Some great tips... I would definately agree with a test run for the drugs if you were to them. I it does not have the sedative effect and infact certain meds they have had when sick which people recommended for air travel makes them go the opposite way even worse for surrounding passengers.
I cant take the car seat with us but have brought one of the cares air travel restraints to try with out 2 year old. I have my sling for the baby as he will fall asleep if he is strapped on and a bit of walking up and down.
games and dvds and some drawing and lots of snacks hoping will keep them down.
I like that parents can board first as the point made earlier about luggage storage... the last easy jet plane they asked for children etc and the whole plane ran to the gate... there were no seats left and then people had to move so that my 2 year old was not forced to sit alone... Although a few rows in front would have been quite nice for me maybe not for the passengers next to him.... Although I did get the middle seat as i had the baby and felt so bad as i had to sit inbetween 2 brothers who i could see wanted to chat but were too polite to talk over me bless em! Or maybe they just didnt want to wait the newborn I had on my lap!
Also i think if they let the children get on first you can as a non child person search them out and pick a seat far away as I know when im travelling without them I would pick the furthest seat away...
When flying long distance it's a gamble for me. I always try and reserve a seat with extra legroom. As the emergency exit seats have usually gone to frequent flyers or people willing to pay a bit extra (some airlines allow this) I go for bulkhead seats. Which is prioritised for people with young children (as they have those clip-on cot things there).
The gamble is ... more legroom (plus people next to me being able to get in/out without me having to get out of my aisle seat) against having a crying baby next to me. So far it's always worked out ok; it seems babies can only cry for so long and are usually worn out and asleep before I've finished watching the films.
My last flight here I was "kind" enough to relinquish my seat at the back of the plane so that dad could say with the mom and the herd of cats she was dealing with. Clever of me to volunteer so quickly, you would think! Good karma! Nay! I ended up sitting right in front of the colicky baby who screamed the whole way.
I have never made an international flight of more than 12 hours. Your comments have been extremely enlightening.
But now I am wondering about what are the pluses and minuses of choosing the overnight flight as compared to starting the flight in the morning hours--say 9 a.m. approx.
I have limited funds so getting to Switzerland will probably mean coach travel. Unless I can flirt and smile my way to an upgrade at the ticket counter.....
For long flights I always prefer to fly over night. Personal preference I guess, but once a flight is over around 8 hours long I find I can get enough sleep to survive the flight and timezone changes. Just.
I always fly economy (coach) even on business trips, unfortunately. It's very (very very) hard nowadays to get upgraded without there being some kind of booking disaster or you having millions of airmiles to be part of a frequent flyer high tier.
We are going to fly to South Africa very soon. My wife things that a non stop flights from Zurich is like a suicide. She doesnât stand long flights. Iâm personally fine as long as I donât seat next to an annoying passenger. So here is my question: what is the longest non stop flight that you have done (destination, airline, type of plane). In my case, it was Zurich to CancĂșn / Edelweiss and Zurich to Rio de Janeiro / Swiss. In both cases the flight was comfortable and the service very good and with no delays. The flight to CancĂșn was packed though.
Also have you ever felt unsafe in a flight due to airplane being old or itâs reputation?
I just took round trip flights between Geneva and Mauritius, which is the furthest airport served from Geneva. 11 1/2 hours southbound and 12 hours northbound. Southbound it was overnight and I took a sleeping tablet about an hour into the flight. Slept for about 8 hours, woke up, went to the loo and had breakfast.
Northbound was a 09h departure and it was tedious. Watched a few movies, played a few games, read my book, ate their meals, drank their beer and eventually we landed.
Both flights had a large number of infants (under 2 who donât have seats) and children. A couple of the infants will non consolable and cried for much of the flight. Their poor parents!
You donât have to worry about safety of airlines flying to Europe. Our aviation authorities take the subject very seriously and conduct regular inspections. Outright bans are imposed when necessary. As an example EU countries banned PIA, Pakistan International Airlines, until just recently for safety reasons. Said ban was lifted recently.
Just remember every day there are, on average, 100,000 flights and the number of incidents are very, very, rare. Fatal incidents is even rarer with less than one in 2024 on scheduled airlines.
Edited to add that Edelweiss has a âpremiumâ economy class for which they charge CHF149 per person, per flight. Very reasonable.
I have a friend who doesnât mind long flights. What she truly hates is long queues at security check, specially given that each AP has itâs rules: remove your shoes, take out your laptop, no donât take out electronics, no drink allowed, remove insulin pump, ⊠And they are often clueless when you have medications that are liquid.
With my toddlers I would prepare them weeks in advance by watching videos on their destination and on the plane itself to get them excited and know what to expect.
They had their own Trunki cases and I put their passports in their coat pockets so theyâd feel grown up taking it out and showing it to passport control. As for onboard entertainment, I got them to pack their fav snacks and toys which included the dreaded Samsung Galaxy tablet (loaded with cartoons on an SD card).
Thereâs no jet lag, but during Swiss wintertime, South Africa is an hour ahead of us on the clock. Itâs still a long trip that can be tiring for adults and children alike, though.
For a flight to South Africa, would you prefer a direct flight from Zurich or with a connection in Dubai if the latter price is 100 CHF less per ticket (x4).
Always prefer a direct flight over a connection. Except when the connection is for at least 48 hours. Ask Emirates if they will contribute to the cost of a hotel.
