Making the booking

If you have an infant i.e. a child under 2 years, then you do not have to purchase a seat for them - they are allowed to spend the flight on the lap of an adult. Many people, however, prefer to purchase an additional seat, and take a car seat onto the flight, to allow the child to have their own space and provide a more comfortable experience for everyone. This obviously does increase the cost of the overall flight, however.

If you don’t wish to purchase an extra seat for an infant, then try to arrange to get a ‘bulk head’ seat. These are the seats that have cots allocated to them, so between take-off and landing, your little one can be placed in a travel crib or seat (provided by the airline) in front of you. These seats however are very limited and under great demand, so plan and book early to get these if possible.

When making a booking, also consider the seat layout of the plane. If you are travelling with two adults and two children, for example, but the plane has banks of three seats together, then think about how to split up - is it better to have a row or three seats, with the fourth the other side of the aisle? Or is it better to to have two rows of two seats, one couple behind the other?

Undoubtedly, reserving your seats in advance is highly recommended, as although airlines will make efforts to keep families together, this cannot be guaranteed on the day.