{"id":2258,"date":"2020-03-24T19:57:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T16:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flyings.net\/read\/?p=2258"},"modified":"2020-03-24T19:59:49","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T16:59:49","slug":"flying-with-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flyings.net\/info\/flying-with-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying with Children"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As a flight attendant for thirteen years with two companies, I learned a lot about traveling with babies by just watching what worked and what didn\u2019t with passengers, but the real lesson was ahead of me. Now I\u2019m usually flying alone with my own three between Europe, where I now live, and California, where I\u2019m originally from about every six months. We\u2019ve also taken quite a few flights within Europe, the Middle East and domestic flights in the States. I\u2019ve actually lost count of how many, and now we can claim we\u2019ve done stand-by, full fare, low-cost, charter, etc.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Some of this information might seem obvious to you, especially if you\u2019ve flown a few times either with or without your children. Some reading this have never been on a plane themselves, or it\u2019s been long time ago, so please keep this in mind.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Also, to be clear, this article is not a legal document and can\u2019t be used as proof of any of the laws or rules I refer to throughout.<\/strong> Check the FAA websites or other relevant agencies to confirm any statements I make. I try to provide links when I can. Be aware, also, that airlines often have their own policies which might be stricter than their own governments\u2019 laws. Most of the employees you encounter do not have the power to change or make exceptions to any rule. They simply must follow them, even in cases where logic or safety is questionable. Now that I\u2019ve covered my backside\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Flying with babies?<\/strong> For me, it\u2019s definitely a means to an end. I loved my job. I love traveling, but actually flying in the plane with my little ones, I just try to get through it as smoothly as possible. If it helps, calculate how much of your total trip will actually be spent on the plane. A mom flying halfway around the world wrote me to tell me it helped to think of it that way. Even for a short visit, the actual proportion of the time spent in the airplane and airports will be short.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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One of the worst mistakes to make is to assume that the last time you flew, everything went great so it will again. Also, how much your little one(s) have flown has little or no impact on how it will go the next time. Not too many kids have flown as much as mine have, and I\u2019ve stopped predicting whether they\u2019ll have horns or halos during the flight, while children who have never been on a plane can be complete angels. It\u2019s variable. Pint-sized memories are short. The purpose here is to keep make it as easy as possible. I usually expect that everything will go wrong. If any mishaps occur, well, stuff happens. That\u2019s a given. If everything goes smoothly, I quietly celebrate my victory\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I have tried to organize this article in sections so that parents can skip over and get to the parts that are relevant. For example, if you already have your tickets booked, you can pass over all the sections on buying tickets. It can also be a bit much reading all this in one sitting so parents have told me that they find it helpful to bookmark or copy it, coming back to the sections they need as they come up.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n