Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Caron Gremont: Obesity's Officially a Disease, So How Come My Child…
Karri-Leigh P. Mastrangelo: Am I Going to Hell For My Position on…
Conjoined twins - one seat or two?
Filed under: Just For Moms, Babies, Places To Go
When Mandy Bailey decided to fly from Phoenix to Baltimore to visit relatives, she planned to carry her 1-year-old conjoined twins on her lap to avoid the expense of buying a seat. She was paying for her own seat as well her sister-in-law Shar Lybbert's with her Delta frequent-flier miles, but her travel plans hit a snag when Delta insisted that she buy a seat for her twins.
Federal Aviation regulations allow for children under the age of two to sit on the lap of an adult rather than purchasing a seat of their own. But regulations also stipulate that an airline must provide "enough oxygen for each passenger carried" on flights traveling more than 15,000 feet up. Obviously, this situation was a little outside the norm and Bailey wanted an exception to be made.
"They mulled it over for a day. .. and got back to me and told me 'this is all we can think of' and then said to call American Red Cross to see if they'll pay for it," said Bailey. The airline explained that "there needs to be (an oxygen) mask for everyone" even though both girls would be sitting on her lap. Her daughters, Taylor and Emma share a heart, but each girl has her own lungs.
I guess Bailey made some noise about the situation and after a call from a reporter, Delta backed down and agreed to let the girls fly for free, with Bailey and Lybbert sitting next to each other and presumably sharing their seat's oxygen masks with the girls. But the happy ending is still up in the air, as Bailey and Lybbert are scheduled to return on different flights.
I am happy for this family that Delta has made concessions, but I am also confused. How many oxygen masks come out of that overhead panel? Is there one for each seat or two? If there are two, then the unless the seat next to her also has a lap-child, there is still an available mask whether she pays for it or not, right? And if only one mask per seat comes down, then how does the parent provide oxygen for even one lap-child?
Federal Aviation regulations allow for children under the age of two to sit on the lap of an adult rather than purchasing a seat of their own. But regulations also stipulate that an airline must provide "enough oxygen for each passenger carried" on flights traveling more than 15,000 feet up. Obviously, this situation was a little outside the norm and Bailey wanted an exception to be made.
"They mulled it over for a day. .. and got back to me and told me 'this is all we can think of' and then said to call American Red Cross to see if they'll pay for it," said Bailey. The airline explained that "there needs to be (an oxygen) mask for everyone" even though both girls would be sitting on her lap. Her daughters, Taylor and Emma share a heart, but each girl has her own lungs.
I guess Bailey made some noise about the situation and after a call from a reporter, Delta backed down and agreed to let the girls fly for free, with Bailey and Lybbert sitting next to each other and presumably sharing their seat's oxygen masks with the girls. But the happy ending is still up in the air, as Bailey and Lybbert are scheduled to return on different flights.
I am happy for this family that Delta has made concessions, but I am also confused. How many oxygen masks come out of that overhead panel? Is there one for each seat or two? If there are two, then the unless the seat next to her also has a lap-child, there is still an available mask whether she pays for it or not, right? And if only one mask per seat comes down, then how does the parent provide oxygen for even one lap-child?
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Community Comes Together After Twin's Death
When a set of Indiana twins got into an accident on their way to school, only one survived. Community members and counselors gathered at the high school today to show support and some wonder if wearing a seat belt could have saved 18-year-old Mike McCord.
-
The Seat Alhambra
Learn about Seat Alhambra MPV, which is the almost identical twin of the VW Sharan
-
2013 Ford Explorer Sport 0-60 MPH Mile High Drive and Review
The new 2013 Ford Explorer Sport is a family hauler, but it's also the fastest Explorer that you can buy. Under the hood of this Crossover rocket is Ford's 3.5L V6 Ecoboost twin turbo engine that comes straight out of the Ford Taurus SHO. In other words, think of the 2013 Ford Explorer Sport as an all-wheel-drive Ford Taurus SHO that can seat up to 7 people. In this TFLcar drive and review we find out just how fast the Ford Explorer Sport with go from 0-60 MPH @ a mile above sea level.
