Secrets and Hints for Air Travel with Young Children
Air travel with kids. Yikes! Sometimes you want to. Sometimes you need to. Sometimes you have to.
Some children are born ready to travel. They are quiet, agreeable, cute and did I mention quiet? And then, there are some children who whose behavior on an airplane may result in their parent’s nervous breakdown and fellow adult passengers deciding to maintain a child-free existence.
Fair or not. Right or wrong. Kids fly on planes. Usually with one or both parents. Without knowing your kids, I can’t predict how well they will travel on an airplane. However, if your kid kicks and screams and tries to bite you while you are properly buckling them into the car seat and then throws everything within reach at you while wailing at the top of their lungs on the routine five minute drive to the grocery store…you may want to consider a chartered flight to your destination.
For others, I have some suggestions that may or may not be obvious and can make life just a little bit easier for yourself, and fellow passengers, when flying with children.
1 – I know this is old hat and overstated but…travel during ”off peak” times and dates. Trying to travel on a Monday morning with your three precious children with thousands of business travelers is always a bad idea. Try Tuesday afternoons, Wednesdays, Thursday mornings, Saturdays and even on a holiday day…not the day before or after…but on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day. Stay away from 7-9am flights and 3-6pm flights…that is when the majority of business travelers are trying to fly around the country for business purposes.
2 – Get everywhere early. Get to the airport early. Get to the gate early. Until your youngest is three or so…take advantage of the coveted perk of pre-boarding! Being early will give you more options should things go wrong and can reduce trip stress caused by long lines at ticketing and security.
3 – Use the secret power of GATE PASSES! While your husband, family or friend who is driving you to the airport is not ticketed for flight, they can still accompany you to the gate!!! IT IS A HUGE HELP through security. It is also a life saver when you have a delayed flight and you can use the extra set of adult hands to help with potty breaks, food runs and just a bit of company. As long as your travel Sherpa has proper identification, you should be able to ask for and obtain a gate pass from a ticketing agent for your non-flying children helper (husband, friend or grandparent). Airlines usually limit the number of gate passes they will issue to one adult per child traveling. So, the grandparents may need to play a game of rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to walk you to the gate. Additionally, gate passes are also available on the landing end of flights. Your family or friends waiting for your arrival can ask agents at the ticketing desk for a gate passes to meet you at the arrival gate and help you get from the gate to baggage claim. The ticketing agent will require proper identification, the passenger’s name and flight information. A gate pass holder will be required to show proper identification and their gate pass to enter and go through the security line. Gate passes have been a life saver for me and probably the best kept airline secret since 9/11!!! Use this feature…it is free and available to most commercial passengers.
4 – Call the airline after you book your e-tickets and make sure that you have firm seat assignments. Check and make sure the seats that you have been assigned make sense for you and your brood. Seats together towards the front of the plane are always a better. bet During this telephone call, you can check to see about your flight’s plane amenities. Are there power ports available for DVD players or will you need to bring extra batteries? Will there be movies? Will they serve food or snacks? Keep in mind…Southwest does not provide seat assignments. So, see number 2 and get there early. And, make sure your print your boarding pass before getting to the airport…it speeds everything up!
5 - You can find just about everything an adult might need in the airport or on the plane but some child items are harder to come by if you don’t bring them yourself. Bring extra sippy cups, diapers, formula and any special infant/child medicine in your diaper bag backpack (replace your traditional diaper bag with a easier to carry backpack when traveling). With delayed flights, bad weather or just plain bad luck, it is better to have more of the essentials when you are stuck for hours on end. You may also want to bring extra batteries because they are so darn expensive at the airport! Speaking of batteries, don’t forget to pack your cell phone charger in your diaper bag backpack!!! When was the last time you tried to find and use a pay phone at an airport?
6 – Always have a couple (if not a whole box) of extra plastic lunch bags (quart or even gallon sized). These are valuable for a couple of reasons. Poopy diapers on planes seem to be an inevitable occurrence for mothers. So, make friends and fewer enemies when you provide odor control by sealing soiled diapers in a plastic bag before disposal. Also, plastic bags come in handy when you go through security. Just pop one out when you have forgotten to take the infant Tylenol and sample sized baby lotion out of your diaper bag backpack and you are facing an upset TSA agent. Don’t throw them out, bag em!
7 – Take drink tickets with you on the plane!!! Buy drink tickets in advance, either through the website or at the ticketing desk. This rule is especially important on the bus in the sky I call Southwest. If your kids are going to be potentially horrible…passing out drink tickets to irritated seat mates always goes a long way! And, if nobody takes you up on your offer or everyone around you thinks that 8am on a Wednesday is too early to start drinking…first, check with yourself to make sure that you have someone meeting you when the plane lands…and I give you permission to enjoy having one drink per accompanying child prior to noon! Also, drink tickets are much easier to find and give to the flight attendant instead of rooting around your 22″ carry-on purse for $3 to pay for a plastic cup of screw off top wine. Cheers!
8 – Take your child’s birth certificate. Many airlines are now requiring birth certificates for babies and children when checking in for your flight. When traveling, I have found the request to see my son’s birth certificate inconsistent but when they have wanted his birth certificate produced, they seemed very adamant about it. ALL CHILDREN NOW REQUIRE PASSPORTS for most international travel. The paperwork is pretty much the same and the application fees a bit less expensive for children but the picture taking is quite a bit more complicated. Most passport picture taking places will not take pictures of children under two. Dave yourself some time and call ahead to find a place who will take your child’s passport photo. We drove all over town before we were finally referred to a local photographer take our son’s picture for his passport. Also, if you are planning to travel to Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean over the holidays and you don’t have a passport yet…get to it today! The current processing wait is long for passport
9 – Oh yeah, bring stuff your child will enjoy playing with in a very confined area. Crayons are iffy because you don’t want to clean up crayon wall art on the plane. It is also a HUGE hassle to try to pick stuff up off of the floor while seated on a plane…so, small things that your child may throw is always suspect in my book. I am a big fan of cheap, portable DVD players playing the now controversial Baby Einstein videos. Believe it or not, plane noise is so loud that you generally do not have to try to get your 14 month old to wear earphones (ha!ha!) and the built in speaker will allow your child to hear without the whole plane enjoying Nickelodeon’s version of The People on the Bus. However, hands down, fellow passengers would rather listen to your DVD than crying kids…even if it is old Barney CDs!
10 – It usually takes a lot of patience to travel with kids. So, get a little bit of rest before your big travel day and don’t forget to ask for help when you need it. Most fellow passengers and flight attendants will be more than happy to assist you with bulky luggage, too much stuff to carry and even watching one of the kids while you change the other in the bathroom. However, most people are not mind readers and will not usually offer assistance unless you ask for it. Just don’t forget to say please and thank you! And, oh yeah, hand them a drink ticket!
Happy Travels! For more tips and hints, double click you way to the www.TravelwithKids.com website. MomSquack (one of my daily favorites) wrote a great article for breast feeding mothers called Flying with pumped breast milk: New guidelines.
Have another travel tip? Please leave a comment and let others in your proven travel secrets!
Be well and enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!
Erin
www.ExpectingExecutive.com
Helping Busy Mothers Manage Life’s Details
2 comments so far
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I have not flown in a long time;what are some things,that are not aloud on the plain?
thankyou…… nice job providing great info.
We travel with five children two special needs.
Prayer always help too.