Long Haul Travel with under 1’s
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23629
Printed Date: 10 September 2025 at 9:48pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Long Haul Travel with under 1’s
Posted By: Twinboys2b
Subject: Long Haul Travel with under 1’s
Date Posted: 10 January 2009 at 3:26pm
|
My DH & I are planning to visit my in-laws & other family in England for 3 weeks in May when our twin boys will be 8 mnths old. We are looking to fly via USA to get the extra baggage allowance but I know LA's transit lounge is crap. I am so worried about how on earth we'll cope. I have so many questions, any you can answer & any advice/ suggestions would be much appreciated:
1) How did your bubs cope with a change in their body clock, both on holiday & back at home? Jet lag arghhh 2) Any tips for when they are on the plane? I get such bad ears so I don't know how the bubs will cope. - Feeding (on Formula now), Sleeping, Crawling, Playtime, Other pasengers 3) How did you transport them during transit - can you hire a buggy or capsule just for LA transit? A baby each plus carry-on luggage? Were the staff helpful? 4) Did you hire a cot, buggy etc while on Holiday, if so where from? 5) Did you travel on the underground, any tips? 6) Would you recommend a stopover in US or fly straight through? I'm sure there's more to ask but that's all I can think of for the mo...HELP Thanks in advance. (Edited to add Q no. 6) ------------- 3yr old gorgeous ID twin boys. |
Replies:
Posted By: Redbedrock
Date Posted: 10 January 2009 at 3:59pm
|
We flew to the Uk last year when fay was 9/10 months old. We flew through San Francisco as we were aware of the problems in LA, much more family friendly, is that an option, air NZ fly through there and then their partners pick up the transatlntic bit, I think we did Lufthansa for that leg, not that I would reccomend them
So Questions 1 We didn't have an issue with Fay and jetlag (just me) I just kept her on the same routine at local time and she adapted really easily 2 Yep we fed on take off or laning either milk or water. Little toys to play with, she cralwed a bit but managed to get her to sleep for big portions. the noise and motion seemed to lull her. helpful passengers are good too, we lost her for a couple of hours to a lady behind us who took her for a walk so we could sleep. Where was she going to run away to in a crowded plane. also had a gut feeling that she was a nice lady if you know what I mean. 3 i used a sling to carry her on transit and to check in and on landing. Might not be an option with twins tho 4 parents and inlaws begged and borrowed all the stuff we needed, but we did take our own buggy. I think mothercare hire and just google some local sites too, there were plenty of options/ try Babies r us 5 didn't use the underground but did a trip from midlands to Manchester which was relitively simple but leave plenty of time between connections to regroup and organise yourself between platform hauls It will work out well, at the emd of the day the trip will be over in 24-30 hours and if it's hell then it will end at some point, honest ------------- http://www.babysfirstsite.com"> 
|
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 10 January 2009 at 4:21pm
| i read this really cool tip for flying, although your boys may be a l;ittle too young. Get one of those plastic street sheets - at the warehouse or something and three or four matchbox cars. You can keep them in your purse - they take up hardly any room, or weight. in transit lounges when the kids get antsy, just whip out the sheet and keep them occupied for hours. |
Posted By: Bikkuri
Date Posted: 10 January 2009 at 9:17pm
|
We took our daughter to Japan when she was 5 months and it was easier then than when she was 16 months old and did not want to sit still.
Regarding baggage allowance, if you are flying Air NZ, your children will have the same checked in baggage allowance as you even though you don't pay for a seat for them. So with 4 of you it will be an allowance of 80kg in total. Not sure about other airlines though. 1) Only took a few days to adjust to the time difference, but only 3hr time difference. 2)On the plane try and feed on take off and landing as that is when their ears may get sore. We found that if I fed her just before taking off then she would fall asleep and stay asleep for quite a while. If they don't want to feed, then try to give them something to suck on (we tried a bottle with cold boiled water in, and that worked too). Try and book a bulkhead seat, as there is room in front of the seat to sit on ground, and crawl a little. Also the airline has basinettes that can be fitted in front of those seats. Found that our daughter liked looking over the back of the seat at other passengers and playing peek a boo, so had no problems with other passengers. If babies are crying lots, take them for walks up and down the aisles. Had a few little toys with us, but did not really use them. Suggest taking a new toy that they haven't seen before to keep them amused for a while. When our daughter was 16months found that the best toy was bubble wrap, as she sat for ages popping that - very light and compact. 3. Found that front pack was the best way to travel as difficult to find lifts in some airports/train stations. Airline staff mostly helpful, just make sure you ask them if you need anything. 5. Travelled on subway, and would suggest a front pack for that as well, as lots of crowded trains and stairs. 6. Would recommend a direct flight as found hard to keep daughter occupied during stopovers, and if long stopovers was difficult to find place to get her to sleep. |
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 10 January 2009 at 11:20pm
|
We're currently visiting family in Ireland with our 11month old twins. We flew Auckland - San Francisco -Frankfurt - Dublin.
