10 Tips to Surviving a Long Flight with Your Infant - Alone!

I just completed a 16-hour trip including one long flight and one stopover with Karam (19 months now) and it almost killed me. Here are some of the things I learned about surviving a long flight with your hyper infant:

1. While there is a fair bit of debate about the easiest age to travel with kids (eg. when they are 3 months and oblivious vs. 12 months and on solids), it is clear that the 18 month mark is tricky because no airline has bassinets big enough to accompany them, but they are too big to be on your lap the whole time. Therefore, your best bet is to call the airline as soon as possible and every day before you board to ensure that you have an vacant seat next to you. If it's a packed flight, consider buying a seat or at least upgrading to business class where the seats are wider and the stewards have to be nice to you.

2. Opt for the night flight. At 12 months or so, children need their sleep and will not be likely to stay up through the night. This means that you get at least 6-7 hours of peace without them bouncing off the airplane walls.

3. Buy an iPad. I swear, Apple made this gadget for parents. Download a bunch of free apps for kids and movies and songs and you can buy at least 2 hours of entertainment. Priceless! You can't play YouTube videos until the skies become internet-friendly but iBooks has a bunch of kids' books with vivid graphics and realistic page-turning.

4. Consider a mild sedative. Hey, no one's judging you because many mums before us have done it, and no one ever died of a little extra drowsiness. Cough syrups like Benadryl or Phenergan are popular options. Always clear with your doctor and check the right dosage, particularly with Phenergan as it can backfire with hyperness if not dosed properly (karma, I suppose!).

5. If you are in transit, ensure that they give you your stroller at your transit stop or arrange for a loaner one. Duty free shopping is so much harder with a child in your arms.

6. LAY OFF THE SUGAR. In any form. If your child is anything like mine and gets wired just from the thought of being restrained, avoid any form of sugar that could make them hyper. You need to exude mellowness in all that you do and offer.

7. Entertain them with food. Bread, cheese, fruit, water, anything they can spend time counting, rearranging or eating will help pass time.

8. Try not to think about the other passengers too much. Sure it's embarrassing when your child is going nuts on your lap and down the aisles but some people act like it's a crime to bring a baby on a flight. They have either never had a child, or forgotten that they were one. Don't pay too much attention.

9. Ensure that your accommodation is easy to access once you land. If you are going home, great. If not, try to plan it such that you have an easy cab ride to your destination, ideally directly to your hotel or to a home where help is at hand.

10. Ask them to put priority tags on your bags - most airlines will oblige.

Other posts in the Airlines and Flying series:

For First-Timers: Overcoming Your Worst Fears of Flying with Your Kids

For Travelers in America: Preparing and Protecting Your Children from New TSA Security and Pat-Down Procedures

Flight Safety Tips from a Professional!

Airlines and Flying: Traveling Domestically? Carry Age Proof (for the baby)

10 Insider Tips for Travel with a Baby

Kudos to Qantas for Child-Friendly Skies!

Six Reasons NEVER to Fly Air China (even without a child)

Packing for China: My All-Inclusive List

Air China: Most Baby-UNfriendly airline!

A note on airplane bassinets (and other notes)

Kudos to Qantas for Child-Friendly Skies!

I have heard Qantas is child-friendly but didn't really know what that meant until I did a 12.5 hour long-haul from Singapore to Frankfurt with Karam, alone. Despite having traveled with him so much, this would have been our longest schlep, and I was nervous, especially because I didn't have a bassinet seat (he wouldn't fit in one anyway - Qantas bassinets only go up to 11kgs). I called Qantas two weeks before flying. The representative was understanding and sympathetic and unlike the moron at Air China who suggested that I just buy another seat (sure, what's another $1200?!), actually tried hard to see what she could do for me that wouldn't entail my pulling out my credit card again. We both agreed that the best solution was to try to find me an empty adjacent seat, and she did all her capacity to put me in a part of the aircraft that would make that likely. Naturally, she couldn't guarantee it, but at least her effort gave me the confidence that this was an airline that cared about making their passengers comfortable. My experience at the airport was the same - very matter-of-fact about finding me an empty seat, which in fact, they did.

