ckwinder

My husband and I are moving to Changchun, China this summer with our daughter, who will be nearly two years old. We are trying to get our tickets booked and having never flown internationally before, much less with a toddler, I would appreciate some advice from more experienced travelers!

Our first flight decision was to leave mid-day and land in the middle of the night, or leave in the middle of the night and land mid-day. We are opting for the second option, so that we can start to get our little one on local time that very day (or at least, try).

We are basically deciding between two red-eye flights, and I'm not sure which is the better option.

Option A: is to take one flight from Salt Lake into LAX with a three hour layover, then fly from LAX to Shanghai leaving at 1:00am and landing 14 hours later. (The flight into Changchun is the same for both options, two and a half hours landing around noon).

Option B: is to take two flights (Salt Lake to Portland to Vancouver) with shorter layovers. The flight departs Vancouver at 1:30 am and lands 12 and half hours later, which gives us a bit of longer layover before heading to Changchun.

The total travel time is the same with both options. Basically, is it better to take the extra flight (Portland to Vancouver) but have the long Pacific leg be an hour and a half shorter? Or is better to keep things simple, have one less flight to navigate, but spend more time in the air on the longest stretch? Also, we are not booking her a seat, so if one flight is less likely to be full that may be a tipping point, too.

My daughter is fairly easy kid, sleeps anywhere, and will hopefully still be nursing for comfort and air pressure changes. Any suggestions on which option is the better choice? Or is it all sixes anyway? Thanks very much!

lost*in*cyberspace

No brainier, Option A. Why chose 2 layovers?

You should reconsider getting your child her own seat. Holding an almost 2 year old for so many hours will be nightmarish, especially if you're flying coach. There will be hardly any room between your lap child and the seat in front of you, and if you're in a 3 seat row, it's going to be miserable for your row mate.

6rugrats

Welcome to FT, ckwinder!

I agree; choose whichever option gets you there the fastest. If you are holding her in your lap, it's just a miserable trip, IMO, and you don't want to prolong it. She is at that age where she will not want to sit quietly. I would highly advise booking her a seat.

If you don't want to buy her a seat, try this. Get an uncomfortable chair and place it facing a wall. The distance from the edge of the seat to the wall should be about the same as your seat on the plane will be from the row in front of you. Don't forget how the available space will be lessened if the person in front of you reclines all the way.

Now, sit down in this seat, and then have your child sit in your lap. Try to have her sit quietly; get a timer and see how long that lasts. Read "Good Night Moon" 535 times. Then sing her favorite song quietly another hundred or so times. Try to amuse her with new little toys you bought. Watch her have fun dropping them on the floor and watching mommy try to pick them up and hitting her head on the seat in front of her. Or, alternately, try and keep her from kicking the seat in front of her when she gets angry or bored, or my favorite, trying to prevent her from throwing toys.

For extra fun, try to eat or drink while holding her on your lap. Or give her something to eat and drink and enjoy the mess in your lap.

After 30 minutes of this "fun", give up, call the airline and book her a seat.

lost*in*cyberspace

An excellent point. On a 14 hour flight, it's almost certain the person in front of you is going to recline his or her seat. I'm not sure they could if you had a large child in your lap. And good luck keeping your child from constantly pulling on or kicking the seat in front, not to mention touching the head of that passenger.

bankops

You mention almost 2. Be careful. Will your child be 2 before you return? If not, then no worries. However, if she will be 2 before you return, this can play a role if you want to take her as a lap-child (not recommended, but possible) and can even affect the ticket if you buy a seat.

VickiSoCal

The poster says they are moving.

To China.

And neither of them have ever flown internationally before.

Ever.

I am going to refrain form commenting any further.

moondog

You should fly Asiana via ICN because connecting in Beijing or Shanghai is really annoying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changch...tional_Airport

vicarious_MR'er

Yes, I was very much wow'ed by that whole situation, too. Based on that, I think the flight specifics are probably the least important factor in all of the scenario, but hey, who am I to say?

But to go ahead and comment further, I wholly ditto rugrats and lost in cyberspace. Even if a lap child is an "option," it's not an option.

