Travelling with a 6mth old for the first time

[texter]

Trying to bring Master Texter who would be 6mths old next month on his first plane trip to OOL....

A couple of Qs:

1) Does MEL and OOL allow you to gate check the pram/stroller? Will they bring it back up at the gate or do I need to collect at baggage claim?

2) If we have to check his stroller in at chk in, it is true there are strollers that we can use at the airport?

3) WouldQF proactively offer a change in seating if loads are light? I don’t imagineanyone would be happy seating next to a crying baby…

Thanks

 

[AisleSeat]

You can usually get the pram gate checked and it'll get brought back up to the jetbridge on arrival. If your pram is too big and won't fit through the standard security x-ray machine you'll have to check it, and you'll get a loaner to the gate (Not sure if you have to book one in). I've seen them at MEL, but don't know abut OOL.

I recommend getting a stroller bag too, if you don't have one already.

 

[BillytheFIsh]

1. I can't speak for OOL, but QF in MEL have been a bit cagey with gate checking prams saying they can't do it until I insist, saying VA do it all the time. They generally then get on the phone and will let you do it eventually. (Including at J checkin as well).

2. I've heard the myths about airport strollers as well, but never managed to find one.

3. Not usually, no. They will generally accommodate reasonably requests though, so check the loadings and seatmaps for yourself and work out where you would prefer to be.

Personally I find gate checking is more trouble than it's worth for domestic flights. If you're arriving just 60 mins before departure, carrying bub in an ergobaby/babybjorn is the easier option in my experience. If you have a long layover/international flight, then it is probably worth it.

 

[JohnK]

My experience with Qantas BNE/SYD is you take stroller to oversize and they provide you with a loan stroller.

Virgin on the other hand allow you to use stroller up to the gate and then you will have to collect from oversize on arrival.

With SQ they take stroller at gate and return back to you on disembarking in the aerobridge.

Our stroller just fits into the Qantas big bags and we also have a big bag with handles from SQ flights. We don't bother usjng a bag on VA flights and so far it has been ok.

Apologies I've not answered your question regarding MEL/OOL but from my understanding Qantas does provide loan strollers in most major airports in Australia.

 

[NoName]

Recommend a Zen Yoyo if you're looking for a pram that folds small enough to be allowed to stow in the overhead. Excellent addition to our household a couple of years ago.

 

[texter]

Thanks everyone for their replies.

Even our smallest of our two prams I don't think will fit into a X ray machine, so I will plan on checking it in at the counter and will ask to see if they have strollers on loan....

The yoyo is an excellent suggestion, though seems kind of weird to have 3 prams for only one baby. The new "lie flat" model is ideal and if it is too tiring to carry(ier) him then we may have to buy one for our next trip to HKG..

 

[vitagen]

I got a baby zen yoyo it's an insane pram!!! I love it, cousin and friend bought the cheap Chinese copies which surprisingly is pretty good too, not as smooth in operation but for 20% of the cost

 

[AisleSeat]

A travel pram I can recommend is the Joovy ultralight. Ours has held up to tropical downpours and sun in Mexico, cobbled streets of Italy, London grime and HK pollution, not to mention being thrown about by baggage handlers. It's still going strong after 18 months.

 

[Denali]

another idea for airports only, https://mountainbuggy.com/au/Products/bagrider#.WOWXrW-GOUk

 

[JohnK]

Even our smallest of our two prams I don't think will fit into a X ray machine, so I will plan on checking it in at the counter and will ask to see if they have strollers on loan....

The pram doesn't need to fit into the xray machine. When we were using the bigger pram my wife would walk through the metal detector holding our daughter and I would walk the pram through metal detector and then come back to walk through metal detector again.

 

[LadyC]

For managing airports, a baby carrier is great. Eg baby bjorn, ergo, tula. We have used our Tula for my son for a number of international trips since he was born and he is now three.

Also, consider buying a second hand stroller off ebay. We bought a collapsable maclaren cheaply and use that for travel.

 

[Natalie_B]

A baby carrier is so handy when traveling. I never travel with the kids without it. I put miss 1.5 in it when we arrived in CHC at 1am in Feb.

I always check in our pram (in a travel bag). We have a Maclaren Quest for travel, but I did take our side by side pram on our last trip to the US.

QF Syd international has always had prams to borrow post check in but I'm not sure about domestic.

Alternatively you can hire a pram. It's what I've done on our last few trips to TSV.

