Travel with Children - 1.5 year old flying BOS to BKK - first time, suggestions?

Hi,

This will be the first time my daughter flies, and it's a ~16 hour flight, then a short layover in Japan, and another six hours to Bangkok. We are planning on then taking the train and a boat to get to Koh Tao, one of the islands there. We will stay at a beach front hotel/resort for 2 weeks.

A few questions:

1) Is it wrong if our daughter joins us in business class? I see no reason why my wife or I should book economy if we can go business, but will we deal with a lot of grief?

2) How can we make the trip as pleasant as possible for our daughter? We want to have a great time but I am nervous about bringing her on a plane for so long...

3) How much will airlines typically charge (AA or UA) for bringing a pack n play crib that won't fit into my luggage bag? Strollers are checked at the gate and are free, correct?

4) Any tips for once we get to Bangkok, i.e., general travel tips when traveling with young children?


Thank you so much for answering my questions! I hope you can ease my fears.

If you are really this concerned about how she will do on such a gruelling trip, perhaps you should consider something a bit easier and save Thailand for when she is a little older.
(I am speaking as the father of 3 well traveled children.)

Hi,

This will be the first time my daughter flies, and it's a ~16 hour flight, then a short layover in Japan, and another six hours to Bangkok. We are planning on then taking the train and a boat to ge to Koh Tao, one of the islands there. We will stay at a beach front hotel/resort for 2 weeks..

Why????

Maybe you should trying doing a flight with your little one before this to see what the reaction is.
As for business vs economy. It depends on how your child reacts. Business is best for sleeping not really extra room for the child to play. If your airline has bulkhead Premium Economy that may be best taking up all 3 seats. That way your child has a seat and a parent on each side and some room ahead for easy access to get out and make diaper changes and walk her around.
I've been flying since I was 4 months old and many of my childhood flights were 14 hours. I experienced ear problems and motion sickness when we circled before landing so many of the people seated near us were not my biggest fans when I was young and would cry because the ear pressure hurt. But this was when I was an infant/toddler.

If you are really this concerned about how she will do on such a gruelling trip, perhaps you should consider something a bit easier and save Thailand for when she is a little older.
(I am speaking as the father of 3 well traveled children.)

This concerned? I'm just asking questions.

Hi,

This will be the first time my daughter flies, and it's a ~16 hour flight,


2) How can we make the trip as pleasant as possible for our daughter? We want to have a great time but I am nervous about bringing her on a plane for so long...




Thank you so much for answering my questions! I hope you can ease my fears.


This concerned? I'm just asking questions.

That's the way I read you post.

It is the "first time" your daughter flies, you are "nervous about bringing her" on a 16 hour flight, and you want your "fears eased."

Sounds like you are concerned to me.

Read it however you want, I don't feel I am overly concerned. No more concerned than a new parent taking their first trip. My wife is the one who is most concerned. I don't feel my concerns are out of line, the only experience I have in this is hearing babies cry on planes. I want to know what I can do to make the flight most enjoyable for us.

If you want, you don't have to read this thread.

Why????

The water in Boston is freezing and I want to go somewhere where you can actually swim. On top of that, I like the culture and atmosphere in Koh tao so please don't say Florida. I was also considering Belize, but Thailand will be the cheapest option.

Why????

The water in Boston is freezing and I want to go somewhere where you can actually swim. On top of that, I like the culture and atmosphere in Koh tao so please don't say Florida. I was also considering Belize, but Thailand will be the cheapest option.

The why wasn't about your reasons it was about why are you taking an 18 mo. old to Thailand!! Cheapest isn't always best

So, no one here has taken their children on long flights when they are under 2 years old? Yoshi, good idea-- I'll take her on a short hop from BOS to JFK and see how it goes.

My son's first trip was a 20+ hour marathon trip to Israel at about 15 months.

Rule #1. Get your kid a seat. If you can't afford (or don't WANT to afford) to do so, don't go. Period. End of story.

If you follow rule #1 then you will have already done a lot toward ensuring the best possible journey.

...and I believe the pack and play will be considered one item of baggage against your baggage allowance, and whatever fees may apply for that would apply. You might get an agent that will send it through with a nudge and a wink as a baby item, but I think your worst case scenario is that is counts as a suitcase. It's not oversized or overweight, so you shouldn't have any nasty surprises there.

...and I believe the pack and play will be considered one item of baggage against your baggage allowance, and whatever fees may apply for that would apply. You might get an agent that will send it through with a nudge and a wink as a baby item, but I think your worst case scenario is that is counts as a suitcase. It's not oversized or overweight, so you shouldn't have any nasty surprises there.

Okay, great! That is what I was hoping for!

