The room fell silent when a woman in my mother’s group told us, with a tremor in her voice, that she was flying on her own with her six-month-old son to Argentina. And that there were no bassinets left on the fully booked twenty-six hour flight. And that she would have to hold him the whole time. Alone. We were all stunned – the task ahead of our friend was terrifying.
Plane trips with a baby or kids can be daunting. There are oodles of travel websites with tips for travelling with children. If you have a flight planned, it certainly pays to get your hands on as much information as you can because the main theme of all of the advice on offer is ‘preparation, preparation, preparation’. So aside from ‘pack lots of activities’, ‘pack lots of snacks’ and ‘keep spare clothes in your hand luggage’, what else should you know? We’ve questioned experienced family travellers, travel agents and flight attendants to glean extra information that may help your trip run more smoothly.
Organising your trip
There’s lots to consider when planning a trip. Whether flying a short or a long distance, factors such as changing time zones, trying to keep kids ‘in routine’ and direct flights versus stop-overs all need to be considered.
When choosing an airline it is well worth checking out the information on their website about travelling with children. What’s provided (or more importantly, not provided) speaks volumes about how helpful the airline will be and how well they cater for kids.
Different airlines have different rules for when a child must have a seat of their own (usually around two years of age). We flew from Melbourne to Broome with our twelve-month-old son. I was six months pregnant at the time so my son had to sit on my husband’s knee for six hours – it was tough going! If you’re not sure whether to book your child their own seat, see how long you can last with them on your lap in the armchair at home, then decide. Wish I had thought of that before our flight to Broome!
Keep in mind that airport staff may request proof of date of birth for children and infants. Extracts or certified copies of birth certificates are acceptable, as are immunisation books.
Many people do not know that car seats can be used on planes for children. Be aware that only certain types of seats are suitable and that most airlines require a car seat to be pre-approved for use as a child seat at least twenty-four hours before departure (generally, approval of car seats cannot be obtained on departure at the airport). It’s a good option if your child is comfortable sleeping in their car seat and also if you require a seat at your destination. However, the flipside is that you obviously have to book the child their own seat (regardless of age) and that once the car seat is ‘installed’ it cannot be moved.
There are a number of ‘snap on wheels‘ available for car seats which are a bonus for moving around airports (a makeshift stroller). Do your research though – most snap on wheels are made for overseas markets and may or may not fit your car seat.
If you want a four-point seatbelt but don’t want to take your car seat, consider a CARES harness (shown above). The Child Aviation Restraint System (CARES) is a pre-approved alternative to car seats on an aircraft. It’s suitable for children aged two to four years, weighing 10-20kg.
Lastly, when it comes to booking your flights and if you are flying a long distance with another adult, consider booking seats apart from one another. This allows one adult to rest whilst the other entertains (or wrangles!) the children.
Packing is a task that brings out extremes in people – are you an overpacker or an underpacker? I take the barest minimum but my husband packs for half the plane so somehow we usually end up about right. Either way, a good tip is to mix up your packing. Make sure each suitcase has some clothes for everyone travelling. That way, if one bag goes missing, everyone will still have something to wear for a few days whilst you are locating your luggage.
When you are going on a holiday where you won’t be moving around a lot, pack all the nappies you’ll need for the trip, instead of buying them at your destination. This will not only stop you from overpacking, but it also means you’ll have quite a bit of space to bring back souvenirs.
It seems our seasoned travellers all give the Trunki child’s suitcase the thumbs-up. Not only is it a manageable size for children, it is also a play thing that can be put to good use if you are filling in time at airports.
Finally, when planning your trip, work out who’s doing what and who’s responsible for various tasks before you set off. I mean the nuts and bolts – who is doing nappy changes, who is keeping an eye on toddlers at the airport, who is looking after the tickets, who is nursing the baby and so on. The better prepared you are, the less stressful the experience will be.
Getting on and off the plane
Allow plenty of time at the airport for check-in and connecting flights. Keep in mind that everyday tasks always take longer with kids in tow and the same applies to travel plans, with an added dose of stress!
