My wife and I have picked up our daughter in Korea, but we have yet to leave to return to the United States. My wife was under the impression from others that you could just arrive at the airport and buy the infant lap ticket for about 10% of the ticket price.
However, because I used Orbitz, I am having a bit of trouble. Neither Delta or Korean airlines(the two we used) will change our reservation. I was told to go to the Delta office in Incheon airport on the morning of our flight and buy the ticket for our infant there.
Does this sound right to you? Is it a big deal getting an infant ticket?
How old is your daughter, and how long’s the trip?
When we took our first Tiny Girl to visit the grandparents in Britain, we had resrvations for seats just before the bulkhead, where there were pull-out bassinets. This definitely needed to be arranged in advance.
If your daughter is more than 10kg she wouldn’t fit in one of those, so in that case I don’t know. I certainly would try to get it organized a bit more in advance than just turn up at flight time though.
To be honest, it doesn’t sound right to me. Any time I’ve travelled witn an infant, I’ve booked a ticket for the infant at the same time as bookign my own ticket. Yes, it only costs about 10% of the adult fare and doesn’t come with a separate seat, but the airilne still wants you to get a ticket.
In this day and age, buying tickets on the day for international flights is rare. Sure, you’re not dependent on seat availability, but the airline may still have a quote for the number of infants it will carry on any particular flight. Cabin-service-wise, an infanct passenger is not negligible.
Plus, the airline needs to clear your daughter’s passport/visa status before she can board; if there is any problem at all with this, you really want to find out about it before the morning of the day.
If I were you, I’d go in person to a Delta/KAL office with a credit card and all my daughter’s travel and identity documents, and I wouldn’t leave until I had a ticket for her, on the same flight as me, clutched in my hot little hand.
I’ve been told by Orbitz, Delta, and Korean airlines that we must get a “paper” ticket for her at the counter or office. Apparently, this is no big deal and we can do it tomorrow before we leave. We just go up to the counter or office and tell them we have a baby, who is under 2 years of age and less than 20 pounds(she is 15 pounds). I guess they just charge us 10% airfare and print a paper ticket.
Otherwise, we have to shove her in a suitcase and check her.
Seriously, though, please pray that we can make this work. The airlines and Orbitz are a bit annoying.
It seems to me that we flew with my son (domestically) when he was an infant, and were not charged a ticket to have him seated on our laps. I don’t remember the carrier; it was probably US Air or Southwest since that is what we usually use.
It wasn’t that long ago, about four years. Is it different for domestic flights, or have they changed the rules lately, or do different airlines do it differently?
Domestic flights typically don’t charge for infants, but you do need a ticket for international flights. As mentioned, it’s usually about 10% of the fare plus any international taxes and fees. I’ve never heard of infant quotas on flights, so I think you’re fine buying the ticket when you get to the airport.
And by the way, congratulations and best wishes for an easy flight home!
International flights do charge about 10% of the total airfare for babies.
Little Mahaloth was able to get a ticket at the Korean Airlines desk on the day of flight. She then sat in a bassinet and on our laps, and crawled around for the 14 1/2 hour flight like a little trooper.
She is safely home and in her crib napping, unaware she just flew around the planet.