Hi,

This will be the first time my daughter flies, and it's a ~16 hour flight, then a short layover in Japan, and another six hours to Bangkok. We are planning on then taking the train and a boat to get to Koh Tao, one of the islands there. We will stay at a beach front hotel/resort for 2 weeks.

A few questions:

1) Is it wrong if our daughter joins us in business class? I see no reason why my wife or I should book economy if we can go business, but will we deal with a lot of grief?

2) How can we make the trip as pleasant as possible for our daughter? We want to have a great time but I am nervous about bringing her on a plane for so long...

3) How much will airlines typically charge (AA or UA) for bringing a pack n play crib that won't fit into my luggage bag? Strollers are checked at the gate and are free, correct?

4) Any tips for once we get to Bangkok, i.e., general travel tips when traveling with young children?


Thank you so much for answering my questions! I hope you can ease my fears.

I know there is a huge debate on if airkines shoukd allow kids in business class or not but i say if you paid for it then you have as much right to any other business class customer. You didnt mention the airline but i know some airlines will allow bassionet bulkhead seats for childern 2 and under. This should be free for economy but you may pay 10% of adukt ticket for bussiness. If you want to save money you coukd do this and business ofers more room for you kid to seat with you to watch movies. If you choose economy make sure the plane has your own tv.

I know most people will tell you to take a short trip to see how your kids do but sometimes you dont have that option and kids change with age, even month to month when under 3. I have three kids 4, 2, and 4 month old and all of their first fkights were 16 hiur non stop flights.

Keep in mind you kids will end up falling asleep for half of the flight. Bring some small toys and ipad loaded with movies as back up and you and your kid will be fine!

Enjoy the trip!

You didnt mention the airline but i know some airlines will allow bassionet bulkhead seats for childern 2 and under. This should be free for economy but you may pay 10% of adukt ticket for bussiness.


Where are you getting this untrue information? OP mentioned two airlines; AA and UA. A lap child on an international ticket is going to usually be charged 10% of the adult ticket price. It can add up to quite a large sum.

OP - this is your only/first child, right? That trip, IMO, is crazy. You just can't travel the way you used to before you had a child. Hours and hours of flying, then a train ride, then a boat trip? I don't even want to do that.

My tips for traveling with children? Be a bit more realistic about what they/you can handle. Surely there is someplace closer to home with warm water and culture you may enjoy. The Caribbean has some lovely beaches and it's a short ride away from Boston.

My tips for traveling with children? Be a bit more realistic about what they/you can handle. Surely there is someplace closer to home with warm water and culture you may enjoy. The Caribbean has some lovely beaches and it's a short ride away from Boston.

couldn't agree more!!

This kind of sounds insane to me, too. I took my daughter 13 hours from LA to Chile before she turned three, and it was fine, but that was probably the 40th+ segment that she had flown in her life. We were in economy, she had her own seat, and it was overnight both ways because of the north-south travel, so she did a good deal of sleeping on the flights.

I've been to Thailand before and dealt with trains/boats/etc, and I don't even enjoy it as an adult. As someone else said, cheapest isn't always best.

I don't have a problem with kids in business class, generally, but again, if this is her first ever flight...I think you're taking a big risk.

Finally, I never had a problem with getting a pack 'n play through as a baby item on AA or UA. We had the Baby Bjorn variety, which weighs 11 lbs and is like 1 or 2 linear inches over what's allowed as cabin baggage -- I always insisted on gate checking it if necessary and the GAs/FAs rarely had a problem with me bringing it on the plane. If you're flying business class on a US carrier, I can't imagine having a problem with this particular model. If it's one of the huge, heavy ones, though, I have no idea. That Bjorn got a ridiculous amount of use until TinyDancer was too big for the mattress (age 3 or so) and was the best $250 we ever spent on baby gear, period (not counting car seats, of course :) ).

We did the reverse last month with our 6 mo son. We went BKK to NRT to ORD to DTW and he was a champ. We went JL and AA in first and had space to put a small pop up tent, Kid Co brand, on the floor with the bedding from AA and he was asleep as soon as they turned out the lights. He slept all the way to Chicago.

On international flights you do pay the 10% of a full fare in the flying cabin which is rediculous as the child gets no service or amenities and takes up no space.

Kids do better some times than parents on these flights as you are always "on" to make sure they are ok. The hardest part was the jet lag each way, it took a good week before he was sleeping through the night and not wanting to play all night.

Have a good trip!

Thanks! Is that 10% on every airline, or just UA and/or AA? I guess mom will be in the back or I'll get three biz tickets... though not sure that's a good idea for our daughter to have her own biz seat (can see the perk for an economy seat, though).

