Singapore Airlines - Bassinet Seat

When we made our air reservations on Singapore Airlines, we made sure to request a bassinet for Baby. Baby bassinets can be secured to the wall in front of the bulkhead seats, and since there are only so many bulkhead seats available, there are a limited number of bassinets. According to the SA website, the dimensions are 768L x 298W x 158H, and can support a maximum weight of 14kg (approx. 31 lb). The bassinet comes with a wide zippered "belt" used to secure the child - you're obligated to secure the child with the zippered belt whenever he/she is in the bassinet. The bassinet was brought out to us when we reached cruising altitude and was packed away by the flight attendants before we the final landing procedures.

Having a bassinet was nice, because we could put the sleeping baby in the bassinet and relax, eat our meals peacefully, etc. However, the most annoying thing about the bassinet was that whenever the seatbelt sign was on (for example, during turbulence), we were obligated to take Baby out of the bassinet. Invariably, this would wake him up, and we would have to go through the whole process of lulling him back to sleep again. And there were a few spots of turbulence during our trip, so we had to take him out of the bassinet and put him back in multiple times. (However, using the bassinet as storage during these times was nice.) So some considerations in choosing the bassinet seat:

• If your child is a light sleeper, or if it's difficult to get him/her back to sleep, you might not even want the bassinet because of the possibility of having to take him in and out of the bassinet multiple times.
• Since bassinet seats are in the bulkhead, you won't have any storage at your feet. All diaper bags, toys, etc. will have to be stored in the overhead bins.
• The plus side to the above point, however, is that there's plenty of leg room and plenty of space if you are willing to plop your child on the carpeted floor (the cleanliness of which is questionable) to play or entertain him/herself.
• Yes, you can reserve a bassinet and the bulkhead seat even if you don't plan to use it, but please be considerate of other families who are on the flight who could really make use of the bassinet.
• If your child tosses and turns a lot in his sleep, having a bassinet might not be a good idea - it's very small, and your child might not like to be confined.
• Make your decision about choosing the bassinet seat based on your child's sleep patterns. If your child is unlikely to sleep most of the plane ride due to the time of flight or excitement or whatever, save the bassinet seat for someone else who has an infant who would plausibly sleep most of the way.

Having the bassinet was a nice perk since our son did sleep most of the flight, but given the cons as expressed above, I wouldn't be too heartbroken if I were not able to secure a bassinet seat. If your child sleeps well in a carrier like the Ergo or the Kangaroo carrier, you might be able to strap him/her in the Ergo for most of the flight and leave your hands free and arms unencumbered. However, note that since child carriers are not approved child restraint devices, you will have to figure out someway to buckle your child in while using the carrier, or take your child out of the carrier and buckle him in whenever the seatbelt sign is on.

One tip - we didn't want the cabin lights to wake up our son, so I made sure to bring some clips (clothespins will do) in order to pin the blanket to the bassinet. By pinning the blanket, I was able to make sure Baby had enough air circulation, but his head was shaded so that the cabin lights wouldn't disturb him.