How many plane tickets do I buy?!?!?

So we are going to upstate new york this summer. There are no non-stop flights from houston, so there will be a layover. The flights are usually around 2ish hours each, give or take. Last year, we bought 3 tickets and it worked great, but they were 5.5 months old, and slept most of the time. They will be about 18 months this time..how many seats should I buy?

I guess I'm asking can I get away with just buying three? or just two and have lap babies? I plan on having lots of treats, elmo DVD's, whatever, and they are typically good kids.

I just wonder if either of them will sit in their seats during a flight?

DH insists we buy 4 tickets....grr....it's like he has this money tree he's not telling me about...oh wait..he doens't pay the bills, haha!

I would LOVE to hear from anyone with experience!

Thanks,
Jennifer

 

My boys are 20 months and we are traveling this month and bought 2 seats. The boys will sit on our laps. I wanted to get 4 seats and dh said we were going to get just 2 seats. I began to ask around and so many people said to sit them on your lap and just buy two seats. We have a dvd player for each of them so that should take up a lot of the time!

 

they may be able to share a seat...my sister in law did that with my niece and nephew and they were 2 and 4 at the time.

eta to add, my niece was ALMOST 2...so technically didn't need a seat

 

I flew with my ds when he was 18mn. He sat on my lap and it was just fine. You may consider 3 seats to have an extra spot, but a 2hr flight should be doable with only 2 seats. If the flight is not full, you may have access to a 3rd seat anyway. Flight attendants usually do not have a problem with that.

 

We did 2 seats right before they turned 2. We flew non-stop from Indianapolis to Houston. It was about a 2.5 hour flight, not counting our flight being diverted to Austin where we sat for 5.5 hours on the tarmac.

I brought along lots of snacks & new activities. I like to sit in the back of the plane even though it is a pain to get back there. Or I ask to sit in the first seats with all the leg room. Sometimes they keep those open.

 

For such a short flight I'd buy just 2 seats.

 

Just keep in mind that if you only get seats for yourself and DH, you will probably have to sit in different rows due to the oxygen. I would probably get at least 3, because if you have to go to the bathroom or something, there is somewhere to put one baby, and either DH or you doesn't end up having to juggle 2 babies at once.

 

We flew with the girls when they were 9 months old and again at 21 months. The first time we bought 3 seats and the second time we bought 4 seats. We were told by the flight attendents on the first flight that as they get older, it is easier if they each have their own seat and their carseat. They said kids do much better in their carseats because they know when they are in them they have to sit still and not run around. They were right and the girls did really good. A lot of the airlines are now changing their rules and only allow one suitcase per seat so we would have to have at least three seats just so we wouldn't have to pay extra for suitcases (although the cost would be less than a seat!)

 

I would only buy 2 seats. When our older girls were little here is what we would do... at check in we would be assigned the outside and window seats, leaving 1 or 2 empty seats between us. The airline usually filled those last, so we would have a row to ourselves. If the plan backfires and you are separated, people are always more than happy to switch seats and not be in the middle. It always worked for us!
Helen

 

Thanks ladies, for all your replies.

BUT...you're answers are all over the place, haha! I think we'll probably go with three seats if I can convince my husband. I just don't want to pay for 4 seats and end up having one or two unused..I could certainly think of better things I'd like to spend my money on.

From past experience, there are NEVER empty seats on our flights...we do this every summer, so I certainly won't hold my breath about getting a freebie.

 

OK, not much experience here, but having flown solo with a 23-month-old last year, I'd say get a seat for each child, or at least get 3 seats. I even had a DVD player and it occupied her for half an hour at most. Plus, if there's a toddler on your lap, you can't reach under the seat for all the goodies and toys! And finally, not only are kids much safer in their carseats, as the flight attendant said, I think they do sit still better that way too.

 

Just do the 2 seats! We flew all the way to London with our 2 on our laps and it was a 9 hour flight :winking0009: They were 13 (almost 14) months at the time and it worked out very well. They slept some, played some, ate some (that was probably the hardest part as space was limited) and were surprisingly good!!