Take the route that will get you there with the least hassle (i.e., the ones with the fewest layovers). Honestly, when you're in an airport and doing the boarding/de-planing thing for layovers with a toddler, whether the layover happens at 1AM Pacific Time or 1:30 AM is like asking whether you want death by hanging or firing squad. There is no advantage to adding a layover, especially not when the layover occurs at a time when your child's body wants to be sleeping but instead you're rousing her from sleep, trucking her around a busy, noisy, bright, annoying airport, and then doing it again a few hours later.

Eclipsepearl

I agree.

The fewer layovers, the better. Every connection risks lost bags and if you get a delay, especially on one of the domestic legs, you would be really in a mess, losing your international flight!!!

A three hour layover is NOT a big deal, especially with a toddler who will want to watch stuff, walk around, visit the play area, need her diaper changed and probably want to eat too. As a single person (which I was for a long time), 3 hours was an eternity in an airport. As children change everything, I've spent 8 hours that whipped by faster with mine in various airports on layovers or delays.

One small delay on your first leg could erase that quickly too.

Is there any flight from SLC to anywhere in (northern) Asia? Certainly, a connection through Tokyo or Seoul would be easier. I used to work Asian flights and worked out of Hong Kong.

I also agree about the seat. Are you moving there for work? Your company really should be paying for a seat for your toddler. Having a lap baby for so many hours would be grim. She doesn't have to "love" her car seat and that isn't a reason not to use it. It's nice to have somewhere for her to sleep, especially not pinning you down for hours on end!

Not to mention it is the only way to fly safely with her. Lap babies aren't protected.

It's also a myth that children have to drink on take-off and landing. Please don't shake your child rudely awake to breastfeed or force her to drink. She will let you know if her ears hurt but you'll probably visit the ped before leaving. Schedule a visit a few days' prior and have her ears checked out. Healthy ears can handle pressurization changes and you can let her sleep in peace! I have flown countless times with mine and never forced them to drink during those times and none ever had ear problems.

Even "good" toddlers are not thrilled with flying. It's just a bad age. I think they hate being constrained and are too young to understand concepts like "You'll be able to get up in a few minutes..." or be bribed. They tend to run on impulse. If the seat belt sign is off and the carts are out of the aisles, feel free to get up with her. Don't fight her to stay in her seat. You'll just make her, you and everyone around you miserable! She needs to move.

More tips in my siggie but a 3 hour layover is just fine, especially connecting to an int'l flight like this.

daregale

I flew alone TATL with an almost-two lap infant, and once with the rest of my family. Flying alone wasn't pleasant because it's impossible to use the tray table, but flying with others let us pass the baby back and forth and take turns eating and using the bathroom. It really wasn't much of a problem. But I wouldn't take my darling toddling niece as a lap infant even domestically because she's a bit of a wild terror.

Fewer flights are generally better than more, and I, too, would prefer a daytime arrival.

lost*in*cyberspace

I would think you would want to at least visit first to see if this is what you want to do. If this is for a job, your company should be paying for a seat for your child. Maybe this is for charity work?

OP, if you don't mind telling us, why are you moving to China?

erik123

What airline do you prefer and what class of travel are you in?

Why not SCL-YVR-PEK-CGQ or via SEA? Or can you possible pick UA and pay up to E+?

Doc Savage

They're moving from Chile to China? Wow.

6rugrats

My husband was offered a job in China when our daughter was about this age. So, we went there (the potential employer paid) to check it out and that was that. No way.

I am just guessing here, but OP is starting in SLC, so perhaps they are LDS and this is on a mission or some type of church work? If it was for a job, the employer would be purchasing plane tickets and I cannot imagine moving to China without visiting first.

VickiSoCal you are very amusing!
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Flown a lot with bratty children. No helpful tips but perhaps consider leaving them at home

Eclipsepearl

OP, you are not obligated to answer any personal questions if you don't want to. I know you know that but I just want to reiterate that!

I want to bring up a point about a move to China with a small child. I used to live in Hong Kong and that was a challenge sometimes, single without kids. One coworker had a child this age and moved back. It was just too difficult to juggle.

But one of the problems that expats in China faced was when they wanted to expand their families. Getting good medical care and having the birth experience you want, may not be welcome in China. Having the father present in the delivery room wasn't allowed a number of years ago, let alone other requests... Look into this subject before your move, if adding to your family is on the cards... I may be wrong. There might be a very nice hospital where you are going that is used to Western-style births and request. Flying to a neighboring country or back to the States was also a solution.