-
TFK Trends for Kids Stroller Review
At the ABC Baby & Kids Expo, Gear Daddy got the lowdown on the latest baby strollers from Trends for Kids. These strollers are great for dads, especially a tall dad like Daddy Troy. TFK shows off a few of their jogging strollers, including a double stroller perfect for parents of twins or for a pair of siblings. Their tandem stroller can hold two bassinets and Graco and Peg Perego car seats. They've even got a jogger stroller with a skateboard attached.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-05-2007 @ 11:07AM
MamaChristy said...Usually there is one addiditional mask to the number of seats in a row. Three seats, fours masks. Not enough for everyone to have a mask in this unusual case. What would they have done if these two people happened to each have a lap child and happened to be sitting next to one another? Not enough masks, but who are you going to force to pay for the extra seat?
Personally, I think it would have been totally fair for the airline to require her to pay a nominal fee to have an extra portable oxygen tank at their seats. I know that they have these suitable for use on planes and asking her to kick in part of the cost to have one on her flight would not be asking too much in my opinion. Tough situation, though.
Reply
10-05-2007 @ 11:16AM
Bridget said...What would they have done if these two people happened to each have a lap child and happened to be sitting next to one another?
They would make the two people split up across the aisle. We flew with our twins as lap babies a few times and we always had to split up. It's a PIA, and in this case, simply impossible since the babies can't be split up.
Reply
10-05-2007 @ 11:40AM
Anji said...What happens if a single mother travels with non-conjoined twins?
Reply
10-05-2007 @ 11:40AM
Amanda said...I'm glad you posted this article! my best friend is pregnant with twins and has a baby who is 10months old. when her husband returns from Iraq, they are going to fly together back to california where he will be stationed. I'll have to warn her about this!
I agree with mamachristy... I don't see a problem with having to pay a little extra for an additional oxygen tank.
Reply
10-05-2007 @ 1:52PM
Trisha said..."What happens if a single mother travels with non-conjoined twins?"
Only one lap child is allowed per paying adult. So it that case one seat would have to be purchased.
If you have two lap children and two adults you still can't even sit next to each other because (at least on Delta) ther is only an extra mask on one side of the plane, so you would have to sit a row behind the other adult with lap child.
Sounds like a sticky situation for both Delta and parents.
Reply
10-05-2007 @ 5:10PM
CLM said...According to one airline person I spoke to recently, some airplanes actually only have a few designated rows where there are 4 instead of three masks. Typically, they are the bulkhead row, row 5, 9, 17 and 19 (there may be a couple more but these are the ones I remember). My husband and I have twin boys, so we must either sit across the aisle from each other on one of these rows or sit in separate rows.
All Delta had to do was make sure there were only 2 people on Bailey's row and there would have been sufficient air masks for all.
Reply
10-05-2007 @ 5:31PM
Judy said..."All Delta had to do was make sure there were only 2 people on Bailey's row and there would have been sufficient air masks for all."
That's fine if the plane isn't full, but that's rather rare nowadays. Otherwise Delta isn't unreasonable about needing a seat paid for in order to have an oxygen mask for each person. From what I've read, this wasn't an arbitrary decision.
Reply
10-05-2007 @ 8:11PM
SKL said...I had to buy three full-fare seats (plus a lap seat) to travel together with my mom, my 9-month old, and my 12-month old.
I assume they get two tax deductions, child tax credits, etc., to make up for these extra expenses . . . .
Reply
10-06-2007 @ 7:27AM
Stephanie said...When my friends traveled with their infant triplets, each of the parents had to sit in their own row, plus their 12 year old daughter had to sit with a triplet in a third row. Their 10 year old son sat with their 2 year old son in a 4th row.
Reply