Tip 3: Pay for the help
Paying for help came in very handy when we made our way back over the pond on our return flights. We stayed at a hotel near the Los Angeles airport the night before our flight and paid the bellhop to bring our bags up, store the ones we didn’t need, and to get us a car service for the morning so we didn’t have to deal with the free shuttle and getting all of the luggage on-and-off amid a rush of other passengers. The car service took us right to the level of the airport we needed to be at, and our driver found an airport baggage service to bring all of our bags to the counter. This made life SO MUCH EASIER! Yes, it cost extra in tips and fare, but it was well worth the sanity of my husband and I before the long trip home. You may not find this in other countries, but take advantage of it in the states.
Tip 4: Get the bulkhead seats
We requested the bulkhead seats for multiple reasons: to have more legroom and also to get the bassinet for our infant. We bought our toddler her own seat (you think I wanted to hold that monster, I mean loving little girl for 11 hours? Ha!) and we each had a seat. Fortunately, we were in a row of 4 and 1 of the seats was empty. This allowed us to spread on out and have as much room as possible. Crayons, books, stuffed animals quickly took over the bulkhead area and we didn’t have to make sure not to encroach on the other passengers space since it was just us. Hopefully, you will have the same luck and will have an open seat next to you. The bulkhead also allows you to get up and walk around, use the restroom, etc., without having to ask anyone to move. If you sit flanking your little ones, you also create a play zone for them to play on the ground if they want, and they can’t escape because you are on each end.
Tip 5: Get organized
Make sure your carry-ons are well-organized so in a moments notice you can pull out the snack, toy, diaper, or baby bottle before one of your littles has a stage 4 meltdown. We split our bags up as follows: our diaper bag had diapers, wipes, and change of clothes for the kids, and formula. My husband’s bag had all of our toddler’s toys (distractions), and snacks for her. My bag had any extra adult stuff we needed such as a laptop, headphones, etc. Our system worked very well. We knew which bag to go to for what we needed and were never frantically looking for something.
So there you have it, 5 travel tips to make flying with small children a bit easier. I said a “bit” easier. It still won’t be easy and you’ll walk by all those childless travelers leisurely sipping their wine and reading a magazine or watching a movie uninterrupted and you will long for those days of travel. During a particularly stressful time of your travel you may look at the emergency exit and ponder jumping out because you know you will at least get some rest on the fall down to earth (I kid!), and finally, you will know without a doubt, that basically everyone on the plane is thankful they aren’t you! But who cares, it’s times like these that build character right? Now go travel!
