Travel with Children - Connect or Not Connect with a toddler

Looking to fly London to San Diego sometime next year with a 2.5 year old. Would we be better off going direct or breaking the journey with a connection to give our toddler some time to burn off some energy?

IMHO, direct if possible... Kids like routine, pushing through airports with the crowds and the noise... And for all you know the little tacker might be sleeping at the time when you are landing for the connection.. We did a few long hauls with a 2YO.. I hate to say it but IFE is your friend... (be it airline provided or iPad et al)

That said, all kids are different...

I guess on question is: How old? Lap or own seat? If lap then I would reverse my advice as the parent may need some personal space provided by a connection...

I second all of the advice above. But I would say that if at all financially feasible, buy a seat for the toddler. That's what we did for trips to AMS (@ 14 mth old) and LHR (@ 27 mths) and the extra space was clutch.

Best of luck.

No question about it, our daughter will have her own seat. She's a real fidget just sitting listening to a story, she'd drive us both crazy over a long haul flight.

I think we'll aim for the direct flight. It's about £200 more than the connecting flight option but given how late the flight departs London, she should sleep for 1/4 to 1/3 of the time.

We might have a tablet PC by the time we fly. Failing that, a laptop.

Direct is worth the money - too much can go wrong and connecting in the US is a pain.

I'll take the other side (but it depends on when and where the connection is). The respite from the metal tube might be good for everyone.

Definitely avoid connections as much as possible when flying with children. It adds time and it's awful pulling a sleeping child off a plane. Instead of letting off steam, they'll probably just cry if it's in the middle of the night, etc.

Make sure that "direct" is actually "non-stop". They're not always the same!

Non-stops are what I would suggest, but failing that I would schedule any itinerary such that they would be sleeping for the majority of the duration of the flights. Sometimes it may even work out with a connection, but little is guaranteed when it comes to young children either way.

For SAN to LHR, I'd usually try to avoid any connection when in such circumstances.

As previous posters have said, every kid is different, but we'd take the BA non-stop hands down with our son.

Looking to fly London to San Diego sometime next year with a 2.5 year old. Would we be better off going direct or breaking the journey with a connection to give our toddler some time to burn off some energy?
Fly direct. Nothing worse than a misconnect with a little kid, particularly if it's part of a large WX system or the like where there are thousands stranded, no hotels available and long lines for food.

IMHO, direct if possible... Kids like routine, pushing through airports with the crowds and the noise... And for all you know the little tacker might be sleeping at the time when you are landing for the connection.. We did a few long hauls with a 2YO.. I hate to say it but IFE is your friend... (be it airline provided or iPad et al)

That said, all kids are different...

I guess on question is: How old? Lap or own seat? If lap then I would reverse my advice as the parent may need some personal space provided by a connection...

Definitely avoid connections as much as possible when flying with children. It adds time and it's awful pulling a sleeping child off a plane. Instead of letting off steam, they'll probably just cry if it's in the middle of the night, etc.

Make sure that "direct" is actually "non-stop". They're not always the same!

Agreed..

To Hawaii, we insist on max one connection.. but have been fortunate to getting a direct from YYC last couple of years..

Plus the direct on FFP goes for a premium, so if available on points, I would snag the reservation as soon as you see it..

From a revenue ticket point of view, if you're trying to earn status, then getting a connection, two, or three would help to MR to status levels..

But with a child.. I would collect cc miles, and avoid status.. and go for the most convenient ticket.. direct if possible..

We've got a one year old and 6 year old..

Non-stops are what I would suggest, but failing that I would schedule any itinerary such that they would be sleeping for the majority of the duration of the flights. Sometimes it may even work out with a connection, but little is guaranteed when it comes to young children either way.

For SAN to LHR, I'd usually try to avoid any connection when in such circumstances.

As previous posters have said, every kid is different, but we'd take the BA non-stop hands down with our son.

Fly direct. Nothing worse than a misconnect with a little kid, particularly if it's part of a large WX system or the like where there are thousands stranded, no hotels available and long lines for food.

Agreed..

To Hawaii, we insist on max one connection.. but have been fortunate to getting a direct from YYC last couple of years..

Plus the direct on FFP goes for a premium, so if available on points, I would snag the reservation as soon as you see it..

From a revenue ticket point of view, if you're trying to earn status, then getting a connection, two, or three would help to MR to status levels..

But with a child.. I would collect cc miles, and avoid status.. and go for the most convenient ticket.. direct if possible..

We've got a one year old and 6 year old..

Thanks all. It sounds like the direct/non-stop is worth the extra dough. The LHR/SAN BA flight leaves at 4pm in the afternoon, so we'll probably keep her awake as long as reasonably possible and then let her sleep the remainder of the journey.

I've been very lucky, in that I've never had a cancellation or misconnect but sods law dictates it'll happen when I'm travelling with my kid.

I second all of the advice above. But I would say that if at all financially feasible, buy a seat for the toddler.


OP doesn't have a choice - a 2.5 year old cannot fly as a lap child.

I was also going to add, and this does NOT apply to every journey but if you must connect, I recommend doing short/long flights rather than cut the journey in half. It's easier with a child. They get all settled in and comfortable for the long one and if they're a pain for the short trip, hey, it's a short trip!!!

I've had mine be angels across the Atlantic and then meltdown on our hour long connection. I now take a bus 2 hours to another airport just so I don't have to connect! It works out cheaper too...

Its smoother if mother can breastfeed.. Most stop at 6 months.. but my wife is still going, and our youngest son is almost 2..

This method is especially useful to calm down a child, on ascents and descents..

We've done trips with connections before while our sons are babies/toddlers.. can be done.. just easier on less flight connections..