Babies and Long Haul Flights

[sundowner]

Having seen Lou Lou's question on the subject of taking babies to US it gave me something to think about and that is: How old do they have to be before they are allowed to fly ??

You were so helpful to Lou Lou, I thought you may be able to help.

We are expecting our first grandchild in Ocotber and hope to be taking over a new villa around that time, but my son and daughter-in-law can't wait to get out to the villa, do you think we would be able to travel for chrimstmas or is that too early??

I really will introduce myself properly soon.

Thanks in advance

Mary

Babies can fly as soon as they are born although some doctors say 2 weeks because of air pressure on the ear drum, mine 5 all flew very young around 6 weeks old, and during my years as BA cabin crew we always had very young babies on board!

Anything else you need to know just ask![msnwink]

[sundowner]

Thanks Lucy. Wow, 2 weeks old, my son and daughter-in-law will be so happy to hear that. Who knows, they may still be able to come with us to take over the villa.

Mind you, that then probably means baby being sick all over my new villa! Never mind though, I'm sure I will forgive and forget.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by sundowner
Thanks Lucy. Wow, 2 weeks old, my son and daughter-in-law will be so happy to hear that. Who knows, they may still be able to come with us to take over the villa.

Mind you, that then probably means baby being sick all over my new villa! Never mind though, I'm sure I will forgive and forget.
[/quote]

It is actually easier to travel when they are younger, if breastfeeding even better as no worries about formula milk which is not quite the same in the USA!

[lou lou]

Hi there - I gave birth to my two in the UK and flew out to Singapore when they were both 5 weeks old - the doctor didn't recommend before a month because of air pressure in the cabin, both babies slept like a dream on the flight - I didn't realise how much easier it was then to now - I am sure if the new parents are up to it, it will be fine.

Lou

[sundowner]

They are very keen to go. I did say that we should wait till baby is probably 6 weeks due to air pressure.

When our son was born we were in Cyprus and told we could not fly with him until he was 3 months old. Mind you that was a LONG time ago.

[RIS]

Sundowner
Most Airlines, including mine, will not fly infants under 2 weeks. The Air Pressure issue is complex. As you climb cabin pressure decreases and vice versa. Any air or gas in the infant will expand as altitude increases due to this reducing pressure. Provided this can escape from the body cavities by normal routes all is well. The other Air Pressure issue is reduced O2 in the air due low pressure as the cabin altitude runs at about 7 - 8000 ft. However this should not be a problem for a healthy baby other wise no babies would live if born at anywhere with high altitude.

Have a great holiday!

[dawn]

I would agree that it is easier travelling with babies - toddlers want to explore, especially when the meal is served! We were given some good advice, which was to let baby have a bottle/dummy for take off and landing as sucking helps with the pressure
[msnsmile]
It is a long flight, but I am sure you would all be happy taking turns in having cuddles, and it would all be worth it when you arrive:D

[gromit]

Also having worked as cabin crew for many years, I can say babies can fly from a couple of weeks old quite safely as long as they are healthy. Try to fly with scheduled airlin like BA or Virgin as you can request a bassinet position and a cot to strap onto this during the cruise of the flight. British and American carriers differ in some ways such as children under the age of 2 are given extension seatbelts that connect to the parents seatbelt for take off, landing and during turbulence, however the American carriers do not provide this for various reasons which I won't go into.

We took our son at just a few weeks old and had no problems, he is now 17 months onld and has been to Florida 6 times!!!

When the infant gets a little bit older BA provide a seat instead of a cot at no extra charge that also straps to the bassinet table and is made for the airline by Britax. We have just had a bad experience with another airline, I will not mention the name so as not to worry anyone soon to be travelling with them or to sound sour, but this other carrier only provided facilities upto 19lbs. After that you have to purchase a child seat and they strap on a baby seat!!! We were mislead about this and had hime on our lap for the whole journey!!! The bassinet positions are on a first come first serve basis depending on the number of infants on board, so if you travel out of season you should have less problems getting one.

The crew are more than happy to heat bottles by standing them in hot water etc and BA have changing tables in all toilets, most other airlines have at least one toilet with a drop down table. People with infants are also allowed to board the aircraft earlier so you have longer to get the baby settled and sort out your bits and bobs. I personally found with our son that as long as he was sucking something for take off and landing he didn't have a problem with his ears too much, ie bottle or dummy. Also if you have an umbrella fold pushchair, depending on the airline and the number of infants on board they can sometimes go in a wardrobe, or otherwise will go in the hold at the gate.

I hope all of this helps and certainly you will have nothing to worry about with taking a baby to Florida. I think the younger children start to fly, the better they adapt to it for later years.

[esprit]

My three month old graddaughter came out to Florida a few weeks ago. She needed her own passport which took a few weeks to come through. They flew Virgin and booked a sky cot so she could lie down, it was invaluable. I would say no problems but dont booke a cheapie flight where the baby will end up sitting on someones lap for hours.

[steph_goodrum]

Mary
Although not usually high on priorities for newborn babies, if the baby is born early in October you will save yourself the cost of the visa if you can get their passport issued before 26th October, so if you get the form as prepared as you can so you only need photos and name details and birth certificate to send it off. Baby doesn't need to go to Embassy for visa but it still costs around $60 +£10 for envelope to send it back.

[sundowner]

This is all great information, I shall have to keep it somewhere safe to remind me of it all.

We never go to florida in July/August - we leave that one to families with school age children and I find the temperature and queues much better.

I have passed the info onto my son and he also says thank you very much.