When you are checking in, always ask if the flight is full. Some assistants will block out the seat next to you in a less full flight or offer you the option of seating you next to a vacant seat. This is particularly good if travelling with a toddler without their own seat.
Ask nicely for help and it’s usually forthcoming – those little airport jeeps that zoom passengers requiring assistance to the gate? Well, as parents with kids and bags all over the place, you may qualify for a ride – particularly good if you are travelling alone with kids.
Strollers are available to borrow from most airlines to get you from check-in to the gate. If you intend to take your own stroller to the gate, get there well in advance. If you’re late and the luggage chute to the plane is closed, your stroller won’t be boarding the plane, leaving you with no pram at your destination.
The earlier you board the plane, the better off you’ll be. Once the doors of the plane close, flight attendants can only do ‘safety related’ tasks so it’s too late for you to ask them to warm a bottle or organise your blankets.
Getting Settled
Travelling with a baby? Bassinettes are fitted on larger planes and can give parents a much needed break from nursing a baby and for the baby, it allows the opportunity to have a proper sleep. But there are a few things to keep in mind when requesting a bassinette. On a long flight, bassinettes are allocated from the youngest baby to the oldest so depending on how many babies are on your flight you may or may not get one.
On domestic flights it’s near impossible to secure a bassinette – not because they don’t have them but because the row fitted with bassinettes is almost always reserved for frequent flyers who like extra leg room.
If you’re on a long flight and have managed to secure a bassinette, keep in mind that the arm rests between the seats in this row do not go up (because they store the tray tables). So whilst your bub might get the opportunity to have a decent sleep, there will be no chance for you to lift the arm rests and stretch out across a few seats, particularly significant if you have kids with you as well.
If you miss out on a bassinette there are a few things you can do to make your space more comfortable. Some parents swear by using white noise on an iPod to help kids get to sleep – no harm in trying if you have a temperamental sleeper! Likewise, the television screens built into the back of seats can be distracting, particularly if they don’t turn off. Bring some packing tape and secure a blanket over the screen while kids are sleeping.
Seasoned family travellers tell us that one critical hand luggage item for long-haul flights is nose spray. Air-conditioning on a plane is incredibly dehydrating – no need to make it uncomfortable for kids as well. A standard saline nose spray for kids, available at chemists, will do the trick.
Dinner time!
Most airlines will provide special meals for children as well as baby food. However, these meals need to be booked at least forty-eight hours in advance. Be aware that if you miss your flight, you will also miss out on your specially requested meals.
Bottle feeding a baby? Know that it takes flight attendants approximately five minutes to warm a bottle (it’s done with hot water, not in a microwave). Therefore, anticipate your baby’s meal times and ask in advance for the bottle to be warmed – there’s no joy for anyone if you wait until your baby is screaming for their bottle! Also note that you are better to feed your baby well before or well after the meal service. Again, the flight attendants are busy serving everyone on the plane at one time and organising a bottle then may be tricky.
Fun, fun, fun!
Everyone will tell you to pack lots of activities, snacks and toys for kids. I won’t argue with that but here are a couple of little extra things to think about. Firstly, take balloons. They are the ultimate lightweight, fun and disposable toy. Although not necessarily appropriate for batting around mid-flight, balloons are a winner when you are waiting around at airports.
Buy some kid headphones or bring along the ones your child likes to use. Ear-buds, provided on most planes, aren’t always comfortable for children and you don’t want them missing out on in-flight entertainment.
The compact book Around the World in 80 Ways is packed with fun activities for little travellers. Most of the activities don’t require anything but imagination and it’s certainly good to know a few games other than ‘I Spy’ which gets a little tedious in the confines of an aircraft cabin. I like the game ‘In-flight Magazine Treasure Hunt’ – devise a super-long list of items for the kids to hunt down in those glossy in-flight magazines and it can have them going for hours.
