ADVICE RATING |
 4.76 (Highly recommend) from 15 votes (785 Visits) |
The first two flights we had were the hardest.
We flew Air Canada for the first two flights and they did not provide anything other then drinks. They do provide food at an extra cost.
So I suggest taking some nibbles and a couple of drinks, I would
not suggest fruit as depending on where you are flying to they may take it from you. Along with any bottles of water you have, although in some cases there may be an exception because you have a child. It is best if you do plan on taking water do not open the bottle until after you are on the plane as they will take open ones. Also milk and a couple of bottles, only enough for the first couple of flights as it was not provided. And we were able to get this through customs because we had a child. Be aware though to take enough for you as well because they may ask you to drink it, so that they don’t think you are taking dangerous chemicals on board. If you think you will need a meal or something extra then what you have taken with you a little extra cash would not go astray.
If asking for milk to be heated you have to do it 10 minutes before you actually want the bottle as they heat with warm water as they don’t have microwaves. I only took enough milk for the smaller flights as on the longer flights they provided every thing.
For the last leg of our flight we flew with Qantas. I totally recommend them. Even my cousin who traveled from QLD to VIC recommends it.
They provide everything but the nappies (diapers) I am sure if you needed it though they would have some tucked away somewhere.
If traveling on a big airline you should be able to ask for a kid’s meal to be provided when booking your ticket. Also when booking your ticket ask for the seats with a bassinet, even if your child is to big to sleep in the bassinet it gives you extra leg room as I was able to put my back pack under my feet to stretch out while Francis slept on me. I would actually recommend if possible buying a seat for your child as it makes it so much easier around meal times… We had to do some creative shuffling and asked for our meals to be served separately so that one could eat while the other held Francis. Then we swapped.
And when Francis threw up on me, I was given some Qantas PJ’s that they give their first class passengers… So they really did look after us.
As for what did we take?
Milk and a couple of bottles, only enough for the first couple of flights as it was not provided.
A back pack for Francis: On the way to Australia I felt like we packed the entire contents of his toy box. But this was not needed, so on the way back I just packed:
2 cars, 3 books, crayons, some paper (which were not used) two plastic animals. This was enough to keep him happy in the waking hours. And there on the bigger flights were screens in the seats for him to watch. Although he did not use the head phones he did how ever like watching the images. We also took our normal every day nappy bag with 20 nappies and a big packet of baby wipes and the nappy cream. I say two cars so that I could keep him happy by taking one and playing with him..
All in all though if your child is not happy sitting still they will not be happy sitting still. The only thing you can do is grin and bare it. If you ask for the bassinet seats you will no doubt be seated next to children yourself and as I did sympathize with the couple beside me as we both had kids and understood. Just think about it like this, the plane flight will eventually end and you will reach your wonderful destination and after a nice warm shower and a sleep you'll all be feeling much better and ready to enjoy the holidays.
Good luck and I hope this helps....
PS: AND EVEN BABIES NEED PASSPORTS, EVEN CANADIANS TRAVELING TO THE USA.....
(January 2007) (
Rob.
