Lap Infant Award Ticket: How Infant and Child Award Travel Works

Booking award travel for a family becomes more complicated when one traveler is under two years old. A lap infant award ticket does not follow one universal pricing rule across airline loyalty programs.

One airline may charge a small number of miles, another may collect 10% of an adult fare, while another calculates the infant as a percentage of the adult award. Children who need their own seats can follow completely different rules again.

Quick Answer: How Do Lap Infant Award Tickets Work?

A child under two can usually travel without occupying a separate seat, but that does not always mean the infant travels free.

Here is the basic comparison:

The difference means the cheapest adult award program is not always the cheapest program for the entire family. A 60,000-point Business Class seat can look excellent until the infant charge adds hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Why a Lap Infant Award Ticket Needs Separate Planning

A lap infant award ticket is usually connected to an adult reservation, but the infant still needs to be documented correctly. For international travel, that normally means an actual infant ticket must be issued even though the baby does not occupy a seat.

The cost can depend on:

• The loyalty program used for booking.
• Whether the flight is domestic or international.
• The operating airline.
• The adult ticket or award price.
• Taxes and carrier-imposed surcharges.
• Whether the infant occupies a separate seat.
• The child’s age on each date of travel.

This last point matters especially when a child turns two during the trip. Several airlines require a child who reaches age two to occupy their own seat, which can completely change the mileage requirement.

When planning for multiple travelers, read How to Book Award Seats for Families in 2026 before transferring points. Family award availability is often harder to secure than the mileage balance itself.

Does a Lap Infant Need an Award Seat?

Usually, no. A lap infant under two does not occupy one of the regular passenger seats. Therefore, you generally do not need to find a separate award seat from the airline’s award inventory. However, that does not mean you can simply arrive at the airport with the infant.

The infant may need:

• A ticket number.
• Passport details for international travel.
• Applicable taxes.
• An infant fare.
• A mileage charge.
• Addition to the adult passenger’s reservation.

The exact process differs by program. That is why you should confirm the lap infant award ticket rules before transferring points into an airline loyalty account.

How Does a Delta Lap Infant Award Ticket Work?

A delta lap infant award ticket works differently depending on whether the trip is domestic or international. Delta allows an infant under two to travel in an adult’s lap without purchasing a regular seat for travel within the United States. Delta’s published child-travel policy says international travel requires a ticket regardless of whether the child occupies a seat.

For an international lap infant, Delta says the cost is usually approximately 10% of the adult fare, plus applicable international taxes and carrier surcharges. Those extra charges can sometimes be significant.

If the accompanying passenger is traveling on a SkyMiles award, contact Delta Reservations to confirm how the infant will be priced and ticketed before finalizing your plan.

Delta also requires a purchased ticket when the child:

• Is age two or older.
• Turns two during the trip.
• Will occupy their own seat.
• Needs a seat for an approved child restraint.

Delta’s SkyMiles rules state that award pricing terms for children and infants occupying award seats follow the applicable adult award rules. This makes Delta a program where the adult mileage price alone may not show your family’s total travel cost.

How Does an Air France Lap Infant Award Ticket Work?

An Air France lap infant award ticket booked alongside a Flying Blue reward requires more manual attention.

Flying Blue explicitly tells members traveling with an infant under two on a reward ticket to contact Flying Blue Customer Service. Its program terms state that an adult traveling on a reward ticket must reserve the infant according to the applicable airline’s infant tariff.

For Air France-operated flights, Air France currently gives lap infants under two a 90% discount from the applicable fare, meaning the infant generally pays 10% of that fare. An infant with their own seat instead requires a child fare. Flying Blue also has a particularly useful family benefit for older children.

Children aged 2 through 11 traveling with an adult receive a 25% discount on reward tickets when booked through the Air France or KLM website. That discount can make Flying Blue especially worth comparing for families needing several seats. Use the Flightpoints Miles Calculator to compare mileage requirements before transferring flexible points, then factor the infant charge into your final calculation.

How Does an Air Canada Lap Infant Award Ticket Work?

The Air Canada lap infant award ticket is one of the easiest to understand because Aeroplan publishes a specific award policy.

For an infant under two who does not occupy a seat:

• Travel entirely within Canada: no infant fare.
• Travel between Canada and the United States: no infant fare.
• Other international itineraries: C$25 or 2,500 Aeroplan points per direction.

Applicable taxes, fees, and charges can still be added. For example, a round-trip international Aeroplan booking outside the Canada-U.S. exception could require 5,000 Aeroplan points for the lap infant if you choose points instead of the cash infant fee.

Only one non-seat infant is permitted per accompanying adult under Aeroplan’s Flight Reward policy. Children aged two or older need their own seat and their own Flight Reward reservation. The same applies if the child turns two during the journey.

Aeroplan also warns that infants traveling on partner-operated award flights remain subject to the operating partner’s infant restrictions. This is important when your Aeroplan booking includes carriers such as Lufthansa, ANA, Turkish Airlines, or another Star Alliance airline.

How Does a British Airways Lap Infant Award Ticket Work?

The British Airways lap infant award ticket uses one of the clearest percentage-based mileage rules. British Airways Club states that an infant under two traveling without their own seat costs 10% of the Avios required for the accompanying member’s Flight Reward.

So if the adult award costs 50,000 Avios, the infant portion would generally require 5,000 Avios, before applicable taxes and charges. This can be much easier to predict than programs that tie the lap-infant cost to a paid adult fare.

However, if the infant requires their own seat, British Airways charges the full Avios amount applicable to the destination. Children aged two or older also require the full Avios amount.

British Airways separately explains that infants under two can either travel on an adult’s lap or use their own purchased child-fare seat with an approved restraint system. For expensive premium-cabin awards, remember that 10% of a large Avios price can still be meaningful.

