I have never seen one of these mythical "bands for babies" or seen one being used. I fly internationally (so long flights) so maybe it's more common on shorter domestic flights. However the trouble with them is that you have to have both the adult and the kid strapped in to be helpful, and so many people take their…

If the plane crashes, business class is dead anyhow. Air pockets and turbulence are more concerning because they occur more frequently than crashes. And how is two people (one of them tiny and fragile) strapped into one lap belt even remotely safe?

How well would the little girl do in the event of turbulence, or worse- an air pocket? You realize EVERYTHING that's not secured flies up into the bulkheads when the plane encounters those fairly common events?

Because the law hasn't caught up with planes, yet.

Colour me NOT surprised. I hope they bring a car seat for the girl from now on. Seriously, air pockets or turbulence could send her flying. It's not easy to hold onto even a small baby when you're being tossed around yourself.

Since the child in question is only 3 and has needed her own seat for less than a year thus far, I would be curious as to what their definition of "we've done it lots of times" is. How many times a year does a family of 6 travel on a plane?

Whether or not lap children should be permitted at all is not without controversy. One of the flight attendants who survived the United 232 crash has campaigned against it, as I believe there were a higher proportion of fatalities among lap children. I imagine the idea here is that the smaller the child the easier it…

The FAA recommends children under 40 pounds use some kind of CRS, be it a car seat (up to 40 pounds) or CARES harness (between 22-44 pounds). A car seat would certainly be the only safe option for a child who cannot sit up on her own, as was the case with the child in this incident.

Because airliners want that profit. They know some people can't afford the seat for the tiny baby when going on a family vacation.

Dollars to doughnuts they didn't even bother to bring a car seat on their vacation.

Airline approved - meaning it meets the requirements set by the FAA. It wasn't provided by the airlines, it was my own. Many car seats are approved for airline use as well and you can check on the tag on them that show the installation requirements.

Well, it seems like they've done it before, lots of times (". . . and always flies sitting on one of her parents' laps"), and no one said anything before, so how would they know it would be a problem this time? Instead of springing this on them all of a sudden, why not tell them "OK, next time, you need a safety seat,…

No.

The flight attendant could have handled it better but she was and is right in her objections. The purchased seat was in an entirely different section of the plane. The parents tried to plead that there were no other options but there are several legal and safer ones available.

I wonder how much the family would sue for if they had the kid on a lap and the plane hit turbulence/air pocket and she cracked her head open?

they are. They bought the ticket for her, thinking they can whine their way into breaking the rules. They could have sent the husband in economy, brought their child's car seat and all would have been fine. But they didn't because they suck as people and as parents.

they are called car seats. The parents need to bring it themselves. They chose to save money by buying an economy seat. They suck.

If you have the ability to make this go viral after the fact, you have the ability to find a safe and appropriate solution before the fact. It isn't a state secret that you can use car seat on airplanes. There are special needs groups and car seat groups all over the internet that could have told them what to do. …

The FAA rule that states children over the age of 2 must sit in their own seat (regardless of where it was in the airplane). That is the issue—the child was over the age of 2 and therefore cannot be a lap child. It's not just about buying a ticket, it's a safety issue.

The family in this story is ridiculous and was asking the flight attendant to violate FAA rules. FAA rules do NOT allow "lap children" over 2- even for special needs. There IS an exception for using a non approved device on the plane for special needs- such as a special needs car seat or other medical positioner. …