Does the infant need a passport?
Do I have to be a legal guardian/parent to take a child on board?
If I get one of those paks for babies, is it considered another carry-on?

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I have never flown out of the country with a baby except to Canada. I did have to show proof that it was my child, and they even called my dh's brother to verify my story (dh was on the road at the time and not available).

The last time I flew with my children (within the U.S.) I did not have to show ID for them. Baby equipment (including car seat and stroller) was not counted as part of my luggage allowance.

Does that mean if it wasnt your child you wouldnt have been allowed to fly with the baby?

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You do need a passport for infants. A diaper bag is usually considered a carry on but a stroller isn't

Have you ever tried flying with someone elses kid?

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no, sorry

What about with one of those kid backpacks. (either front or back)

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Depending on if you fly abroad or in the US (although I think that law just changed).
You don't need to be a legal guardian, but you need to have a signed note (I'm not sure if it's needs any notarization or what) from both parents that they allow you to take the child on the plane.
By pak you are referring to a backpack that carries the baby? Or an extra luggage piece for baby? Either way, it's not considered like a carry on for yourself, but for the baby.

An infant needs a passport if she/he leaves the country. Within the country, we weren't asked for any id for my son (and didn't have any on us.) No one asked us if he was ours, I think it was assumed.

The baby carrier was not counted. A diaper bag would have been (we just threw the baby gear into my carry on.) We checked the carseat but I don't know if it counted as luggage since we didn't have the maximum anyway.

Car seat is considered a piece of luggage, but sometimes, if they are not fully booked, they allow you to check your car seat.

What if there are no parents, or just one parent?

I meant pak to carry the baby in. Do I have to buy a seperate ticket for the baby?

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If there are no parents (that's SO sad), then you need the legal guardian to sign (again, I assume notarized or something, otherwise just anyone can sign a note). If there is one parent, I'd assume there needs to be some proof of that?

The pak to carry the baby in is (I think) not considered a carry on, but if it's big, they might not have room on the plane for it and you'll have to leave it by the entrance to the plane. You don't have to buy a separate ticket for the baby if s/he's under two (which an infant is), except if you want a seat for baby. Make sure to reserve a bassinet.

If the baby isnt getting a ticket, how does he have a carry-on limit?

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If the kid is under 2 years old you don't need a separate ticket if you can have the kid sit on your lap. However most airlines require that you bring a copy of the birth certificate as proof of age.

Because even though baby doesn't need a ticket, they are still a person and can have carry on (I'm not sure about luggage though).

Only if baby is borderline 9 months. Meaning, if the baby can look like he's ten months old then you might need proof. If the baby is clearly an infant, they don't ask for proof of DOB. However, again, if you are flying international, that's a moot point.

If a ticket is not purchased for the infant, they get no baggage rights meaning no carry ons for them.

I clearly remember taking a carry on for my infant when travelling to E"Y even though we didn't purchase a ticket.

Right, if the kid is under 1 most likely you won't get "carded", however if you dont bring the birth certificate you are taking a risk because you might get an airline agent who is on their first day of the job and following airline policy to the t.It was most likely allowed as a courtesy. Airlines seem to be very accommodating when it comes to parents.

Yeah, I'm talking international, with an obviously infant child. If I dont have any documents (except maybe a handwritten note from the mother) theres no chance of me getting the baby onto a plane?

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Oh, and if the flight is a few hours long, it would pay for you to purchase a seat for infant (10% of the cost) and have a car seat. It's extremely hard to have the baby held the whole time and you can't always get the bassinet (I think the one who yells the loudest gets the bassinet). I'd advise you take a snap n go and then leave the snap n go at the gate, but still have the car seat.

And if you need the snap n go part, I'd gladly lend you mine.

Thats why I wanted to bring along one of those paks you put kids into.

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If you don't have a passport, I don't think you can fly international.

99% chance they ask for a birth certificate and notarized parents note (in addition to passport). I'm just basing this on the fact that the airline would be risking a huge liability if they didn't verify this and you and the infant were not same last name.

