling out on both ends, ridiculous) and do not permit the use of approved safety seats even when space is available. When I protested having our safety seat confiscated (and taken into the other cabin for the flight duration) I wound up being called to the flight deck for a surreal discussion with the captain in flight about why my FAA approved safety seat is forbidden, ending with him informing me that if I wanted my son to be safe I should have stayed on the ground. We met several other disgruntled parents unable to safely secure their kids. This was a DL ticket, so do watch for codeshares.