On the flight, I was pleasantly surprised by the care and attention accorded me by the all-male staff (a plus not only because a couple of them were not half bad to look at, but also because it shows how well-recruited and trained the Qantas crew is). I was escorted to my seat and given directions to the closest changing table and bathroom. Before take-off, an attendant asked me what time Karam would like his meal, and that I should give him 20 minutes notice so that it would be freshly warmed up (it was late already, so I told him he would probably skip dinner but would definitely be up for breakfast). When I asked for milk, Karam's bottle was rinsed and topped up when he awoke. The infant meal was chicken porridge and fruit which was delicious enough for even me to enjoy. They checked on us often, and generally made me feel like they understood my pain. The entertainment system was new and easy to use. Finally, every one of them was genuinely cheerful and pleasant with Karam - a huge deal when you have had airlines crews who act like they would rather have skunks than children on their flights.

My only complaint was that as I was transferring in Frankfurt to Madrid, they were not able to give me my stroller in transit, it had to be checked through. This, I understand however, is an airport thing, not an airline thing.

All in all, many pluses to Qantas for their care of this mom aboard and I would certainly recommend making an extra effort to fly with them if you have kids.

Other posts in the Airlines and Flying series:

For First-Timers: Overcoming Your Worst Fears of Flying with Your Kids

For Travelers in America: Preparing and Protecting Your Children from New TSA Security and Pat-Down Procedures

Flight Safety Tips from a Professional!

Airlines and Flying: Traveling Domestically? Carry Age Proof (for the baby)

10 Insider Tips for Travel with a Baby

10 Tips to Surviving a Long Flight with Your Infant - Alone!

Six Reasons NEVER to Fly Air China (even without a child)

Packing for China: My All-Inclusive List

Air China: Most Baby-UNfriendly airline!

A note on airplane bassinets (and other notes)

Six Reasons NEVER to Fly Air China (even without a child)

1) Booking is a nightmare: As I mentioned in a previous post, I was unable to purchase a ticket for Karam at www.airchina.com as he was under 2, but when I called the airline office, they gave me different information on how to add him on, one representative actually telling me that I had to call a travel agent to do it. Plus, wait times for the Sydney office on the phone were 20 minutes on average.

2) There was absolutely no consideration for the fact that I was traveling with a child and that their bassinets were practically useless (See this post on bassinets). I received no help at the booking office and was left at the mercy of the lady at the check-in counter. As my husband has status with Star Alliance, they finally agreed to give us a set of four seats and block off the ones in the middle. I was not so lucky on the way back - the moron at the check-in counter put Karam and I in a seat of three with someone on the end seat, even though there were many adults on sets of four seats with two seats between them on the flight. Plus, it was right at the end of the cabin, which means I was one of the last to come out (more on that here).

3) The English levels of the staff, ground and in-flight, are very low, making anything but your basic needs very hard to meet. Here in Sydney, the outsource their check-in and boarding to Qantas staff, who has zero incentive to help out AC passengers. Even at the business class desk, we had a lady who was barely polite, who kept passing the buck to "Air China", which is where we thought we were checking in!

4) Our flight to Shanghai was disastrous: we couldn't land in Shanghai because of bad weather and were re-routed to Hang Zhou which is about forty-five minutes away. They held us on the ground for FOUR hours, while Air China decided what to do with us. Finally, after passengers started making a noise, they decided to let us off at Hang Zhou and arrange a bus to Shanghai, a two-hour ride. It was one thirty am by the time we got into the bus and at four am, it let us off in a deserted spot in the city center with not a car in sight. Resourceful passengers started calling cabs, friends and families, and we had to rely on a Mandarin-speaking fellow passenger to help us out. Could happen to any airline, you say? Qantas landed on schedule the prior evening, just as we were meant to do. We were supposed to be in the hotel by 9 pm - we made it by 5 am the next morning, thanks to Air China's bureaucracy and inefficiency.

5) Given how air travel has evolved today, even in economy, Air China aircrafts are lame. The entertainment system is seriously obsolete, the seats are uncomfortable and even first class looks shabby.

6) They don't have milk on board!! I understand that Asians as a race are largely lactose intolerant  but how can you not have milk on a 10 hour international flight?!! This did it for me, I will admit!

Overall, a horrible experience. Avoid like the plague.


