Airlines have different rules about travelling infants and how they should be secured. If you pay for your infant to have his/her own seat then that is not a problem. The baby can be easily secured if you have his/her baby car seat strapped on the seat.

Otherwise, you need to do it a different way.

While the plane is flying and the no seatbelt sign is off, you can put the baby safely in his bassinnet (that is, if you are lucky to have been assigned or given a bulkhead seat). However, while the plane is taking off or landing, you need to put your baby on your lap and hold him/her.

And this is where the difference lies.

I have on several occasions been given a child-restraint seat belt (by KLM, as I remember). It's a small belt which I had to put around my baby's waist and which is attached to my own seatbelt.

However, there are several airlines that do not provide this seatbelt, even if requested. When I flew with my baby via Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Rome, I was informed by the stewardess that it is "safer" if I hold on to my son with no additional help from a belt.

I would rather have something should there be, say, turbulence, to ensure that I would be able to safely hold on to my child. A need which Baby B'Air Flight
Vest has answered.

"Your infant wears the Baby B'Air as a vest. Place over the child's head, and secure by adjustable straps on both sides under the baby's arms. Third strap comes up between baby's legs and buckles to the front with another adjustable strap.

After take-off, the parent feeds their seat belt through the loop on the back of the Baby B'Air, refastens the seat belt and tightens seat belt. Your infant can now be held, fed and even changed while both parent and child remain securely fastened in their seat.

The parent can read, eat or even nap knowing their baby cannot fall or pull from their loving arms."

I will definitely get this for my then 4-month old baby's trip this December.

What about you? What do you think?

[as seen on Baby Gadget]