Good luck!

 

With 4 seats, one of you will sit away from the others since most rows are 3 seats. You can look at seatguru.com and see the seating chart of the plane you'll be on. When I flew LA to Chicago with my twins and the nanny, I bought seats for all of us, but we all ended up just using three seats so we could sit together and the twins shared a seat anyway (with the arm rests up).

Best,
Mia

 

I have always bought the 4 seats for us. WHen they were under 2 we got a half price fare for the babies. We lug the carseats on and strap them in. I think it is so much safer and my boys know they have to be seated and buckled while in their car seats. This last trip in Dec the turbulance was so bad that they didn't even let the flight attendance up. I am so glad the boys were buckled in the carseats for that flight. We got seats (need a window) in front and back of each other, so we could pass things back and forth

The family in front of us made the comment that on the next flight they would buy a seat and bring the carseat for their 18+ month old. The little boy was all over the plane and so needed a nap. Our VERY ACTIVE boys slept and watched movies the whole time. Which they would be all over with out the carseats.

 

We just got back yesterday from a trip to California -- 5 hour direct flights in each direction with our 21 month olds. We had 3 seats and and no car seat. It was the best solution for that situation because we had a little extra space for them to play (the middle seat and floor between us), and we all got to sit together. As previous posters pointed out, if you have two seats, you will be separated from eachother because of the oxygen mask issue unless you get really lucky with an emptyish plane. Four tickets mean you don't get to sit together (unless it's a really big plane with banks of 4+ seats). In our experience, when we've sat apart, we've spent the entire trip passing babies and stuff back and forth trying to keep the kids out of the aisle when they decide they want to be with their twin or the other parent (the last time we did that the girls were 18 months). In terms of bringing a car seat or not, although napping might have gone better for us if we had at a car seat with us, the fights over who would have been in it, the play space it would have taken up, and the hassle of carrying it to the gate would not have been worth it.

In your situation with the layover and shorter flights, you might be able to get away with just two seats, but even though the flights are shorter and the kids will have a break in between, the amount of time you are asking them to sit still in one day is a lot. I'm sure it would be an easier trip with three seats.

 

QUOTE(Annie @ Mar 25 2008, 02:26 AM) [snapback]685451[/snapback]
We flew with the girls when they were 9 months old and again at 21 months. The first time we bought 3 seats and the second time we bought 4 seats. We were told by the flight attendents on the first flight that as they get older, it is easier if they each have their own seat and their carseat. They said kids do much better in their carseats because they know when they are in them they have to sit still and not run around. They were right and the girls did really good. A lot of the airlines are now changing their rules and only allow one suitcase per seat so we would have to have at least three seats just so we wouldn't have to pay extra for suitcases (although the cost would be less than a seat!)



OMG, I'm still traumatized from our flights this weekend! We only bought two seats and traveled at night after bedtime (no choice, but duh!). They were so wound up and cried, screamed, carried on the whole time (and it was only a 1 HOUR flight!). Thank goodness there were only 29 people on our flight.

DD was so worked up, she decided to grab, twist, and pull Mommy's hair. Ouch! I almost didn't want to come home. The return trip was much better (also after bedtime) and the only thing we did differently was to not let them run around before the flight. We kept them in the stroller and let them watch a DVD in the gate area, in the hopes they would be calmer and view sitting on our laps as more "freedom" than sitting in the stroller. We had snacks and new toys/book for each leg.

Our kids traveled very well when they were younger, but at this age (17mo), they are way too into their freedom. I totally agree with the above advice. I think kids are used to being in their car seats. They know the drill so to speak when they're in the seats and it's more comforting. If you can afford it, I'd go for 4 seats!

We're going to Phoenix in May (3hr flight) and I told DH we're not going unless we get four seats! I never considered getting 3, but I think the one strapped in might get envious of the "free" one and that might get ugly. I know everyone has different experiences, but I'm done with "lap children" flying, personally. Whew!