No, the pak to carry the baby in (like a bjorn, a mai tai, a sling, etc.) is not counted. You can either fold it up and tuck it somewhere once you get on plane or just keep the baby in it during the flight.

The baby doesn't need a separate ticket because he's on your lap. (Although, when we flew, we put him on my ticket so mine said "Arizona with infant" and his name was listed.



I don't think he gets carry-ons. I think you share your carry-on allotment with him (ie put his stuff in your carry-on.)




Makes sense. We didn't have to bring a birth certificate because he was clearly under 2 (he was about 4 months at the time.)

And if baby has a passport but with a different last name then mine?

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Methinks that's a bit hard with having to carry your luggage, but I might be wrong. I found the snap n go to be a breeze. (Never mind the large basket that you can stuff things in).

You'd be stupid to try it without calling the airline first and determining their procedure for such cases.

Yes. Whenever one of us flies ot the US from Canada with any of the kids without the other parent, we always bring a notarized note from the non-travelling parent.

Then I'd assume they will do some thorough checking on the signed note etc... They will definitely hold you up and do verification. What exactly they'll do is hard to know.

To fly out of the country, yes. Domestic, no.
I believe/assume so.
What is a 'pak'?


It's cumbersome enough flying with my own, why would I want someone else's.


As your child gets older, you should get in habit of taking a birth certificate along. We never did, but then when we flew with our 1-1/2 year old who was walking, they asked for it and of course we didn't have it. We had to call my ob/gyn (whose number I happened to know by heart) and have them fax a letter signing that I gave birth to my daughter on mm/dd/yy as proof. We were lucky that we were flying during business hours, otherwise, I have no idea what we would do. With a non-walking child they don't usually ask us (in fact, on that same flight they didn't ask for baby's birth certificate since it was obvious she was only a few weeks old)


They have always allowed us to gate check our car seat, even on a full flight. We always take it to gate, in hopes of getting a seat for it (if they have extra) and when they don't have a seat, they just gate check it, along with the stroller.


As said above, they are only strict when it could be a questionable age, but not so with a child that is clearly an infant/baby. (based on my experience of flying with infants in the past 4 years - about 2 - 3 times, per year, different airlines)

YES! Best advice so far. Call the airline and ask what their policies are.


(Also, when you say "pak" are you thinking of something like this? Because my answers have been based on that being the case.

Typical policy:

There ya go.

Yeah.

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Internationally, you definitely need a passport, and most likely a notarized permission slip. They won't consider a baby carrier like the one you're thinking of as a carry-on.


An infant ticket IS the 10% ticket- whether they're in the bassinet or in your arms (which IME isn't so terrible, though it depends on the age of the baby). If you want a car seat, you need pay a whole ticket for that. Maybe, if they have empty seats they'll let you- but l'chatchila, if you want that seat for your kid, you need to pay. Just holding a baby is a ticket.

not on every airline it isn't

Internationally it is. Domestic it isn't.

Domestically, no. There's usually no charge under 2.
Internationally- every single international flight (and that's a lot, at least 10 at this point) charges 10% for an infant (under 2). Maybe it's some vast scam to rip us off, but I believe that's how it goes.

I just called british airways, and they said like what some of you were saying, that I would have to buy a ticket for the infant, (which gives the infant carry-on priveleges) and if I have a passport for the kid it probably wont be a problem even with a different last name, but some documentation from the parents would probably be a good idea. (whatever that means). They also said the backpack is considered a carry-on. This could be just BAs policy, not all airlines. I also asked if I can take my hamster on board, but they said no animals except seeing eye dogs. So when I informed her that my hamster happens to be a seeing eye hamster, she mustve laughed for 10 minutes, without even listening to my logic and reasoning.

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Where u flying from and where to?

If I would end up taking this kid, it would be from Israel to England. I dont know if I'm gonna end up doing it, the kid still doesnt have a passport, and I'm still trying to find cheaper tickets.

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Have you tried ThompsonFly ?

Yeah. I couldnt find anybody with very cheap fares at end of feb begining of march time.

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