American Notes AIRLINES

No more babes in arms. Last week U.S. airlines asked the Federal Aviation Administration to require that children under two be strapped into safety seats whenever they fly. In the past year two unsecured young children were killed in air crashes. Under present FAA rules, infant safety seats are not mandatory; some parents have reported that they were not allowed to bring them into the cabin.

While the new regulation would make travel safer for the 5,000 to 10,000 infants who board airplanes daily, it could make it more expensive. In many cases, parents will have to purchase an extra ticket for their baby, who currently flies free if seated on an adult's lap. But Air Transport Association President Robert Aaronson speculated that tickets for these tots might be free on underbooked planes or heavily discounted. "If you buckle up your child at 50 m.p.h.," he asked, "why not at 550 m.p.h.?"