Stay clean
One of my friends is still mentally scarred by a five hour flight she endured with her two children. The moment they boarded the plane, her three-year-old vomited everywhere. She had clean clothes for the child but not for herself and spent the next few hours simultaneously gagging and picking bits of sick out of her hair. So yes, there’s good reason why all the family travel tips list the importance of bringing spare clothes – for everyone.
If you’re travelling with a baby and need a nappy change, don’t do it on the seat. Apart from the fact that it is unhygienic (for other passengers!), it is also not safe. Aircraft toilets are fitted with change tables and you should feel free to ask a flight attendant to get the table set up for you (give them your change mat, nappy and anything else you’ll need) so that you’re not juggling your baby in a cramped space.
Keep in mind that there’s no such thing as packing too many wipes. Also handy is a wet face washer in a snap-lock bag – it’s more absorbent than wipes and can be used over and over.
A few final things to keep in mind
The old saying “expect the worst, get the best” is a good way to approach flights with children.
Keep your sense of humour – the baby t-shirt with the slogan ‘Congratulations! You get to sit near me‘ is a good example of how to keep the fun in the adventure (it’s also available as a onesie). Treat any time to relax as a bonus. Wipes – did I mention wipes? Bring lots of them. Ignore rude people and don’t waste energy getting upset by them.
Lastly (and most importantly) this advice to parents from a flight attendant who has clocked up thousands of flights with crying babies and children – “You’ll never see these people again and they’ll get over it”.
Bon voyage!
23 Comments
We dream about ‘jet pooling’!
I think it really depends on your child and the relationship you have with them. My little boy and I are very close and I knew he would be good on our 28 hr trip to Europe total of 3 flights. Although he shocked me at how good he was. He slept as usual, ate, played with his trunki full of toys. I had no problems at all. I took some tasty treats just incase and didn’t have the need for them. My husband bought us a net book to take, he watched it for about 30 mins total, the rest of the time he enjoyed his new toys including a little kitchen set and play dough.
Just before my last trip to the UK with my 12 month daughter on my own one of the other Mums in my mothers group reminded me that airplane noise is your friend… Also more practically…I take an extra blanket to put on the changing table as a bit of padding around my kids head as the tables are not very large and the slightest movement of the plane can result in a bump on the head (from experience!).
Just a warning to people. We flew on Jetstar last week and the cabin manager refused to let us use our CARES harness, because he didn’t know anything about it, even though Jetstar have a whole web page about it. If you fly with one make sure you have copies of the web site and also the letter from CASA which can be downloaded from the CARES Australian website. On our return I was prepared and with a battle we could use it. Excellent product and much easier than dragging a car seat around the airport. We used the CARES harness internationally with Qantas no problem previously.
I,too fly back to Argentina,each time with one more baby on tow!
I strongly recommend the baby legs for anyone who has a baby/child with nappies.They are cover their legs almost like tights but you don’t need to take them off in that tiny toilet!
Also buying the biggest ziplock bags and have one for tops, another one for bottoms, another one for nappies and changing stuff, another one for toys and snacks.
planes are small and sometimes you need to change/entertain in a hurry!
I travelled with my then 11 month old daughter by myself for 24 hours in 4 different planes without bassinet (“she is too big”-beware bassinets and seatbelt regulations change if you are flying domestic, international,etc).
As i did not relax my muscles for the entire trip as i thought if i doze off i would drop her, I woke up the next day and could’t move.
Had to call a chiropractor at home!
ps:Don’t forget the grobag to let them know it’s sleep time!That worked a charm on my flight with my 18 month old and 3 yo!
we loved having our carseat for our then 2 year old when we travelled to italy from melbourne. she slept well with it and it was a ‘bit of home’ when she was overwhelmed and tired.
and as someone else mentioned the grobag was our friend! nice part of bedtime routine.
we are travelling around the world for a year soon with a 4 year old and 1 year old…thanks for posting these tips! especially the ziplock bag idea!
must investigate the ‘trunki’. everyone raves about it, but i am worried about the extra stuff to drag around?
