The last flight of our Christmas trip to Europe had us flying from Seoul Incheon to Shizuoka on the Korean low-cost airline Jeju Air. Like on the flights we took with our baby daughter before that, we traveled with her as an infant on lap.
Continue reading to learn more about our experience and the things you need to know when traveling on Jeju Air with a baby.
2 Ways You Can Travel with a Baby on Jeju Air and the Infant Fare
The definition of infant on Jeju Air (like on ANA for example) varies slightly between domestic and international flights:
- Domestic flights: At least seven days and under two years old
- International flights: At least 14 days and under two years old
Newborns under seven days old on domestic flights and 14 days old on international flights need a medical certificate to travel. Children that reached two years need a child ticket until they become 12 years old. From 12 years old onward, a regular adult ticket is required.
As for infants, i.e. babies under the age of two, two ways of travel are permitted:
- Infant on lap: Your baby will not have their seat and will instead need to spend the flight on your lap (hence the name). In this case, your baby’s ticket will be free on domestic flights and 10% of the adult fare on international flights (with babies exempted from some taxes, etc., the total ticket price will most likely be less than 10% of the adult ticket price).
- Infant in seat: To reserve a seat for your infant you will need to call Jeju Air and pay the child fare.
On short flights, you should be fine with flying with your baby on your lap. On longer flights, you should strongly consider booking a seat for your infant as Jeju Air doesn’t offer bassinets (more about that in the next section).
You will also need to book a seat for your infant if you want them to fly in an approved car seat or if you are the only adult traveling with two infants (only one infant on lap is allowed per adult). In the latter case, you will need an approved car seat too since infants cannot travel in their own seats otherwise.
One more thing you should keep in mind is that Jeju Air only allows one lap infant per row of three economy class seats. As such, if you are a family of four traveling with two lap infants, you will not be able to sit next to each other unless you travel in BIZ LITE seats.
Baby Bassinets on Jeju Air
Like many other low-cost airlines (and many full-service airlines on narrowbody aircraft), Jeju Air does not offer baby bassinets on its flights.
In general, that is not an issue given that most of the airline’s flights – both domestic around Korea and international to destinations in Japan and some in China – are relatively short. For example, our flight from Seoul to Shizuoka was about an hour and a half long, and at that duration, it was perfectly manageable without a bassinet.
That said, if you are flying between Seoul and Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Siam Reap, etc.) or the Pacific (Guam and Saipan), you might want to consider airlines offering bassinets. These flights can be well over four or even five hours long and at that point I would only consider flying with a lap infant without a bassinet as the very last resort.
Flights from Seoul to Hong Kong, Macau, and parts of mainland China can add up to over four hours of sitting on a plane too when accounting for the time it takes to board and get off.
Infant Baggage Allowance and Stroller Usage on Jeju Air
Whether a Jeju Air infant ticket includes free checked baggage allowance or not depends on the route and fare type:
- Domestic infant tickets do not include free checked baggage allowance regardless of fare type
- International infant tickets excluding flights to/from Guam and Saipan booked in BIZ LITE or FLYBAG fare come with 10 kg of free checked baggage (no pieces limit)
- Infant tickets to/from Guam and Saipan include two free checked bags (up to 23 kg each) when booked in BIZ LITE fare and one free checked bag (up to 10 kg) when booked in FLYBAG fare
- International infant tickets booked in FLY fare do not include free checked baggage allowance
Separately from the above, you will also be able to check in a stroller free of charge. The stroller will be tagged at the check-in counter but you will be able to use it up to the aircraft’s door (unless it can fold to a carry-on size). You will then generally be able to pick-up your stroller at the aircraft door when you arrive at your destination.
In terms of carry-on baggage, Jeju Air’s website does not specify what carry-on baggage allowance infants get. However, it says (italics mine) “Each person can carry 1 carry-on suitcase baggage and extra baggage (laptop, briefcase, handbag) into the cabin, in addition to your carry-on baggage.”
As such, presumably, the same restrictions apply to your infant’s carry-on baggage as to your own:
- One main carry-on bag (up to 40 x 20 x 55 cm)
- One personal item (up to 35 x 15 x 40 cm)
- Combined weight of no more than 10 kg
We had no problem taking all of the carry-on baggage we had with us onboard.
Baby Carrier Usage on Jeju Air
When traveling with an infant, a baby carrier can be a lifesaver, both during the flight but also during take-off/landing if your infant doesn’t like being restrained with the standard seatbelt extension. That said, some airlines like Jetstar Japan prohibit the use of baby carriers onboard.
Luckily, we had no issues using our baby carrier on our Jeju Air flight. In fact, Jeju Air didn’t provide us with a seatbelt extension either so the baby carrier was a perfect way to keep our daughter secured throughout the flight.
Baby Meals on Jeju Air
Being a low-cost airline, Jeju Air doesn’t offer free meal/drink service (other than water). While it does have an extensive buy-on-board menu, you would be hard-pressed to choose something your baby might be able to eat.
As such, in addition to baby milk and water (liquids restrictions at security do not apply to your baby’s drinks and food), you will also want to make sure to bring onboard some snacks and/or more substantial food if the flight is during your baby’s meal time.
Seoul Incheon Airport Baby Facilities
If you are departing from Seoul Incheon Airport and want to give your baby a chance to move around a bit, make sure to visit one of the airport’s playgrounds. There are multiple throughout the terminal that Jeju Air uses. We visited two of them and they were both quite nice.
Diaper changing and other baby-related facilities are fairly abundant at the airport too.
Summary
Being a low-cost carrier mainly operating short-haul flights and only operating narrowbody aircraft, Jeju Air does not offer baby bassinets. Because of that, you might want to avoid flying the airline with your baby on some of its longer routes like Seoul – Bangkok. On shorter flights (personally, I’d say up to two hours), holding your baby on your lap is not much of a deal.
Other than that, flying with a baby on Jeju Air is perfectly fine. Just make sure to check your baggage allowance and to stock up on baby snacks/food before heading to the airport.
