Selling Travel 101: The Latest Rules for Babies on Airplanes
by John Hawks

Airlines operating flights within the United States follow very strict guidelines for infant passengers that have been handed down and enforced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). You may hold the baby in your arms during takeoff and landing times (as a "lap child"), but many parents choose to bring along an FAA-approved child-restraint device so that they do not have to hold the baby throughout the entire flight. (Some airlines do not permit booster seats or vest- and harness-style infant restraints, even if those devices do meet federal safety standards. You should check for your clients with the airlines you've selected for their trips.)

Here's the basic rule on putting an approved child-restraint device in the seat next to you: If the seat is empty when the flight takes off, then your clients may put the device in that seat (with their infant safely stowed inside it) at no extra charge. However, if they want to guarantee that they will have that empty seat next to them on the flight, you must reserve the seat ahead of time for them and they must pay the fare to hold it.

Even if the infant travels in their lap for the trip, most carriers will charge your clients an infant fare of 10 percent of the typical adult fare. To encourage parents to use child-restraint devices, some airlines will give discounts (50 percent or more) on the cost of the empty seat, so that traveling parents can count on having room to use their child-restraint device. If your business travel clients enjoy the legroom of exit-row seats, remind them that they will be barred generally from sitting with their infant in emergency exit row, or even the row immediately ahead or behind the exit row (based on the flight attendant's instructions).

On longer international flights, you can contact many airlines ahead of time to set up logistics such as infant meals or changing tables. Gulf Air even employs "sky nannies" who help passengers traveling with babies on board!

Don't forget that infants must now have a valid U.S. passport (even if they are only months old!) and that your clients who are traveling alone with their babies should always carry a notarized letter of authorization from the other custodial parent giving permission for the trip (to prevent "baby snatching" incidents).