2 yo in carseat or lap on airplane?

finally going on our first family trip this winter! SO EXCITED!! :-D

a question. flights open up this week and i need to book them ASAP. the twins will be four and the baby turns 2 while on the trip, itself.
the flight is 3 hours. do i book the baby a seat? or just sit the baby on the lap. part of me would rather pay and have her in a carseat but to save the astronomical fee would be nice, too. i am traveling during school-break so it will be pricey i am sure.

also, how do you configure the seats with the children/parents if there are three kids and two parents? who sits where?

 

It could go either way at a 3 hour flight, but I'd lean toward having an extra seat. When we travel with our two we usually sit one parent in the middle/aisle and the two kids with them, then the other parent sits across the aisle and we switch out periodically. Four is a good age as long as you have an iPad!

 

If you're in the US or on a US carrier, Baby will need her own seat on the return leg after she turns 2 anyway, so you might as well book her a round trip seat. Carseat or no carseat is up to you, what she will tolerate vs safety. Will you be needing the carseat at destination? The Cares harness is a good, safe alternative to a carseat. We used the Cares harness and checked in the carseats with luggage. Parent/child seating will depend on the seating configuration of the aircraft. 3/2, 3/3, 2/3/2 etc. It all depends on the airplane. You should be able to find out the type of equipment when you book flights, then get on the airline website or seat guru to figure out the configuration.