Which Lap Infant Award Ticket Is Cheapest?

There is no single winner for every trip. Aeroplan is particularly predictable because it caps many international lap-infant awards at C$25 or 2,500 points per direction.

British Airways is also predictable because the infant generally requires 10% of the adult Avios amount. Delta and Air France rely more heavily on infant fare rules connected with the ticket and itinerary.

A simplified comparison looks like this:

The cheapest option therefore depends on both the adult award and the infant charge. A program requiring 10,000 more miles for the adult could still be cheaper overall if its infant ticket costs only a few thousand points.

Child Award Tickets Are Different From Lap Infant Tickets

Once a child occupies their own seat, the rules change. Do not assume a child award automatically costs fewer miles than an adult ticket.

For example:

• Aeroplan requires a normal Flight Reward for children aged two and above.
• British Airways charges full Avios for children and infants occupying seats.
• Delta generally applies standard award pricing rules to occupied award seats.
• Flying Blue offers a valuable 25% reward-ticket discount for children aged 2-11 traveling with an adult.

Families therefore need to calculate two separate costs: award availability and award pricing. Finding four seats is the first problem. Determining whether those four passengers all require the same number of miles is the second.

Search for the Whole Family Before Transferring Points

Finding one Business Class award seat does not mean four passengers can book the same flight. Airlines release award inventory separately from regular cash inventory, and premium cabins can have very limited availability.

Before transferring points:

1. Search for the full number of required seats.
2. Check the adult mileage price.
3. Verify the lap infant policy.
4. Calculate child award pricing.
5. Confirm taxes and carrier surcharges.
6. Only then transfer flexible credit-card points.

Flightpoints can help identify award availability across loyalty programs before your points become locked into one airline. If you are deciding between two programs capable of booking the same route, the Flightpoints Miles Calculator can also help compare the mileage requirement.

Remember the Cash Cost of a Lap Infant Award Ticket

A low mileage requirement can hide an expensive infant fee. Imagine a Business Class award costs 70,000 miles plus $100, but the international infant ticket adds another $500. Your effective redemption cost is now very different from what the award search initially displayed.

Before booking, calculate:

• Adult miles.
• Child miles.
• Infant miles or cash fare.
• Taxes.
• Carrier surcharges.
• Partner booking fees.
• Seat-selection charges if relevant.

You can put the full award cost into the Flightpoints CPP Calculator to check whether the miles still provide strong value after the cash charges are included. This is particularly important when comparing premium-cabin family travel, where a percentage-based infant fare can become expensive.

Should You Book the Adult Award Before Adding the Infant?

That depends on the program. Some loyalty programs let you include infant information while booking, while others require customer service to add or ticket the infant afterward.

Flying Blue explicitly requires members traveling with an infant on a reward ticket to contact customer service. Delta also directs travelers needing discounted international infant tickets toward Reservations.

Because procedures vary, confirm the infant-ticket process before transferring points. You do not want to move a large flexible-points balance into one program and discover afterward that the infant cost makes another program significantly cheaper.

How to Book a Lap Infant Award Ticket Without Overpaying

The best process is straightforward:

• Find the award seats first. Search the adults and children who require seats.
• Check infant pricing second. Do not assume “lap infant” means free.
• Compare loyalty programs. The same airline seat may be bookable through several programs.
• Include taxes and surcharges. Infant charges can materially change redemption value.
• Avoid speculative transfers. Keep transferable points flexible until all passenger costs are verified.
• Confirm ticketing. Make sure the infant receives any required ticket number before departure.

The Flightpoints family award guide goes deeper into finding multiple award seats, splitting searches, booking one-way awards, and timing family bookings around calendar availability.

Is a Lap Infant Award Ticket a Good Deal?

A lap infant award ticket can make premium family travel dramatically cheaper because you avoid redeeming a full Business or First Class award for a child under two. But the savings vary widely.

Aeroplan’s fixed 2,500-point international infant price can be extremely attractive. British Airways’ 10%-of-Avios model is easy to calculate, while percentage-of-fare models can become much more expensive on premium tickets.

The important lesson is simple: never judge a family award by the adult mileage price alone. Search the flight, confirm the number of available seats, calculate every passenger’s ticket, and compare the total cost before transferring your points.

FAQs

Q: What is a lap infant award ticket?
A: A lap infant award ticket is the ticketing arrangement for an infant, usually under two, traveling without their own aircraft seat while an accompanying adult travels on an award booking.

Q: Do lap infants fly free on award tickets?
A: Not always. Delta allows lap infants to travel free on eligible domestic U.S. trips, while Aeroplan charges C$25 or 2,500 points each direction on many international awards. British Airways generally charges 10% of the accompanying adult’s Avios.

Q: Does a child need the same number of miles as an adult?
A: It depends on the program. Aeroplan and British Airways generally require full award pricing once a child needs their own seat. Flying Blue currently gives children aged 2-11 traveling with an adult a 25% discount on eligible reward tickets.

Q: Can I add a lap infant after booking an award ticket?
A: Often yes, but the process varies. Flying Blue requires customers traveling with an infant on a reward ticket to contact customer service, while Delta directs international infant-ticket requests to Reservations. Confirm the procedure before transferring points.

Q: How much does an Air Canada lap infant award ticket cost?
A: Aeroplan charges no infant fare for eligible travel wholly within Canada or between Canada and the U.S. For other itineraries, the published cost is C$25 or 2,500 Aeroplan points per direction, plus applicable taxes and fees.

Q: How much does a British Airways lap infant award ticket cost?
A: British Airways Club charges 10% of the Avios required for the accompanying adult’s Flight Reward when an infant under two travels without their own seat.