Just a note that you are now unlikely to get packing tape through security. I’ve had a couple of rolls of adhesive tape confiscated in case I ‘tape up the cabin crew’.
We travelled with our 16 month old daughter on an 8 hr flight and bought a cheap portable DVD player before leaving, it was the best money ever spent.
I had to travel a lot with my daughter and my husband and I developed a routine: at check in, I am the one responsible for tickets, passports and baby, while my husband takes care of the luggage. When both of you know what they are responsible for, there are no stress and surprises…
I used to carry my Baby Bjorn in my bag and we kept the stroller with us until the boarding. That way, when my daughter was tired of the stroller, I could place her in the Baby Bjorn. Check with your airline what type of stroller are accepted at check in, ask them huge plastic bag for you to store the stroller at boarding, so that it doesn’t get broken by handling.
We bought a stroller which could be fold in 2, and has always been accepted up until boarding.
I wish good luck to all of you traveling with baby!
The trunki’s look good and are cute but if you are doing a lot of travelling
forget using them. I took my 2 year old and 5 year old on three flights with their trunki’s and it was very awkward for them to wheel around. They knocked people over with them as the handle is so long, they are not the best for opening up on the plane, the seats that attach on them fall off all the time and stop the thing moving, very awkward trying to get them down the aisles of the plane and I will definately not be taking them on our world trip in 4 weeks time. Invest in hand luggage with a decent handle and ones that virtually push themselves. The last thing you need when flying with children is awkward hand luggage.
Dont forget at least one change of clothes for everyone. I would also recommended taking some kids travel sickness tablets. My two vomited the whole way from Sydney to Hong Kong. Thankfully we traveled with virgin Atlantic who were amazing and when they heard that I still had another 18 hours of travel to go they provided me with a sleep suit so I could change.
Thanks so much for this detailed article! With a flight to Sydney in Feb @ 7 months old and Bali @ 14 months old this has been so informative. I’ll be getting my hubbie to read this as well as popping the link in our Mothers Group FB page!! I feel much more confident to handle the trips now :)
Think twice about booking business class if you are travelling with baby and a partner over a long distance. You might think the extra room will make things a little easier, but if the separate armrests are fixed you can’t lie your baby over two laps to sleep .
Some great tips here, thanks! We had a nightmare flying back to Sydney earlier this year with a 9 month old on our lap and a 3 year old who wanted to sit with whichever parent he wasn’t next to (as the seat configuration meant that we couldn’t all sit together). We couldn’t turn off his TV screen so that kept him awake and the stewardess couldn’t provide sticky tape to cover it.. bearing in mind Nine’s comment that you probably can’t get tape through security, perhaps just take a small roll of sellotape and use paper, that would help!
The other thing to bear in mind is, even if you DO get a bassinet, you still have to take baby out whenever the seat belt sign is put on which can be soul destroying when you have just got them to sleep after hours of wailing ;)
Yeah we used CARES on our trip to England and Greece and it was fantastic. Our son was excited by the harness and it kept him in place, and we felt good giving him a proper safe harness.
Also we got the Trunki on our way back and wished we had bought it earlier. It is a dream at airports, being able to put him on it and wheel him along is fantastic.
plus it has plenty of storage space
Finger puppets and new apps are a godsend, and so are household objects they haven’t seen before that you might discard at the other end. My baby has been entertained by everything from the free airline toothbrush to a cheapo set of plastic measuring spoons, to newspaper shopping inserts (preferably featuring dogs and babies!), and little boxes that you flatten out then fit inside each other as a puzzle that ends with a finger puppet or whatever.
We loved our Trunki (kid is too big for it now). Super-practical for both storage and conveyance, also turned heads in the airport. We should have received a percentage on any sold after people asked us about it.
Less thrilled with CARES harness. Our wiggle worm slid right out the bottom the whole trip. Used it on the first leg and never again after that.
