Feb 8

Feb 8 Tim's Random Thoughts on Flying

Image source: Creative Market

Our recent trip to Disney World inspired me to jot down a few thoughts on flying with a child.

Seats

If you can swing it, get a seat for your kid. Having a whole row is nice, especially if your kid is mobile. There's enough room for a kid to be a kid. If you're lucky enough that she or he naps during the flight, your kid could lie down on the empty seat. Changing his or her diaper in your own row, potentially with the help of a travel partner (my wife in our case), beats trying to change a toddler's diaper in those tight airplane bathrooms. As a side note, if your child is potty trained, try getting him or her to poop before the flight. It wasn't that fun getting my son to poop in the airplane.

Duration

My son's first flight ever was to Hong Kong, 15 hours there, about 16 hours back. He was five months at the time. We did not get the whole row; instead, we opted for a front row seat with the bassinet option. The bassinet with that airline was long and thin. He didn't like it at all. We had to hold him the entire flight. Also, in the front seats, the arm rests do not fold up, so we couldn't lay him across us. I was pretty scarred from the experience.

Since then, we've done a couple of trips, both about two to three hours per leg, which were much more manageable. By manageable, I mean during the flight, there was perhaps one diaper change, one meal, one snack, and maybe a nap that one of us had to hold him for.

Having experienced these various trips, I don't know if I would change the order. I don't find two to three hours flights particularly easygoing (First disclaimer: I'm fairly dramatic, whereas my wife is as cool as a cucumber.) I think part of the reason why these recent, short trips were not easygoing is because now my son wants to run around all over the place. When he was five months old, he didn't. In retrospect, doing the longer flight with a relatively immobile child is probably the way to go.

Packing

I once traveled around the world for a year with one big backpack. Those days are gone. My wife and I are still light travelers, so we squash all of our stuff into one suitcase and check it. The benefit of not having an extra piece of luggage is worth the cost, although both of our credit cards offer travel credits for certain incidental fees. We check our luggage as opposed to his because you might need something during the traveling.

Depending on the length of the trip and destination, we might opt for buying his supplies at the destination: diapers, wipes, food.

We haven't found rental carseats too reliable, so we've invested in a travel carseat. The airlines we've flown recently do not charge for checking carseats; I believe most U.S. airlines do not charge for this as well. I have friends who use the carseat during the flight, but we haven't done that yet.

We also invested in a foldaway stroller that fits overheard, but we almost always check it at the gate. It's free and you get it back nearly right away when you disembark the plane.

Timing

My son usually eats breakfast around 8:15 a.m. for between 20 and 30 minutes. Wrapping up breakfast, getting in an extra diaper change, and we can be out the door by 9:15 a.m. If you’ve done the math, you might realize I’m adding in a buffer, which I always do now. In my experience, getting out the door always takes about 2-3x longer than I expect now.

Depending on the traffic, I can be at most major airports in my area within 45 minutes. Pre-check TSA is great for at least two reasons: (1) you can leave most of your stuff in the suitcases, and most of your clothes on; and (2) it’s usually faster than the non-pre-check line. With a shorter security experience, we aim to get to the airport about 75 minutes before boarding time ends. You may need more time, especially if you’re checking in at the airport. We check in at home, including pre-buying our checked luggage. This makes the kiosk experience faster. You may need less time if you’re not parking a car.

Adding all this up, we aim for flights that take off in the 11:30 a.m. timeframe. This works for us because we can give him lunch at the airport, or just before takeoff. Then, my son can take a nap, and then we land. On the backend, landing in the early afternoon, we can have a nice dinner together at the destination without having to adjust his schedule too much, including his bedtime routine.

Another note on security: we’re allowed to bring liquids for my son, including water and milk. Security usually does an extra scan and search of bags with these liquids, which might add some time. We sometimes buy the milk and the water at the airport rather than bring them.

Things I Bring on Every Flight Now

Hand and face wipes. Airplanes as nasty.

Toy and highchair wipes. See above.

Multiple pacifiers. Even though we've weaned off of them, we use them for take off and landing to help with the change in pressure. Also, if he's having trouble napping, we let him indulge.

Tissues and napkins. Snack and mealtime tend to be extra messy during flights for some reason.

Friends or family. This one is a little harder to bring every time. Having my family on the same flight when we went to Hong Kong was crucial. I'm not sure we would have survived without them on the way there. We were able to catch a few naps because the offered to hold our son for a while.