Charge for a lap child

[DVCisME]

I leave for vacation on Tuesday and just saw that Spirit is now charging $25 each way for a lap child. Seems a bit ridiculous to me. I am just annoyed because we bought our airfare back in January. You would think when you start charging for something you have never charged for before you would give ample notice. It would have made more sense, at the time, to buy a seat for my infant than pay $50 and struggle to keep him seated on my lap. I guess they weren't making enough money charging for every piece of luggage!

 

[CarolA]

Yes, it would have made more sense to pay for a seat for your infant..... Hopefully this charge will get people to do that going forward.

 

[DVCisME]

Why would it have "made more sense..." to just buy a seat if the fee was not imposed?

 

[CarolA]

You asked...

Because it is MUCH safer!

 

[DVCisME]

I personally do not feel it is safer. God forbid there was an incident, I would have to struggle to unbuckle the car seat for my son to be taken out. And I didn't ask anything, but thanks anyway.

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

If you get a good spirit sale, it may be cheaper or the same price to buy the seat than pay the 50 for a round trip. Also it is easier to keep a child in their own seat vs. on your lap.

 

[DVCisME]

That's how I felt; if I had known in January when I purchased our tickets it would have been financially worth purchasing a seat. But now at such a late notice, we're stuck. And it stinks that now we have an extra $50 to figure into our budget.

 

[Lewisc]

God forbid there was an incident, I would have to struggle to unbuckle the car seat for my son to be taken out. And I didn't ask anything, but thanks anyway.

Then why do the states require use of car seats in motor vehicles?
You'd have to "struggle" to unbuckle the car seat in the event of an accident.

The reason passengers elect the "lap baby" alternative is to save money.

Don't insult our intelligence by claim lap babies are safer.

 

[Laura.bora]

Then why do the states require use of car seats in motor vehicles?
You'd have to "struggle" to unbuckle the car seat in the event of an accident.

The reason passengers elect the "lap baby" alternative is to save money.

Don't insult our intelligence by claim lap babies are safer.

yeah except when you crash in a car, a carseat could keep the baby safe - or at least help protect him from more serious injuries. You crash in a plane, a car seats not going to prevent you from burning to a crisp as the plane hits the ground and catches fire.

 

[tlens]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/01/10/injuries-landing.html

There's no way you could hold onto a lap child in a situation like the above.

My co-worker had a similar incident on her flight back from the Dominican Republic. Those not buckled flew into those that were.

But yes, I agree with you, people who were previously booked should not have had to pay this fee. It should have been told for bookings after a certain date.

 

[taitai]

The overwhelming majority of injuries on planes come from turbulence. A lap child has very little protection in those instances. If you hit some really bad air, no way will you be able to hold onto the kid and the kid is going to go flying into the ceiling or window or another passenger and get very, very injured. Really, only being strapped into a properly installed car seat will keep a kid safe.

While I agree a lap child fee should have been grandfathered in somehow, I also strongly agree that all children should have their own seats.

taitai

 

[CarolA]

I personally do not feel it is safer. God forbid there was an incident, I would have to struggle to unbuckle the car seat for my son to be taken out. And I didn't ask anything, but thanks anyway.

Well, I am sorry but your wrong!

Statistically it's safer!! Do you hold your child in your lap in the car? If you do, then I guess this is OK on the plane too.

But the reason the law requires a child in a CAR SEAT in the car is that in the event of an accident the "force" is likely to injure the child, send the child flying through the car and out the window for example. If a CAR can do that, then what do you think a JET can do? And the truth is that g-forces that occur during a crash landing would RIP the child out of your arms.....

Your big risk is NOT fire! It's turbulence or an emergency landing! So when you hit turbulence and junior goes flying up, hits the ceiling ..... (And I have seen ADULTS fly out of thier seat!!!)

 

[robind]

I definately agree that the OP should not have to pay the charge - it's like the fuel surcharge the cruise lines are now charging- if you already paid for your cruise - you don't have to pay the surcharge.

Just a quick comment to another poster - neither a car seat or a lap child is going to survive a crash and burn. However, a car seat is much safer in the cabin when turbulence hits. When I was flying on British Airways they had a special lap 'seat belt' that fit thru the regular belt and then the lap seat belt was like a little 'cradle' to hold the child in. I have no idea why this isn't approved for use in the US.

 

[DVCisME]

I was not trying to start a debate. I was venting about the new fee being applied to my own vacation. I have decided to take my son as a lap child and feel fine in making that decision. Thank you all for your information regarding the safety issue, hopefully it will help others in making their decision.

 

[mickey2000]

Just goes to prove Spirit is also feeling the pinch! How much longer can they continue to offer very low rates and still deliver the product months later !

 

[Brian Noble]

The rules allowing lap children are an exercise in choosing the lesser evil.

It is absolutely true that lap babies are less safe than those in their own approved seat. However, lap babies are also much more safe than a child in a car making the same trip---even in an approved, properly installed, and properly used car seat.

As I understand the FAA's decision making process, allowing lap babies reduces the family price point, which enables more families to fly rather than drive, and so overall, there are fewer injuries.

One can debate the wisdom of that decision process, but a reasonable person could agree with it, just as other reasonable people might not.

 

[bicker]

It is indeed safer to travel with a child in a safety seat, rather than as a lap child. In an accident, lap children become projectiles, resulting in significantly more harm to the child, and indeed lap children represent greater risk to the passengers around them, in an accident.

 

[dis-happy]

I've never understood why seatbelts aren't required on school busses. Seems like a far greater risk than lap children on planes to me.

Not to add fuel to the debate or anything, but there was that plane crash a few years ago where the only survivor was a lap child. A young girl, age closer to 4...it took them awhile to figure out who it was because she was too old to be a lap child; I guess her parents fudged on her age, back in the days when airlines took your word for it.

 

[jodifla]

I've never understood why seatbelts aren't required on school busses. Seems like a far greater risk than lap children on planes to me.

.

Our newspaper ran a story on this...and basically, it was that it would cost $800 million to outfit school buses with seatbelts, and would save something like 2 lives a year on average.

About 11 children a year are killed on buses, making it much more statistically safer then riding in a regular car. And frankly, not all young kids could get themselves out of a seatbelt in case of a fire....my kindergartner couldn't. He doesn't have the hand strength for many seat belts.

 

[jodifla]

I was not trying to start a debate. I was venting about the new fee being applied to my own vacation. I have decided to take my son as a lap child and feel fine in making that decision. Thank you all for your information regarding the safety issue, hopefully it will help others in making their decision.

When you fly Spirit, you have to expect the worse, I've found. I firmly believe they'll charge for bathrooms soon, or for each breath you take on the plane.

There's nothing they won't stoop too...however, if you can get a good enough flight price, it can be worth it. Their physical planes are pretty nice and are newer.