We've done 10 hour car rides, what gets us through is the iPad and my wife in the back seat with our child. I'll remember to bring it! ;)

So, no one here has taken their children on long flights when they are under 2 years old? Yoshi, good idea-- I'll take her on a short hop from BOS to JFK and see how it goes.

We've been to Singapore/Bali, moscow, tokyo, Hong Kong with our twins before they turned two. We also went to Hawaii three or four times and to be honest if your goal is just tropical warm place the latter may be more practical and less expensive. Nothing wrong with asia and travel was not a problem (although we took quite a few short trips before going overseas) but we couldn't really take advantage of most features of Asian travel - kids pretty much chained us to resorts and greatly reduced gastronomical sightseeing massage etc explorations.
In most cases we booked c or f with lap kids.
We were able to get decent cribs everywhere we went so we never took pack and play.

I always promote getting a child their own seat, since it's safer. I was a Flight Attendant for 13 years so I had to watch the yukky accident videos.

I also had a lot of parents in business. Having a child in tow is not very relaxing and having the bigger seat, better meal, etc. less advantageous because you're still taking care of the baby. The business class customers also complain faster but if you want to sit up there, and have paid, let them complain!

No need to take an extra flight just to see how the baby does. Honestly, one flight goes great. The next might go less so. Kids are not predicable and wont react the same every time. Just book and leave, whether it's one or 16 hours... Being prepared is key. Having a rammy kid on a flight is not fun. Having a rammy kid, and then running out of diapers then becomes a nightmare. Having what you need wont guarantee an easy flight but might make what was annoying into a nightmare!

No need to force a child to suck on take-off and landing. It's a common myth that leads to too many crying, just woken up children. Do schedule a ped apt., just a normal well-baby visit, a few days prior to flying. S/he will child your baby's ears and make sure there are no other problems that could make your child uncomfortable during the flight. Healthy ears can handle pressurization changes (but a baby is too young to tell you if he has an ear infection). I always did this since my oldest was very ear-infection prone as a toddler and we never had problems on any of our flights. One time we did "catch" an infection and he was on the mend before we even left for the airport.

Here are my non-commercial flying tips. I started it in 2000 after my first flight with my son. 12 years of flying mostly alone, mostly long haul with three closely spaced children. I put them on a blog and purposely keep ads off it;
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com

Read it however you want, I don't feel I am overly concerned.

I read your thread the way your wrote it. If I misread it was based on your hyperbole.:rolleyes:

You say your wife is most concerned, and yet in your opening post you say: 2) How can we make the trip as pleasant as possible for our daughter? We want to have a great time but I am nervous about bringing her on a plane for so long...

You post a question on the web, you get an answer. Sorry that you I agitated you so. Have a nice thread.

Thanks! Is that 10% on every airline, or just UA and/or AA? I guess mom will be in the back or I'll get three biz tickets... though not sure that's a good idea for our daughter to have her own biz seat (can see the perk for an economy seat, though).

We've done 10 hour car rides, what gets us through is the iPad and my wife in the back seat with our child. I'll remember to bring it! ;)

That's a joke, right?

That's a joke, right?

No, it's not. I'm 6'10 and don't fit into economy.

Welcome to the world of economy plus, then.
...and welcome to parenthood where you suck it up on all sorts of things on account of your kids.

Welcome to the world of economy plus, then.
...and welcome to parenthood where you suck it up on all sorts of things on account of your kids.

Quite right!

But, I guess if mom is in the back, she's sucking it up a lot more. Best of luck to you with that one.

I don't fit in Y+ either, but we've got this figured out, don't worry. My wife understands and is fine with flying in coach while I'm in business. I'd do the same if I were 5'4 and she were 6'10.

I don't fit in Y+ either, but we've got this figured out, don't worry. My wife understands and is fine with flying in coach while I'm in business. I'd do the same if I were 5'4 and she were 6'10.

Get two c tix with lap child. Easier to manage when next to each other.
If you kid is awake but you need to go to lav this may result in all sorts of entertaining outcomes...
Going back to original topic - your kid will most likely have a blast and quite possibly won't have jet lag issues on the way out being tired of daily exploration. Back home readjustment ime was far more challenging. Perhaps its just us but it is much easier to deal with kids while traveling when they are constantly distracted by smth new. As long as we cover several key items (pacifiers, blankets, diapers, clothes, snacks) the rest can occur pretty much anywhere on the planet. After a few trips you reach a certain comfort level when you and kids know what to expect and how to manage so travel is no longer a process but a part of experience and your time with kids.

Thanks! Is that 10% on every airline, or just UA and/or AA? I guess mom will be in the back or I'll get three biz tickets... though not sure that's a good idea for our daughter to have her own biz seat (can see the perk for an economy seat, though).

