Flying with a newborn: When is it safe to travel with a newborn by plane? How old does a baby have to be and the best seat to book

There are two aspects to consider before booking a flight with your little one: what an airline will allow and what is actually medically recommended. It’s easy to find different carriers' policies on infants by checking their websites.

Delta and American will allow newborns under a week old if they travel with a doctor's note, while United has a minimum of 1 week old, and JetBlue and Southwest permit babies 2 weeks old. According to Mayo Clinic air travel is typically safe for most healthy, full-term infants after the first few weeks.

Experts caution against flying in the first seven days after a baby is born. Some healthcare professionals suggest not traveling for the first few months. In general, babies and adults face the same risk of exposure to illness from travel. But a baby's immune system is still learning how to protect against germs. And in most cases, a baby's illness needs to be more closely watched by a healthcare professional.

Rubinovaite noted that most airlines allow infants aged 0-2 years to fly for free on domestic or short-haul flights. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) all strongly recommend purchasing an airplane seat for babies and toddlers and using a proper child restraint system to keep them safe from the dangers of turbulence and other in-flight risks.

It is recommended to book a separate seat for each child. If you’re not buying a separate seat for your baby, book a window seat for one parent and an aisle seat for the other one. In that way, there is more chance no one will choose this middle seat.

Having an aisle seat is also best as you don’t have to disturb other passengers when you want to get up and walk around a bit or when you have to use the bathroom. However, if you are breastfeeding or if your baby is sleeping, you may feel more comfortable in the window seat.

These days, many airlines offer special airplane bassinets to passengers traveling with babies. If you want to use the bassinet on planes where it is available, then you’ll want to select those seats as early as you can, which you might be able to do online or it may require a phone call, depending on the airline. They are typically in the bulkhead aisles and are more likely to be found on the larger, internationally configured aircraft.