3314 Car seats on planes

Has anyone flown on Alitalia and used a forward facing car seat? We are due to fly Heathrow to Rome in June and one Alitalia staff member said a seat could be used subject to approval on booking. When we booked we did it through Airmiles and they could not comment on approval. So after booking I phoned Alitalia again and was told they did not accept child seats on their planes! Can anyone suggest anything to help me get this sorted - at the moment we have a seat booked for our 20 month old with the possibility of not being able to use it with her car seat ( have since learnt it is not possible to book a seat for an under 2 year old so we seem to have done well!!!) Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Category
Travel & Holiday Advice

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/18/2006 - 16:33

----------[QUOTE="Alitalia.co.uk"][url=http://www.alitalia.co.uk/information/services/minors.htm]An infant who has not reached his or her 2nd birthday may NOT occupy a seat and must be accompanied by either a parent, or an adult over 18......

Some aircraft have cots for use on board, to be handed back to the cabin staff at the end of the flight.

Our “cot-on-board” service should be booked when you get your ticket. If this service should not be available, you can take your own cot into the cabin, making sure first that it fits in the space available, otherwise it will have to be placed in the baggage hold.[/url][/QUOTE]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/19/2006 - 03:48

Infact infants under the age of 2 years do not have a seat and either travel on parents lap or in the cots provided by the airline.
What you can do is ask at check in if they can leave the seat next to you empty and so you can have space for the baby. This of course will depend on wither the flight is full or not. You will find that check in staff will be willing to do this for you when and if they can.
Remember that infants don't have a baggage allowance either.
Sounds like an uncomfortable ride but I'm sure you will be fine and the flight will be over before you realize it.
Enjoy your flight and enjoy Rome.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/19/2006 - 03:56

We travelled with our 20 months old son, who was a BIG boy :eek: , and bought him a ticket of his own because there was no way I could have him on my knee the whole journey, but was questioned on his age. When I told the stewardess how old he was she insisted he sat on my knee for take off and landing but the rest of the time he was allowed to sit in his own seat.

Paula

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/19/2006 - 13:33

with the advent of hand luggage only with Ryanair - will under 2s count as hand luggage?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/20/2006 - 03:28

Only if under 10 kgs and can fit into the space provided!!!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/26/2006 - 16:53

Thank you for your replies! After some phone calls I have been told we can still have the plane seat for our 21 month old (there was doubt on checking). Phew, our wee one is no light weight either and the trip was not looking too good (and we have escaped the hand luggage limit problem too and dont have to put her in the hold!!) The car seat is a no-no, although we were still told by Alitalia to ask again at check-in and who knows we might be allowed! I have the Rescue Remedy bought and I am just dreaming of the Sunday after travel, I can't wait.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/27/2006 - 04:58

We have always checked in the car seat, why would you need it on the plane, and from my experiance you shouldnt have any trouble getting a spare seat on an alitallia flight