baby bassinet onboard flight for 8 month old?

[Frenchy]

We used Cathay from Singapore, and the weight limit for the bassinet was 20kg... the only problem was the size, so we just used it to sit our baby in it, and let him play, and also feed him. It's always easier anyway to have the bassinet seats as you have more place and have nobody in front of you putting his seat in your face, on all when your little one is sleeping on you !

 

[MommyTo3]

Also check on the length of bassinets, e.g. United's bassinet are only 24 1/2 inches, KLM 26 inches. My oldest was born 22 inches tall and didn't even fit anymore at 7 months, regardless of her weight. Bassinets are great for children 6 months or under and/or slightly older kids who are really petite, but otherwise, on the long haul I would prefer an extra seat ...

But if you buy a seat, you usually won't get bulk head (they'll keep that for people who do require bassinets) and in the bulk head row the arm rests (or at least not all) will move upwards, so laying down on those seats is usually not an option either.

 

[shoni]

I just flew Cathay to/from London. I requested a bassinet, but when bubs stretched out she touched either end and woke herself up. So instead we got a 'car' seat, and I put a cushion in the bottom to level it out a bit for sleeping, it worked really well. It also goes in the same place as the bassinet so they are off your lap and no need to buy an extra seat.

 

[tstmum]

I think the Qantas bassinets are longer than the CX bassinets - ours fitted in a Qantas bassinet at about 15 months (admittedly, it was a very tight squeeze and the crew did question his weight, which was below the allowed limit). We flew CX short-haul at a similar time and his feet were hanging over the end - not sure if the CX long haul bassinets are bigger.

Be warned though that if you are travelling to Australia at Christmas the flights are usually very full, and it's unlikely they'll be able to block a spare seat for you. I've flow to Australia numerous times with 1 or 2 kids and only ever had the luxury of a spare seat next to me once.

 

[pangmei]

Thanks all for your replies and tips. We've booked our flights with Qantas, fingers crossed that Finn doesn't get much bigger than 11kg in the next month and a half!