My 5 yr old has just returned from his 92nd flight, 40 of which have been long-haul international so I’ve a few tips to add … JetRest (google them for website) make an amazing soft-moulded neoprene eye mask that our son has worn on flights at sleep time since his first flight at 6 weeks old. I also use noise canceling soft mouldable ear plugs (don’t get the hard ones for adults in error!) – available from good chemists. Use both on your child for a week before the flight to get them used to wearing them at bedtime and they’ll work a treat on the flight too. The Quinny Zap stroller is 7kg so passes as carry on and when folded it fits into the overhead luggage hold – it is narrow enough to wheel through premium economy and business aisles on Qantas & BA A380s & 747 400s and they are happy for you to wheel it on and stow at your seat.
Another thought … most babies scream at take-off and landing for two reasons i) they are restrained and they don’t like it – but we can’t do much about that, and ii) because pressure builds up in their tiny ear drums and it’s VERY painful for them as they can’t easy ‘pop’ their owns ears like adults can. If you can slip them a bottle or breast to feed, or use a pacifier (or for older children, a sweet) to suck from takeoff until you reach cruising height, their swallow reflex will cause their ears to pop naturally and release the pressure, and they will be a lot more comfortable.
I’ve flown with my now 4 years old twins boys to the UK several times a year since they were 3 months old plus numerous interstate flights. Since they were 2 I fly on my own.
My main advice is be over prepared. As much food as you can carry, plastic bags in case they sick. wee on seat, for rubbish. Never ever rely on airlines to provide food. Can’t tell you how many times my preordered meals haven’t arrived. Take as much food as you can carry with cool bags. Its easier to bin than run out of food. Pre cook food like pasta, sausages, sandwiches, vegies, dips, take cheese, fruit, savoury biscuits, carton milk etc. Avoid sugar in case stirs up.
Ask for help on board, after all you have paid for these flights and the staff are supposed to help. Have had to give one child to staff whilst dealt with another. Good staff will offer.
I get my boys to wear PJs plus sox so its easy to layer them up as planes can be cold. I aim for 4 changes of clothes each. Never had to use that many but take anyway. Loads of nappies, you don’t want to run out, imagine get runs. Gro bags when little, light blankets when older. Spare clothes yourself and layer up in case have to remove clothes. Always have sick bag plus cloth nappy ready in case child vomits.
Loads of entertainment for kids-light books, playdough, little cars, pencils, crayons, sticker books, yo yos, small torches(useful when plane dark for you), small lego. Search for weeks beforehand for bits and pieces for them to play with.
Its never as bad as you might think. Just accept little sleep for you for 24 hours and make sure assistance when arrive. Remember you will never see any fellow passengers again.
Great article! I did an around-the-world trip this year with my 4 month old (7 flights in 4 weeks) and was amazed that everyone else in my mothers group seemed to be planning the same thing. Now our babies are 11 months old and almost all of them have flown.
The two things everyone seems to have had in common are that 1. mostly it’s been a positive experience, and 2. using a baby carrier like Baby Bjorn in the airports is a godsend. Surprised that this wasn’t mentioned in this article.
We did US/Canada with a 14mth old on our laps. Managed to get bulk head seats for the long legs but the 5hr domestic legs she was on our laps for the whole time.
Some airlines do not provide meals for the infant if you’re not paying for a seat so make sure you ask. We brought lots of food though didn’t need as much as we thought – still better to be prepared.
Zip lock bags for all sorts of things are awesome, big ones kept her clothes organised and helped when rummaging for socks etc.
United didn’t have in seat screens but we had an old iphone with kid apps and videos – a lifesaver on the trip.
We were told at booking and check-in she was too old for a bassinet but when boarding the staff were very cool and were always able to get us one. The final say is with the flight crew so don’t give up on getting one until you’re in the air and you’re told no then.
My other advice is do try to avoid doing this if you’re pregnant with another one – morning sickness and jetlag are a horrible combination and i apologise to the staff and passengers Toronto/San Fran for my condition. My daughter was actually pretty good but for the love of god mums it is really something you want to avoid if you can.
Hey there’s so much great advice in these comments! Anyone who’s posted please feel free to contribute a flight review to my website fly-baby!