Family seating
There can be more to think about when travelling with a child, so let us help ensure you book the right ticket for their age and clarify our carry cots and car seats.
Seating for infants and children
We want to make travelling as a family as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. To ensure your family has the best seats when you fly, we recommend choosing yours in advance when you book. There may be an additional fee for this.
If you don’t choose your seats in advance, we always do our best to seat your family together based on flight seat availability. This may mean that you’ll be seated in adjacent rows or across the aisle. All children under 12 will be seated with an accompanying adult. It's recommended that children under 12 in Club Suite are supervised and not left unattended during the flight. Anyone over 12 may be seated separately.
If you’re an Executive Club Gold, Silver and Bronze member, you can choose seats for everyone in your booking for free. Make sure you add your membership number to all bookings to take advantage of this benefit.
Travelling with infants
Booking a seat for an infant
If you’d like to book a separate seat for your infant (under 2 years old), contact us and we’ll arrange it for you. Please note that this cannot be booked online.
Selecting seats for an infant on your lap
When you travel with an infant on your lap, you can choose a seat for yourself and everyone in your booking, free of charge, for up to a party of nine. Subject to availability, one person in your booking can choose a carrycot/seat position. If you don’t choose a seat in advance, we’ll select suitable seats for you before the flight.
What if you’re travelling with more than one infant?
When travelling with more than one infant without a separate booked seat, there must be an accompanying adult over 16 years of age for every infant in your booking who will be held on a lap. This is for safety, to ensure that each adult can hold one infant securely on their lap during take-off, turbulence and landing.
When travelling alone with two infants, one can travel on your lap (at the infant fare), while the other can travel in their own seat (at the child fare), if they’re secured in an approved car seat that complies with safety regulations.
If you’d like to book a separate seat for your infant (under 2 years old), contact us and we’ll arrange it for you. Please note that this cannot be booked online.
What if your infant becomes a child during travel?
If your infant turns 2 during their journey, you’ll have to book them a seat for any flights on and after their 2nd birthday. We won’t charge you extra for this, you’ll pay the infant fare for the entire journey. This booking can’t be made online, so please contact us and we’ll happily arrange it for you.
Carrycots and infant seats supplied by us
On our long-haul services, we provide carrycots and infant seats free of charge for babies up to 2 years old, weighing under 12.5 kg (27.5lbs) that can be used in flight when the seat belt signs are off. If you’ve chosen a carrycot seating position, your crew will offer you a carrycot or infant seat for your baby, subject to availability and aircraft type.
Carrycots
Our specially designed carrycots are only for infants up to 6 months old, weighing no more than 8kg (17.5lb), so your baby can sleep in comfort in the best seat on the flight. You can bring your own CoziGo carrycot cover to lessen distractions from light and movement.
Infant seats
Our infant seats can be used by little ones from birth up to 24 months, who weigh no more than 12.5kg (27.5lbs). These seats are secured onto the carrycot position by cabin crew and are adjustable to two positions: reclined or upright. For infants under 6 months, the seat should always be used in the reclined position. For infants over 6 months, either position can be used.
Please note that, even if you’ve chosen a carrycot seat position, we may have to move you and your baby to another seat if there is someone who has greater need for the space, such as a wheelchair user.
Bringing your own child car seat
Children
If you’re travelling with your child (over 2 years), you can bring your own single-piece car seat to attach to their aircraft seat, providing it meets the airline safety requirements listed below. Please note that two-part car seats (a seat and separate base) are not suitable for use on aircraft.
Infants
If you have booked a separate seat for your infant (under 24 months) to travel as a child, you must bring either a child car seat that complies with the airline safety requirements listed below, or an AmSafe system that attaches to the aircraft seat for your baby to sit in during the flight.
If the car seat does not meet the safety requirements, it can still be used, but your infant (under 24 months) must sit on your lap using an extension seat belt during taxi, take off, landing and turbulence. The cabin crew will provide the extension seat belt and show you how to use it when you board the flight.
Please check that your car seat complies with the below safety requirements
- The age/weight of the child is in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
- The width of the car seat should be no more than 43cm (17 inches) to ensure it fits in the aircraft seat.
- The child in the car seat must face the same direction as the aircraft seat to which it is secured.
- The aircraft seat belt buckle must not lie over any part of the frame or under the structure of the car seat after tightening.
- The frame of the car seat must be metal or plastic/polycarbonate material.
- The car seat harness must secure the lap, torso and lower body, but does not need to have five individual straps.
Only compliant car seats or approved seat comfort devices are permitted for use onboard. Any device that obstructs the floor or attaches to the seat to restrict its movement are not allowed.
Travelling in economy (World Traveller) and premium economy (World Traveller Plus)
When using your child’s car seat on board the aircraft, you should choose the following seat positions for you and your child for safety reasons, if they are available:
- All aircraft - In a window seat, with you next to them.
- Larger aircraft - In a centre seat (not on the aisle), with you next to them.
If these seat positions are not available when you check in, please be aware that we may need to move you and your child once on board.
Travelling in business (Club World)
When travelling in Club Suite or on rear-facing Club World seats, your child can only sit in their own child car seat during cruise. For take-off, landing and at times of turbulence, your child must be strapped into the aircraft seat, with the child car seat put away in the overhead locker.
AmSafe Child Aviation Restraint System (CARES)
You can use your own AmSafe Child Aviation Restraint System (CARES) in economy seats for infants and children who weigh between 10-20kg. The AmSafe System is suitable to use in Euro Traveller, Club Europe, World Traveller and World Traveller Plus. It is not suitable for use in First or Club World (including Club Suite) and cannot be used in the rows before, after or on an emergency exit.
Comfort aids permitted for use on board
The following items are approved for use onboard:
- Flyaway Kids Plane Bed:
- Allowed in all cabins, except Club World and First.
- Can be used on a window, centre and bulkhead row centre seat when the person sitting in the window seat is in your party.
- Not permitted in an emergency exit row or on an aisle seat.
- Plane Pal:
- Allowed in all cabins, except Club World and First.
- Can be used on a window, centre and bulkhead row centre seat when the person sitting in the window seat is in your party.
- Not permitted in an emergency exit row or on an aisle seat.
- Jet Kids Bed Box:
- Allowed in all cabins, except Club World and First.
- Can be used on a window and centre seat when the person sitting in the window seat is in your party.
- Not permitted in an emergency exit row, bulkhead row or an aisle seat.
- Cannot be using during turbulence.
Please note, approved seat comfort aids carried separately into the cabin as hand baggage will count as one of your two pieces of cabin baggage. Any additional hand baggage item carried into the cabin may have to be put in the hold and an extra baggage charge may be taken.
Due to onboard safety regulations, the following items or other similar comfort devices are not permitted to be used onboard, nor stowed on the floor of your seat area.
- Seat extenders (including suitcases that convert into a leg rest or bed)
- Leg hammocks
- Baby hammocks
- Inflatable footrests
- Oversized inflatable head pillows
- Flexible seat supports
- All headrest attachments
- Knee defenders
It is not permitted to attach any item to your aircraft seat, including the tray table and arm rests, that would impact another customer’s use of their seat function.
Any seat support must be checked and approved by our cabin safety team.