stacey19

Ok, I have only been on a plane when I was a young un and am starting to feel very lost and scared about the whole process from arriving at the airport to landing in Christchurch. The OH has never flown before so we share the fear. We depart from London Heathrow and we are flying with Singapore Airlines on the 23rd January, can anybody tell me what happens?

1) we have 2 small children, will we be allowed to take the buggy with us?
2) will we be all seated together?, I did ask Thomas cook over the phone and she couldnt tell me if the seats we bought were all together, surely they cant make my 2 year old sit alone
3) we are sorting the permits out from NZ (OH has a written job offer) and we have return tickets, we are bringing over some personal documents like police checks, employer references in our cases, do they scan cases and take things out or should we have the documents sent before we go? I ask this because Im sure if they found the documents they would know what we were going to do.
4) we are taking 2 small cases and 2 large ones, will customs think this is odd for a family of 4??


Please talk me through it and anything else I should know, thankyou stacey!!!

jueinnz

I will start....get to the airport early....way before you have to be there so you are 1st in the cue to check in that will ensure you sit toghether.
They will only open your cases if they see something dodgy.

jueinnz

Ummm just read this again...yes if customs see this they may think it is dodgy , do you have a work visa???

stacey19

No we are going over as tourists and getting all the paper work done from NZ, NZ immigration actually told us it would be quicker this way.

SirEglamore

Isnt that a work to residence visa?

Am Loolah

Hi Stacey, we flew out with Singapore airlines earlier this year with 4 kids. We checked in on-line which you can do 72 hours beforehand (I think.) Then as Jue says get there early and you'll find a much shorter queue at a seperate on-line check-in desk. We did the same thing when we returned.

When you check-in on-line it'll show you where your seats are.

There was a similair thread a while ago, see if you can find it under searching the forum?

Caroline

newkiwi

you are getting a babtism of fire then, never flown and now flying all the way to NZ...no half measures for you then...

Itll be fine im sure..I dont know what they do with the buggies nowadays, used to be you could take htem to the gate and then they get put in the hold just before you board, but i dont know now with the new security regulations.

Best chance to ensure you are seated together is to check in early. I think the plane has a 3-4-3 configuration, but no your 2 yr old wont have to sit alone im sure. Just ask at check in for the seating you prefer.

bring the documents in your hand luggage, that should be fine. On the NZ side you will have to show your able to support yourself without having to work, so be ready to give them an address where you will be staying etc. you need to show return tickets and convince them you have funds to support yourself.

Dont volunteer the information about looking for a job unless specifically asked. NZ is actually pretty good about arriving as a visitor and then getting a work permit once here, you cant for example do that in the UK. If asked something, always asnwer truthfully.

Sometimes (seldom) they have randomn checks and ask to see hand luggage, but I doubt that you will be asked to do that. Even if they do it should be fine, just tell them the truth if they ask about it.

make sure you know what youre allowed to take in your hand luggage from the uk...

kwprwn

usually they will let you take the buggy thru right until the last minute so they will just take it from you just as you board the plane, airlines tend to be fairly good like that, but you have to ask at check in

with regards to your seats, like Julie said get there early as well, it is highly unlikely that they will sit you apart as you have young children, the travel agent should request seats together for you...which airline are you flying with by the way, some airlines will confirm seat nos, make sure that your travel agent calls the airline again to request seats together for you and if you can ask them to do it while you are sat in front of them ( am ex thomas cook staff and I used to do it while the customer was in front of me) if possible do this in the week as the airline will be working where as on a weekend the airline may be closed so you have to rely on the travel agent to do it when you arent there, and believe me I have worked with a number of travel agents who dont do what you ask them to do. I know this is slating some travel agents, but its amazing what they wont do unless you push them

The airline probably wont be concerned with what baggage you have as long as you within your limits, just make sure no one bag is heavier than 32kilos

hope this helps a bit

Dawn

P2L

Stacey, have you and your OH looked at putting a work to residence visa apllication in from the UK? If you have a written job offer and your police checks etc are in place then you should get a visa within about 10 working days . think it costs about $300 to submit.

As for the airline, have you tried speaking to them direct if you're concerned about seating. We flew with Malaysia airlines last year with a 10 month old, 18 month old and 2 older ones and they were able to book our seats on all our flights,sorted child menus and even made sure they had the right size nappies on board!!!

Buggies can be taken to the boarding gate but they must be the folding sort and have to be lightweight too, can be a bit funny sometimes about the ones with canopy on

Hope this all helps.
Sarah

newkiwi

How long is your stopover in Singapore for? There is a hotel right in the airport in singapore, you can rent rooms in 4 or 8 hour blocks, so if you have a longish stopover and dont want to leave the airport it is well worth checking into a room for a bit of a shower/ lie down. Worth booking a room in advnce if you want to do that...

Or are you having a few days in singapore?

Singapore airlines are pretty good as far as in flight enterntainment goes, lots of movies and games to keep everybody busy, and they keep coming round throughout the flight offering orange juice and sandwiches/ rolls.....

StevieB

If you're not stopping over in Singapore, make sure you take a change of clothes in your carry on luggage, it's a long flight.
If you are ok on a roller-coaster and a train, you'll be alright flying. Seriously, it's mostly as smooth as a train journey. Sometimes there's turbulence, which can be unsettling for the uninitiated, but, as the hitchhikers guide says DON'T PANIC. It does pass, and that's where the roller-coaster bit comes in. The first time I ever flew was from Brize Norton to the Falklands. 16 hours with a 2 hour stop at Ascension Islands. I was shitting myself, but I thoroughly enjoyed it..You'll be fine.
You may find that the flight out of UK is underbooked, ours was, so there should be sufficient area to allow you to get seats together.

brandn

Hi,

The best bit of advice i would give about the flight is to ring the airline and ask for bulkhead seats. We flew with our 18month old son with Emirates (who where superb) and managed to get a bulkhead. That way you have a bit of space in front of you for a few toys on the floor and if the child is light enough they will give you a basinet bed which attaches to the wall in front letting the little guy and your arms get some rest!

We were a bit worried about the flight, but to be honest it was really pretty straight forward, not a nightmare at all and we didnt have a seat for our son, he was on our laps the whole way!

You will be fine to take your buggy as well, all the way to the door of the plane and it will be there when you get off as well if Emirates are anything to go by.

All the best,
Neil.

SarahB

Our lightweight buggy went onto the place with us. They put it in a spare overhead locker at the rear of the plane. Our 21 month old travelled in his car seat which was strapped into his seat.

We were rushed through any queues because we had an infant with us.... it was great.

Good luck, I'm sure youll be fine.

poppets

we travelled with singapore airlines 7 months ago, two kids (4& a half & 2 & a half) fantastic, buggy to gate & waiting for you when you got off plane, & as sarah has said , first to board, & first to get meals. We had babies (twins)on our flight too & the staff were great & took them for a walk around the plane to give mum & dad a breather.

Maz

Wow! That really is going above and beyond the call of duty. I'm mightily impressed by that.