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Claim: A baby born in-flight is given free air travel by the airline for the rest of his life.
Origins: According to longstanding rumor, a child born in-flight is awarded free air transport on that carrier for the rest of his days. This unwritten rule is whispered as the reason airlines restrict the travel plans of expectant women. After all, if you don't allow the ladies to fly when they're getting close to their time, you never need worry about providing lifetime passes to their kids, right?  For the record, there is no truth to this obligatory lifetime pass thing (although if you read down to the end you'll see two have been granted, each on a different foreign airline). So forget about suggesting a little trip to your spouse when the due date is imminent. Trying to get to the bottom of this tale, in 1994 I wrote letters to ten airlines as well as Transport Canada. I heard back from five airlines: Canadian, KLM, Qantas, US Air and Delta. (Delta called instead of writing.) This legend is not as widespread as other airline tales; personnel at some airlines were aware of it, while those working for other carriers had not previously encountered it. My experiences on a 1994 Air Canada flight were typical in this regard. While chatting with the flight attendants in the galley (okay, so I was there after another drink, it still counts as research), I discovered two of them had previously heard about this canard but the other two had not. What became clear in my dealings with the various airlines was that each of them had different rules regarding the combination of travel and pregnant women. Air Canada's restrictions require a telephone consultation between the expectant mother's doctor and one of their doctors about the physical condition of the potential passenger. Air Canada has reserved the right to refuse passage to anyone it determines is a medical risk. I believe the origin of this absurd lifetime pass idea came about as a fanciful explanation for why some airlines refuse passage to expectant women. It's typical urban legend stuff in that the "powers that be" have the right to restrict Jane Doe's travel plans; therefore, there has to be something else at work here besides concern over the health of the mother and child or any airline's reluctance to deal with a medical emergency at 35,000 feet. Makes more of a story if you can say they don't want to pay out on the "baby born inflight" sweepstakes than to admit it's only reasonable prudence in light of a possible medical situation. Ah, the joy of urban legends. That normal and reasonable regulations can be explained away by some far-fetched story. Related stories: Though the regulation does not exist and airlines are under no obligation to reward inflight deliveries from the stork, at least two high-flying babies have hit the jackpot. On Mohd Aliff Mohd Fuad came into the world on an Asia Pacific Airlines flight on On a more earthbound note, Stephany Ann Marie Ehler was born aboard a commuter train in San Francisco on Barbara "infant-astic" Mikkelson Last updated: 18 July 2007 Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2008 by snopes.com. This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.  Sources:
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