We've done 10 hour car rides, what gets us through is the iPad and my wife in the back seat with our child. I'll remember to bring it! ;)

It's 10% of some fare (it varies from 10% of full-fare to 10% of who knows what) on most every airline for international long-haul flights where the adult companion of the lap-child infant is on a regular paid ticket. However, when it comes to award tickets, some mileage-ticket-issuing carriers provide for lap child infant tickets for "free" (save taxes, third party fees and perhaps fuel surcharges) or 10% of the miles (plus taxes, third party fees and perhaps fuel surcharges).

It's 10% of some fare (it varies from 10% of full-fare to 10% of who knows what) on most every airline for international long-haul flights where the adult companion of the lap-child infant is on a regular paid ticket. However, when it comes to award tickets, some mileage-ticket-issuing carriers provide for lap child infant tickets for "free" (save taxes, third party fees and perhaps fuel surcharges) or 10% of the miles (plus taxes, third party fees and perhaps fuel surcharges).

Thanks for this. This will be helpful. I will call AA and see what they say, given I am EXP. I don't want to pay 10% of a full fare biz ticket, but I really don't want to be separated from my wife during the flight.

I'd opt for Brazil or a LA destination - no jet lag and easier to reach with good options.

I love Thailand (have lived there) and traveled there with an infant (and many other long haul destinations) but would never consider such a trip for 2 weeks (longer maybe).

Hi GITU,
My husband and I did several multi flight, planes trains and automobiles, type trips when my kids were this age. It is challenging, but not impossible. The tricky thing about 1.5 years is that they are so mobile and I strongly encourage buying the extra seat if possible. We did not do that, and in retrospect I wish we had.

Is the pack and play necessary? Could the hotel not provide a crib? Perhaps you child is different but my kids never really got a good night's sleep in pack and play (despite my trying to get them used to it prior to travel).

My husband and I gave up on business class and now only use it if we go away for a weekend without the kids. As busy as we were with the kids during the flight, we just found that it was a waste of money (or points). Having access to the lounge was nice though.

I like that you are staying in one place for 2 weeks. Prior to kids, my husband and I would move to a new place every few nights. This is a behavior we had to change because it was just too disruptive to change hotels all the time with young kids. Furthermore, where before kids we would plan 3 outings in a day, now 1 activity was plenty.
I have a website where I share tips on travel with kids. It is called http://pintsizepilot.com. See the section under "tips" in the top menu. I hope there is something that may be of some help to you there.

Good Luck !

We've traveled a bunch with our now almost 4 year old, including a couple of trans-Pacs.

- Transpac at 4 months (CX F) wasn't bad at all. 2 F seats and a lap child, he didn't sleep a ton, but he was happy and quiet. Great seats, great service, etc. On the way back, we had the F section of a 747 to ourselves - perfect. It also wasn't his first flight.

- At 3 1/2 years (CX J), it was good. He had his own seat, and slept a lot and otherwise entertained himself with the AVOD, iPAD, etc.

However, the time between the ages of 1 1/2 and 2 were by far the hardest for us from a travel perspective. Even short hauls domestically were tough. Old enough to want to move, too young to be entertained for long. Unless your toddler is one who can sleep anywhere/anytime, a transPac would be really difficult, IMO.

I don't fit in Y+ either, but we've got this figured out, don't worry. My wife understands and is fine with flying in coach while I'm in business. I'd do the same if I were 5'4 and she were 6'10.

Let me get this right. Not only will she be stuck back in E alone, but she'll be soley caring for your 1.5 year old child, who has never been on a plane, on a 16 hour flight? I bet she's thrilled. I feel sorry for her.

Let me get this right. Not only will she be stuck back in E alone, but she'll be soley caring for your 1.5 year old child, who has never been on a plane, on a 16 hour flight? I bet she's thrilled. I feel sorry for her.

6'10" in economy class with a 1.5 year old lap-child sounds far worse than 5'4" in economy class with a 1.5 year old lap-child.

Many a person in my family have traveled from the US to some far reaches of Asia and South America in economy class with or as a lap-child infant where there was only one adult person in the travel party. And it has been far smoother than it has been in my family where there has been only one adult traveling with two or three seated young children in business or first class on such trips.

The key thing generally is that of being able to maximize the proportion of total flight time that is sleep time for the lap-child, to let the child find some mobility time (preferably on the ground), and to entertain and feed the child to the child's content on the flight. A well-rested caretaker helps, so hopefully there will be some breaks (at least on the ground) in this regard.

He did say he's looking into a third seat, one in economy class. That should thrill her indeed, more so if a car seat is allowed on board for use (which is far more likely if having a confirmed seat for the child). No need to feel sorry for either member of a couple when talking of couples arriving at outcomes which they both consider acceptable.