Travel – especially air travel – seems to be full of hassles these days. Between endless security lines, fees for everything and non-existent leg room it might be enough to make you think air travel with baby would be just too much to deal with. But before you put away your Ziploc bag with your air travel sized liquids, let us show you just how possible family air travel can be.
Start your day out right by being well rested before you fly. If you’re taking an early morning flight, consider staying in an airport hotel with an shuttle. For more information, you can read our post Flying with Kids: Why Airport Hotels with Shuttles Make for Good Travel Mornings.
You might be tempted to keep baby in your travel stroller to make check-in and going through security easier and faster. However, if Baby can walk, even for just a short stretch, we would highly recommend having them walk through the airport. While your toddler might be slow, and it might take a longer time to complete the process, letting them walk will help burn off energy and get them ready for all that sitting on the plane that babies and toddlers find so challenging.
Car seats and strollers can be checked at the gate. This means you take them with you right up to the plane, then leave them by the door at the bottom of the gangway right before you get onboard. Remember to ask for tags for gate checked items when you check in. Strollers and car seats that are gate checked are bound to get dirty – they’re stored in the hold of the plane, after all. So we’d recommend buying a JL Childress Ultimate Car Seat Travel Bag
Once you’ve reached the gate, encourage your baby or toddler to run around as much as possible. (You can always look for a gate that’s not busy and have your toddler climb on and off chairs, and run around). By the time we get on a flight, our toddler is literally refusing to walk. In fact, before she was old enough to be walking, we would find an emptier gate and chase her around on all fours! Crawling on airport floors will make your child’s pants absolutely disgusting, however. So plan to have them wearing ones you won’t mind tossing out. We were never able to get any of them clean. (Or save them for the next flight!) It’s worth it in the end, though! Tiring them out before the flight will pay off when your baby or toddler doesn’t complain about sitting for several hours in a row!
Plan to bring a sippy cup on board with you. They help minimize spills, which is important when your child will be sitting in those clothes for the next several hours. Flight attendants will fill sippy cups for you – very exciting! To keep that sippy cup from being knocked off the tray table and rolling to who knows where, bring along a Booginhead SippiGrip
Once onboard, you’ll want plenty of different travel toys to keep your kids busy. For ideas on what to bring along, check out our posts on Top Ten Baby Travel Toys, 3 Great Toddler Travel Toys, Top 10 Great Toddler Travel Toys, and Great Travel Toys that will "Grow" with your Child.
Besides toys, (and more toys, and more toys) on the plane we’d recommend bringing a complete change of clothes for your child – just in case. Also, bring anything your baby or toddler needs to sleep (teddy, blanket, etc.) If your child is old enough to have their own seat, or if you’ve just chosen to purchase one for them, then a CARES can help keep your child safely in their seat without the need to bring along a heavy car seat onboard the plane.
You can never go wrong bringing Ziploc bags. Sandwich bags
Always bring lots of exciting snacks – it is rare to get fed on a flight these days, and even if you do, that doesn’t mean meal service will happen when your toddler is hungry. Snacks can be a great distraction and time-killer, too. Crunchy N Yummy Organic Variety Freeze Dried Fruits (Mango, Pineapple, Banana, Papaya)
Air travel is unpredictable, so we recommend bringing enough diapers for 2 days on board, no matter how short your flight might be. We put ours in a gallon sized Ziploc with the air taken out – just kneel on them while you seal the bag. This way they take up very little room. We’ve had flights delayed till the next day – if you’re stuck in some other city or at the airport or worse – on the tarmac – you’re not going to want to have to go searching for a store that sells diapers. Not to mention trying a different brand of diapers for the first time on a flight doesn’t sound like fun family travel to us. Knowing you have plenty of diapers also means there’s no need to get some right away when you land, which can be stressful.
Many larger planes have changing tables in their bathrooms. These are really helpful, but quarters are still quite cramped. Trying to squeeze yourself and your baby or toddler into the bathroom at the same time is enough without adding a huge diaper bag to the mix (and given all the extra diapers, clothes, toys and snacks you’re bringing, you’re going to want a fairly large one). So, we bring along the fabulous Skip Hop Pronto Changer Diaper Bag
Whether your kids are babies or toddlers, you’ll want a safe place for your child to sleep. We LOVE our Phil & Ted’s Travel Cot so much that we now own two! You can read our UPDATED! Phil & Teds Traveller (Travel Cot) Review to find out more. It’s small enough you could bring it as carry-on luggage when you fly with baby!
For more tips on how to travel with a toddler, check out Travel with a Toddler: How to Drive 1,409kms/876 miles and Fly for 19 Hours in Two Weeks with a Toddler and Still Be Able to Call it a “Vacation” and Travel High Chairs and Why We Don’t Use One. Getting ready to travel with baby? For more travel tips, check out Top 10 Items to make Travel with Baby Easy and Fun and How to Enjoy Travel with Kids: Five Ways to Travel Proof Your Child!
Travel with baby often? Have some great family travel tips? Please share! We’d love to hear your advice!
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Hi,
I’m working on a design project called Feeding On The Go for babies 6m+. I was wondering if you’ve faced any problems while feeding your baby on the plane? Also, what kind of food do you prepare for your baby for air travels?
You can email me back to my gmail. Thank you very much
Angela
Hi Angela – your project sounds interesting! We’ve used the Boon Squirt Baby Food Dispensing Spoon and love to have some freeze dried fruit like on hand whether traveling by air or just to the supermarket. It’s lightweight and easy for even the most tooth-challenged amongst us to eat.
We encourage our children to eat the same foods we do within reason (no Brazil nuts for baby!) and so generally didn’t feel like we needed to bring anything special along except when our kids were between 6 months and around 10 months – by which point both were just eating off our plates. Of course, every baby is different, and if nothing else, babies who get teeth later than ours did might very well not be ready to be chowing down on mom and dad’s dinner! Hope that helps, and good luck! We’re excited to see what you come up with!