Other posts in the Airlines and Flying series:

For First-Timers: Overcoming Your Worst Fears of Flying with Your Kids


For Travelers in America: Preparing and Protecting Your Children from New TSA Security and Pat-Down Procedures

Flight Safety Tips from a Professional!

Airlines and Flying: Traveling Domestically? Carry Age Proof (for the baby)

10 Insider Tips for Travel with a Baby

10 Tips to Surviving a Long Flight with your Infant - Alone!

Kudos to Qantas for Child-Friendly Skies!

Packing for China: My All-Inclusive List

Air China: Most Baby-UNfriendly airline!

A note on airplane bassinets (and other notes)

Other posts in the Shanghai series:

China - General Travel Tips

Shanghai, China: Best Baby Shopping

Shanghai, China: For the Art-Loving Parent

Air China: Most Baby-UNfriendly airline!

I am in the process of booking my tickets to Shanghai, and it is a complete nightmare!

Firstly, the Air China website does not let you add an infant to your ticket upon purchase. You are instructed to call the Air China office, but when I did, after a 20 minute wait, I was told that there is an additional $150 fee to add infants on through the airline and I should do it through a travel agent??!? WTF? That sounded like rubbish so I called again (and waited another 20 minutes) and was told that it was $100.
Secondly, they only allow babies upto 6 months of age to use the bassinets. Are you serious? So, I asked, "You expect me to spend an 11 hour flight with my 17-month old baby sharing my economy seat", and he said, "Yes, or you can buy him another seat". Nice - at this point, I am considering a refund. Will keep you posted.

Other posts in the Airlines and Flying series:

For First-Timers: Overcoming Your Worst Fears of Flying with Your Kids


For Travelers in America: Preparing and Protecting Your Children from New TSA Security and Pat-Down Procedures

Flight Safety Tips from a Professional!

Airlines and Flying: Traveling Domestically? Carry Age Proof (for the baby)

10 Insider Tips for Travel with a Baby

Kudos to Qantas for Child-Friendly Skies!

10 Tips to Surviving a Long Flight with Your Infant - Alone!

Six Reasons NEVER to Fly Air China (even without a child)


Packing for China: My All-Inclusive List


A note on airplane bassinets (and other notes)

A note on airplane bassinets (and other notes)

If you're anything like me, you will take solace in the fact that schlepping  your little one around the world costs you nearly nothing extra until they hit the grand old age of two. However, here's some of the "fine print" I have learned wrt airplane travel with a sub two-year old:

1) Airline bassinets have different weight limits. Singapore Airlines is 14 or 16 kgs, Air China is 6 months and Quantas is 11kgs. Make sure to ask when you are booking your ticket. If a bassinet is unavailable or if your baby is too big, ask the airline to block one or two empty seats for you. However, make sure these seats are not in the front row, because there is more leg room available, the armrests don't go up which means that baby can't lie across the seats, which is the whole purpose of blocking off seats!! Or just upgrade to business class.

2) Singapore Airlines (and others, I am sure), will make you take the  baby out of the bassinet during turbulence which is really a pain the neck (literally) when you have spent an hour trying to put them to sleep, enduring the insensitive stares of non-parental passengers. Qantas doesn't do this. Again, ask. It's just easier to mentally prepare if baby's going to be sleeping on your face for most of the flight.

3) When some flights offer an infant meal, they mean a jar of banana porridge or something similarly inappropriate for a post-weaning baby. Ask for a CHILD meal instead or make something yourself.

4) Airlines will try to stick all the babies at the back of the plane. When your card says row 57, don't assume it's because that's all that's available - ask for something up front. Traveling parents have enough to deal with without being the last in the immigrations queue.

Other posts in the Airlines and Flying series:

For First-Timers: Overcoming Your Worst Fears of Flying with Your Kids


For Travelers in America: Preparing and Protecting Your Children from New TSA Security and Pat-Down Procedures

Flight Safety Tips from a Professional!

Airlines and Flying: Traveling Domestically? Carry Age Proof (for the baby)

10 Insider Tips for Travel with a Baby

10 Tips to Surviving a Long Flight with Your Infant - Alone!

Kudos to Qantas for Child-Friendly Skies!

Six Reasons NEVER to Fly Air China (even without a child)

Packing for China: My All-Inclusive List

Air China: Most Baby-UNfriendly airline!