Do you want to fly far away with your little one? You are wondering how to be prepared best for this adventure?
These tips are my personal favorites and they helped us a lot during our long-haul flights to Taipei and New York City as well as our various short trips.
Let's read how to stay relaxed and keep your baby happy at the same time during the flight.
These tips maily focus on babies below 2 years that can still sit on your lap during the flight. Btw, you normally only pay 10% of the flight price for a baby. This makes travelling even more attractive to young families!
1. Sleep well in advance
Knowing that you have booked an overnight flight does not necessarily mean that your baby sleeps as well as at home during the night. Be prepared and fuel up your sleeping reserves in advance.
2. Bring more food and drinks you can ever eat
An long flight with a baby on you lap can feel veeery long. So, be prepared with healthy snacks for you and you little one. You normally can bring as much liquid baby food as you want and they do not need to fit into 100ml plastic bags - there are special rules. If you breastfeed, don't forget to stay hydrated. And if you use formula, please bring some extra powder and water in case turbulences let you spill or your baby spit the milk.
3. Walk around and visit the service area of the aircraft
There is not much space on your seat, so walk around and show your little one all corners of the airplane - there is a lot to discover! That way, you can stretch your leg and your´baby sees something different than the chair back of the row in front of you. Combine this with tip #5.
4. Duvets and pillows
You know that it costs only a small portion of a full passenger iff you plan to have your baby on the lap So, bring a duvet or ask the flight attendants if they have some. Even a 3 months old can get heavy when lying on your lap for 10 hours. Plus, it easily gets cool in the aircraft. Keep your baby warm!
5. Let other passengers or flight attendants entertain your baby
Especially older women with grandma-potential are a great help. They will love it to entertain your little one and you should not be afraid to say no and get a few relaxing baby-free minutes.
6. Bring toys
The older they get, the more entertainment they want. Bring favorit toys and books to look at - not to small to get lost under the seats, not to big for handluggage. On a very long flight, you can also ask another family in the plane if they want to switch toys for 30 minutes. I am sure all kids will love it!
7. You can say no! or ignore
Contrary to tip #5, be ready to say kindly No! to other passengers talking to your baby if they are keeping your baby awake or your need a private moment for yourself.
And if someone complaints about a crying baby, stay cool - all babies cry at some point.
8. Sleeping glasses and ear muffs for the baby
We have tried earmuffs for our little one to cancel all noise and it worked pretty well as hewas sleeping for hours and hours. Some of them look really stylish, too! I have also seen babies to wear sleeping glasses, which should protect them from the cabin light. In case you want to watch a movie while your baby is asleep, these ones come in very handy.
(These are the ear muffs we have been using)
9. Get an extra seat for free
If the flight is not fully booked or there are no-shows, most people do noy know that they can actually ask at the the gate or even after boardning if there is a possibility to change seats in order to have a free seat next to you. Ask the staff - this does noy cost you anything. We were lucky on in total three longhaule flights from Europe to NY and China.
Do you have more ideas and experience in how to 'survive' a long-haul flight with a baby - let me know. I would love to hear from you!
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