For many travelers, too many babies on a plane can be one. If that one is crying and sitting anywhere near you.
But in reality, in the U.S., while carriers limit each adult to one lap child, there isn’t an official limit to the number of infants on each flight. In fact a single parent of twins can fly with both babies, simply by buying a seat for one of them.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority, however, limits infants under the age of two to fly on each flight to the number of infant oxygen masks On a 737, the limit is eight. And for some flights next month, Qantas unfortunately accidentally reached and exceeded that limit.
In this case, an Australian organization called Save HomeBirth is fighting the potential outlawing of giving birth at home. And they are having a national rally on September 7, in the country’s capital of Canberra. More than 1,000 women and children planned to attend by going to fly in and out the same day.
Qantas’ computers somehow allowed over 20 babies per flight, then caught the error. So the airline, in a bit of a public relations nightmare, has been contacting passengers and offering refunds and alternative flights.
In Australia there are only two major airlines, Qantas and Virgin Blue, that fly domestically In the U.S. the sheer volume of airlines and flights would make this specific Qantas situation unlikely, even if the FAA were to limit babies.
In the meantime, Jet Blue, however does states that there can be only one lap child per three rows “because of the number of oxygen masks per row.” And the airline also states that they may have to limit the number of lap children on “extended overwater flights” due to limited life vests. Although I have never heard of a baby being denied boarding.
But the Qantas incident does bring up an interesting question: Should there be a baby limit on planes? Not only for safety but for the comfort and sanity of other passengers. Particularly when reduced airline schedules and yield-management systems mean that more and more flights are packed solid with regular passengers.
Unfortunately while it is easy to do a count of masks there is no way to do an advance count on babies who will cry, or for that matter on mothers who won’t change diapers. (On a recent United Express flight a harried mother of three spent most of the thankfully short flight yelling at her older preschool children, while the aroma of her baby’s diaper filled the cabin around her.)
And yes, it’s not just too many babies that can make a flight difficult. Posts about pets on planes routinely generate a great deal of comment on this site, as do the carry-on wars and overweight passengers, just for examples.
But limiting babies would decrease the number of vests and infant masks an airline needs to carry. Also, limiting “lap children” and requiring some parents to purchase seats for their infants would mean more ticket revenue. (And while baby limits would anger families, it might please the all-important business traveler.)
In any case, considering that airlines are looking at every possible way to minimize costs and increase revenue, it seems reasonably likely that someday in the U.S. passengers will also hear, “Yes, we have no more room for babies.”
(Photo: YoYoH_/Flickr Creative Commons)
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