1) How did your bubs cope with a change in their body clock, both on holiday & back at home? Jet lag arghhh Can only comment on the holiday part so far but it took a week for them to adjust their sleeping patterns. We only let them sleep for 2 hours in length during the day and would put them back to bed when they were tired. Once they were sleeping through the night we let them sleep as long as they wanted during the day. At night they would go to bed as normal but would wake at around 11pm for a bottle and a play and again at around 3am for another play. These times adjusted as the week went by. Now they're sleeping through the night and are doing 2 x 1.5 hour naps during the day. We fly back next Thurs so will comment on the return home once we've all recovered 
2) Any tips for when they are on the plane? I get such bad ears so I don't know how the bubs will cope. - Feeding (on Formula now), Sleeping, Crawling, Playtime, Other pasengers Give them a bottle or water when taking off / landing. Eimear suffered on some of the landings (these are generally worse) and a quick sip of water would help her clear her ears. I took formula in the travel containers and no one questioned them. I declared that I had baby food when going through US Customs and they didn't even check what I had. The other passengers were fascinated with the girls. For the second flight I walked around with Aoife a lot as she was too excited to sleep and I chatted to so many people. We had bassinettes which were great, especially on the night flight out of Auckland. We had the 4 seats to ourselves for that flight. For the second flight we had a couple sitting next to us and they loved the girls and played with them allowing us to wolf down our meals in peace. 3) How did you transport them during transit - can you hire a buggy or capsule just for LA transit? A baby each plus carry-on luggage? Were the staff helpful? We took our double MB to the gate and it was either waiting for us at the other end or was offloaded at the baggage claim for us. We had too much carry on luggage (nappy bag, 2 x wheelie cases). On the way back I'm just going to pack one case as we didn't even open the second one. I had loads of clothes packed but ended up leaving the girls in stretch n grows for the entire journey which is what I'll be doing on the way back too. The staff were extremely helpful. Air NZ were top notch and Lufthansa were ok, but they're not the best on the normal day anyway  On both flights we got plenty of help when getting off the plane.
4) Did you hire a cot, buggy etc while on Holiday, if so where from? Both our families sourced all the bits we needed. I'm sure if you got in contact with the local multiple birth club they might have stuff to rent though. 6) Would you recommend a stopover in US or fly straight through? We had 4 hours in San Fran which we found extremely manageable. This gave us enough time to walk about, get some food and fresh air. We had 6 hours in Frankfurt but DHs parents flew over to meet us and took the girls off our hands for a few hours. We are staying overnight in Vancouver on the way back so will let you know how that goes. Good luck with it all!
|
Posted By: Twinboys2b
Date Posted: 11 January 2009 at 9:08am
|
Thanks so far guys, great tips
Will investigate flying through San Fran instead of LA & I think we'll try to have the least amount of time in transit rather than stopover. Air NZ sounds good, especially with the baggage allowance. May look at front packs, sounds like it may be the easiest way to transport them when in UK. Worried about taking the Dble Mountain Buggy re. damage etc, may buy the actual cover for it so it's more secure. Jet lag may be the interesting part. Tishy: Thanks for your suggestions, I'm one to overpack like mad so will have to look at what we take on the plane carefully as I'd prob do the same & not use 1/2 the stuff. Good luck for your trip home on Thursday, let me know how you go. How did/are you coping with the weather aspect, I suppose you just have heaps of very warm gear for them. I'll be doing the opposite (NZ winter to UK Summer). ------------- 3yr old gorgeous ID twin boys. |
Posted By: HippyMama
Date Posted: 11 January 2009 at 10:10am
|
I highly recommend going through San Fran too, I avoid LA at all costs!
Tishy - I can also highly recommend staying in Vancouver, the airport is good as are the facilities, when will you be flying back? ------------- Mama to two earth walkers & two angels. Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. ~ Kittie Franz Next Slingbabies! Meet - Friday 4th May !! |
Posted By: Twinboys2b
Date Posted: 12 January 2009 at 10:29am
|
We're now thinking of going through Hong Kong which I've been told is a good airport - anyone been through transit at Hone Kong airport? Reason been is that we get heaps of baggage allowance using Air NZ - 80kg so don't need to fly through US afterall.
------------- 3yr old gorgeous ID twin boys. |
Posted By: kiwisj
Date Posted: 12 January 2009 at 1:48pm
|
I haven't done HK airport with a baby (yet) but it IS a fab airport. Very easy to get around, well sign posted and great food/drink/shopping while you're hanging around.
From what I have heard of US airports (big, takes ages to get anywhere) vs what I know of HK (very efficient and best airport in the world over the past few years) I would definitely choose to go through HK if you can!  ------------- SJ Callum - Dec 2008 Daniel - Oct 2010 |
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 14 January 2009 at 10:57am
The season change went ok. We lasted 3 weeks without rain  so only had to deal with cold which is manageable with layers and layers. Also the grandparents were very generous with buying clothes
Pearls - We arrive into Vancouver at 2pm on Thurs and leave at 6pm on Friday. If you have any suggestions of must see things let me know
|
Posted By: Natalie_G
Date Posted: 14 January 2009 at 12:03pm
|
Avoid LA as much as you can.
My MIL just went through LA last week and she didnt have time to go to the loo it was that bad, she said at least she didnt get yelled at this time. When we plan on our trip to France we will not be going anywhere near the states. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
|
Posted By: SpecialK
Date Posted: 14 January 2009 at 9:11pm
|
I haven't travelled with a baby, but have to add my 2c: avoid LA if you can, it's horrid. The other thing to consider is purchasing Koru club membership (or membership to lounges of whichever airline you fly with) - you have all of the business class privileges on the ground: premium check in, lounge access etc. Lounges have showers, food etc. It's a few hundred dollars, but might be worth it. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Twinboys2b
Date Posted: 14 January 2009 at 9:21pm
Great idea thanks, will discuss with DH. Would love to make the check-in's as fast as possible. Also looks like we'll avoid US & fly via Hong Kong with Air NZ and have only a 1 1/2hr stopover which I'm sure will fly by really fast. Thanks for all the advice so far guys - helped heaps. ------------- 3yr old gorgeous ID twin boys. |
SpecialK wrote:Posted By: ClareB
Date Posted: 08 February 2009 at 7:25pm
I agree I haven't flown through LA with a baby yet, but the last time I flew through it was for our wedding and it was a NIGHTMARE San Fran is a much more user-friendly airport and if you can swing the membership to a lounge it's a godsend! good luck with the trip and let us know. Safe travels ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|