The flight
 

Any tips for families with kids aged 2 flying to NZ from UK?

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Send them and the wife on a separate flight? :rofl: :sneaky:

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:)

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Watch Inception and do what leonardo does...

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If it helps.. my little 'un was just 3 when we flew.. it helped that we took off at night.. got him into his 'jamas gave him a dose of Calpol nightime and he slept for 8 hrs to Hong Kong , we then had a days break then took off at night time again .. did the same but this time without the calpol .. and he slept for 8 hrs on the flight to Auckland (so the calpol probably made no difference).. so i would say from my experience anyway.. make sure your iPod is fully charged and your bladder is empty lol - get 'em in their jimjams stick a pillow on your knee get a blanket and try to make it as much like bedtime as you possibly can .. 8 hrs kip out of a 12 hr flight did me :thumbsup: .. my ipod ran out of juice half way through the 2nd flight thats why i mentioned it .. in any case if your flight takes off in the daytime my "advice" is worthless :D .. good luck anyway :)

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I flew with a four year old before (just the two of us) and it was much simpler than I imagined.
Because we have a rule in our house that mcdonalds is only eaten at airports, this provided ample opportunity for bribery and delight.

I didn't medicate her but I did use Otrivin spray and chupa chups on take off and landing for her ears. We took books of course and I wrapped up some little presents to open as we went along. She loved watching the TV as she doesn't get to watch much usually.

She had one of those wheely bags that she loved pulling around so that made life easier too. We left her favourite blanky on the plane which was devestating of course. One thing. she did scream for about on hour on the first leg. I tried to get it out of my mind. It was horrible. She was really really upset that she couldn't call her dad and she was verging on hysterical. But you know. It wasn't the end of the world and people were nice on balance. In the end I promised her that she could call her dad when she got to amsterdam...seemed to work

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Yep, we've done this with 18 month old twins. Take on the plane stuff they are used to at bedtime and try and use this to get them to go to sleep. Such as sleeping bags or duvets, whatever they usually have, teddy, milk, book etc. Get a row of 4 seats to yourselves if you can and spread out. Regular walks round the plane when they are awake.

It won't fill you with joy when I say I never want to do that flight with kids again....

Oh. and don't fly Qantas. Qantas flight attendants are witches in disguise who steal small children and eat them. :eek:

BB

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I would go by Car if i were you ;)

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Just flew with a 1 yr old (almost) and she was great. On the first flight (day time) we let her play on us or in her seat (got given seat for her). Let her crawl all over the plane which she loved, often sneaking into first class to play. She had a couple of naps on me but generally stayed awake. On second flight (night time) we got her ready for bed and she happily slept. Darkness and engine noise helped no end. She slept almost all the flight but we let her crawl when she wanted. People on flight were lovely and didn't mind her at all (apart from the a**ehole behind me who punched my seat several times because he wanted my seat up, luckily I had baby in arms or a much bigger scene would have occured). Am much more relaxed about return flight now, best of luck. :thumbsup:

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Two good suitcases and put them in the luggage hold.....;)

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Guess you're already seated up but I find it useful to sit adults apart so that at least one of you gets a kip and can then swap duties. Not too far apart, far enough you can't hear the snores :rofl:

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n.b. this does not work with twins!

BB

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We've done it several times and Singapore Airlines were by far the best airline, closely followed by Cathay Pacific. We found Singapore the best place to stop over simply because the airport was so great and very easy. Hong Kong airport was our least favorite stop over and we would avoid it again if given the choice.

OK, if the airline your with doesn't let you book a specific seat - then get to check in early and try to get the 4 middle seats up by the bulk head. More leg room and with a parent at each end and the kids trapped in the middle - you can create chaos without constantly apologizing to everyone. You're also nearer the loos, and when they get bored you can go for walks without disturbing the grumpy old git you'll be stuck next to if sod's law plays it's part.

Take a cot sheet or something soft because the blankets always leave ours with rashes on their faces. I think your children may be too old for the sky cots, but it might be worth asking.

You'll be allowed 4 pieces of hand luggage, make sure you've got travel packs of wipes in all of them. No use having one packet of 100 in a bag you can't get to. Also, take a handful of carrier bags just incase you need to store wet things.

Their ears may pop, so if either of them are snotty or you think may be getting a cold - get the strongest de-congestent you can and give it to them before the flight - it can be pretty painful for them and we always dose ours up now. We always carry the sachets of calpol and ibuprofen as well.

Book children's meals in advance, and ask the attendants to bring their food before they bring yours. It means you can feed and settle them with some toys before you try and eat. Don't be afraid to ask the attendants to take the children for you if you need a sanity break for 5 minutes. Singapore again, were fantastic with this. They would offer to take the children so we could eat, and wander around the aircraft with them. I can't rate them highly enough.

In one of your hand luggage bags, pack a complete change of clothes for all of you and some shower gel etc and put a couple of spare t-shirts for the children. When you stop at the airport, there'll be time to go for a shower and at Singapore - you can book a room in the internal hotel for hours at a time. They're a lot like travel lodge rooms and they're soundproof with cots - so you can all sleep for a few hours and rest before the second part of the journey. We only booked into the room last time for 5 hours, but if felt like a holiday.

We've used the showers at Hong Kong as well and they were very clean with good facilities, so you can take a child each and you all end up feeling human. I think it was only about $20 so well worth it.

If you use the umbrella buggies, then you can take them right up to the door of the aircraft and then fold them and the staff will load them for you. When you get off at the other end, they'll have them waiting. Check with the airline first though, it's a while since we were in the buggy place.

Good luck, my kids love flying - we all do.