 

[vnaz]

Trying to bring Master Texter who would be 6mths old next month on his first plane trip to OOL....

A couple of Qs:

1) Does MEL and OOL allow you to gate check the pram/stroller? Will they bring it back up at the gate or do I need to collect at baggage claim?

2) If we have to check his stroller in at chk in, it is true there are strollers that we can use at the airport?

3) WouldQF proactively offer a change in seating if loads are light? I don’t imagineanyone would be happy seating next to a crying baby…

Thanks

The Yoyo is an excellent pram that you can take iwth you. I usually take both the carrier (like a baby bjorn) & the pram with me when I travel. You can take it up to the door of the plane, fold it down and take it on as carry-on, then unfold at the door and walk away.

In terms of proactive change in seating - i usually just ask at check-in to be sure.

 

[badseed]

My wife and I took our 9-month old up to Sydney and back last weekend (on VA) - and he really didn't enjoy the flights. Hence we didn't enjoy it - nor did the many others around us. Most of whom were compassionate and understanding. He'd been to Adelaide as a 3-month old and perhaps being a little less aware back then seemed to handle it better. We tried everything but the only respite was a broad grin when he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror (little narcissist that he is!).

Interesting VA in Melbourne do not seem to pro-actively offer checking the pram at the gate, but both Adelaide and Sydney do. We have a Mountain Buggy and didn't bother with a travel bag - it's pretty robust.

His first QF flight was doing to be late this year to HNL but thankfully I'd hesitated booking until seeing how he handled the short trip. Think we'll now wait until he's a bit older, both for his comfort, and our sanity (and those around us on the aircraft!).

Good luck!

 

[kevrosmith]

Depending how often you fly, a subscription to ExpertFlyer, which allows you to view live seat allocations on QF, would allow you to gauge loadings and seat allocations and see if you want to move around or request another seat allocation. Also, don't forget T-80 to select a seat beyond your default Status zone.

 

[tyrolean]

We had the Quinny Zapp. Folds to hand luggage size. Made traveling quite easy.
Some of the checkin staff did not believe that it folds to small dimensions.

Be aware that not all models are available in Australia.
We had the simple Zapp.

Zapp Xtra2

If they are a bit bigger The Trunki is the best to use:

https://www.trunki.com.au

Then: Just relax! If you are relaxed, the kids are relaxed as well.

 

[davidj]

Trying to bring Master Texter who would be 6mths old next month on his first plane trip to OOL....

3) WouldQF proactively offer a change in seating if loads are light? I don’t imagineanyone would be happy seating next to a crying baby…

Please get him to drink or chew something on the way up and down. So many parents seem to have no idea why their child is crying their head off and majorly p*ssing off fellow pax. Should be part of crew debrief and surprised it is not.

 

[texter]

My wife and I took our 9-month old up to Sydney and back last weekend (on VA) - and he really didn't enjoy the flights. Hence we didn't enjoy it - nor did the many others around us. Most of whom were compassionate and understanding. He'd been to Adelaide as a 3-month old and perhaps being a little less aware back then seemed to handle it better. We tried everything but the only respite was a broad grin when he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror (little narcissist that he is!).


Good luck!

:shock:

You're making me nervous!

 

[texter]

Depending how often you fly, a subscription to ExpertFlyer, which allows you to view live seat allocations on QF, would allow you to gauge loadings and seat allocations and see if you want to move around or request another seat allocation. Also, don't forget T-80 to select a seat beyond your default Status zone.

Thanks for the suggestion. Hoping that my bub wakes up for his feed tonight >2AM which will be smack bang at T-80!

Currently (for the 737) have taken the aisle and centre seat. No one has taken the corresponding window seat. Not sure if it is that ethical to leave a middle seat free (though on my free EF account the loadings appear light!)

 

[tyrolean]

Thanks for the suggestion. Hoping that my bub wakes up for his feed tonight >2AM which will be smack bang at T-80!

Currently (for the 737) have taken the isle and centre seat. No one has taken the corresponding window seat. Not sure if it is that ethical to leave a middle seat free (though on my free EF account the loadings appear light!)

I would book Aisle and Window. If the middle seat is occupied you can easily trade it to a window seat. The probability is much lower that anyone wants to sit there.

As others said: Most source for discomfort is the pressure. We timed our kids to give them a bottle when the plane is starting. The only time when it did not work was when we sat 1 hour in Heathrow due the usual delay. Otherwise a dummy (Childrens Plug does the trick. Our younger one did not use a dummy, so she got a bottle.