Expert: Matthew Smith - 6/12/2007

Question
Hi, Is it possible for a 3 year old (looks less than 3) to travel in the plane sitting on my lap and without a ticket? I believe I read somewhere that children over 2 require a ticket. The problem is that I booked my ticket online at a cheap price and I can no longer find any available seats on the same flight for my  3-yr old child. Will the airline have any problems if my child is without a ticket since he will not be occupying a seat? Does the policy vary among airlines? For example , my ticket is on Continental airlines.
Thanks,

Answer
I am not an expert on particular rules such as this, but I can say that I hope your trip is short, or else you, your child, and everyone around you will be miserable.  

It is always best to buy a ticket for a child because children have a strong tendency to fuss and fidget.  And it is even worse when they don't have their own space.  Be prepared for your child to climb all over you, possibly crawl all over your neighbor, to whine, cry, and generally piss-and-moan.  God, I hope I'm wrong, but from what I've witnessed over the years, you are going to make the other passengers really mad.

But at this point you really have no option but to try to get your child on board without a ticket.  Hopefully the people at the ticket counter and gate will ignore the child's age and size.  You may find yourself at the airport buying one of the last seats on the plane, which are always expensive, because you didn't plan ahead.  

How could you "forget" to buy a ticket for your child?  Even the on-line sources allow you to choose children's tickets.  It seems like you thought you could get your child on the plane and now you're worried that you might not get away with it. Next time, just buy a second ticket for your child and you'll save yourself a load of stress.

This is not just directed at the current questioner, but to all parents: please, for the love of humanity, buy your children their own seats.  It makes the travel experience much more pleasant when they can have their own seat.  Otherwise you are imposing on others to accomodate your lack of judgment.