[owens clan]

When I flew to N.Z. last sept I went with Singapore Air and found that the flight went by so quick due to the onboard entertainment system and the excellent staff, but as i was on my own i did'nt notice any one with kid's (maybe due to the J.D's) :nice1 next time we fly (Aug 06) we'll be travelling with our 2 angels (we wish), jacob 5yr's and beth 15 mth's .
We are going to book our flights soon ,so we are haveing a bit of a heated debate :mad: on which airline.

Any thoughts on this would be helpfull
cheers the owens clan

[Lupin]

Quite a few years ago we flew Malaysian Air and they were truely fab. Full marks for everything from us based on that experience. They also have a very snazzy airport hotel if you want to break up the journey (we will, just for one night). Don't know about Singapore Air but thier airport hotel is undergoing major work all this year with "banging and drilling through the night" so that's pretty offputting. I don't want to actually stopover proper so want to stay in an airport hotel, the http://klairport.panpacific.com/hotel/offers_04.html even buggies you to the hotel and I think you can check in there now. Very reasonable prices too.

Singapore Air offer more luggage though, flightcentre said they could get us 40kg each but only 20kg with Malaysian Air. HTH.

[Oregonkiwi]

Air NZ's seatback TVs with on-demand videos were a life saver with a toddler.

[wilson182]

We flew Singapore Air with two kids aged 13 and 4, and I found them fantastic. Good point about their airport hotel though.

[owens clan]

Thanks for the suggestion of the hotel but we are going for the straight through option (get it over and done with in one hit as i'm use to being awake for up to 24hr's at a time, the wife will be able to get some sleep while i walk the length of the plane with our little angel ).
any tip's on what/whatnot to take in our hand luggage for the 15mth old
cheers

[Oregonkiwi]

I flew US - NZ when my son was 1 and again when he was 2. I'd recommend you take something for her to suck on during take off and landing (bottle, sippy cup etc) to help her ears pop. Diapers and wipes of course, changes of clothes for her and for you in case she throws up or has a diaper leak while you're holding her. Favorite snacks in case she doesn't like the airline food (you can special order toddler meals on Air NZ, I assume on other airlines too) or sleeps through the meal service. A few small toys and books, perhaps brand new ones so they're a surprise. Saline nasal spray helps keep noses moist in the dry air.
Also look at this thread about traveling with toddlers.
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5727

[kiwidebs]

Hi

Another vote here for Singapore Airlines. We arrived 5 weeks ago from the UK with our two children (4 and 2). We also flew over nearly four years ago with Singapore Airlines when our eldest was 9 months old. I couldn't say enough good things about the airline from a parents point of view. Our two year old ran a temperature on our final leg and I spent the night sponging him down - we were checked on regularly by the air crew, they couldn't do enough for me!
I'd also recommend night flights. We left Heathrow at 10.30PM, and our two were asleep before we took off, and slept 2/3rds of the way to Singapore. Then our two year old spent the remaining four hours watching Chicken Little - over and over and .......

HTH
Debs

[mossum]

Hi

I've stayed at the transit hotel at Changi 4 x in the last few years - all times the notices were up about the building work & noise etc - I have to say i've never been disturbed at all . Probably sheer relief at being able to lie flat - LOL

i would not reccommend the one on the other side opposite the transit hotel though - on the way to the free cinema/ sunflower garden - I personally perfer the other . Probably because of the free shower caps though - I have Big hair naturally & like to straighten it morning of flight & keep it dry !!!

vic x

[owens clan]

Thank's for the reply's
We had a basic idea of what to take but never thought of the Saline nasil spray great suggestion Cheers.
Do we need a booster for the other little angel (5yr's old).
thanks

[Oregonkiwi]

Check with whichever airline you choose, but Air NZ does NOT allow booster seats. You can take a car seat for your 15 month old if she has her own seat on the plane. We didn't take a car seat on our last trip (son had just turned 2) and he sat in the seat ok, and they gave me a seatbelt extender so I could hold him on my lap with the belt around him for takeoff and landing.

[Russell & Sharon]

We flew with Qantas last Nov with a 3.5 and 2 year old. I would highly recommed a night flight, our flight was at 23.00. Once we got on the plane we changed the boys into thier PJ's gave them a drink and of to sleep they went all the way to Singapore.
One problem we had was the boys could not see the TV screens, they don't tilt down far enough for them so you need a big pilow or car seat/booster seat.

[Simon & Emily]

Thanks for the great info everyone - there is nothing quite like first hand experience to give food for thought.

Does anyone out there know if Singapore Airlines will allow booster seats on the plane? I keep hitting a brick wall with agents, who won't seem to confirm anything unless we are willing to book firm tickets. Or will they supply them for children? I see little point in bringing seats that don't conform to NZ regulations, but as they are only 5 and 4 would like to see some sort of child friendly addition to the seat.

Thanks,

Emily

[Oregonkiwi]

Simon & Emily - sorry, I don't know about Singapore Air, but I think you'll be ok without boosters, my 2 yr old had no problems without one, and they'll have more room to curl up and sleep without booster seats. Or more to the point, you'll be able to stretch out into their seats. :)

[Questor]

The Pan Pacific at KLIA is really nice - and the buggy ride to check in at the hotel is great - especially when you've just got off a long flight!

We don't have kids, but from what we saw on the way to and from KL, Malaysian seem pretty good with kids - although don't expect much alcohol to send you to sleep!

[denisesykes]

One other thing I would mention when flying with the Asian airlines is the food.We have flown with both Singapore and Malaysian Airlines and ordered child meals on both.
I don't know what I expected (maybe Chicken Nuggets and chips?) but for some meals their meals were exactly the same as ours expect they had a chocolate bar on the tray.Even when the meals were different they very often consisted of spicy noodles, curry, rice with unknown vegetables etc.
Consequently my 5 year old ate very little except bread rolls and drank pure orange juice for both flights.We were able to fill up on Mcdonalds on the stopover!!
However the mix of little food and orange juice resulted in him being sick on the 2nd leg.!
So unless your kids have very cosmopolitan tastes I would suggest taking some favourite 'fillers' to get you by.
Apart from the food though , I could not recommend both airlines enough!
Good luck!
Denise

[Delson]

Hi Simon & Emily

I contacted Singapore Airlines Customer Services a couple of times with queries and they were very helpful. I'm sure they'll be able to answer any of your queries - I got the telephone number from their website. Good luck with travelling with the kids!! :nice1

Sonia

[owens clan]

Just logged back on after a normal day's work (05.30 start Birkenhead over to Doncaster do the electrical thing's i have to do then back home 18.00 finish).
good idea about kicking the kids of the seat's (I mean sharing them), our 5yr old only eats crusty bread and will only drink cold bottled water any way so were in luck.
cheer's

[Angie and Mick]

We also went with Singapore airlines in Nov 05 with a 3year old, she sat very well in the seat and as above when not watching HI5 or Scooby do again, and again would curl up and go to sleep. She did not eat a great deal either however some of the food she should have liked, I think it was more to do with how she felt. Ate the sweet things. Crew always bringing drinks, snacks around. Lots of children on our flight, all well looked after. For anyone with a child under 1yr I saw one couple to have what seemed like a travel hammock(belonged to the airline), the baby could then lay down, not on the seat, I think this can only be used on certain seats(middle I think it was as it was hooked onto the wall).

[Oregonkiwi]

Adding to my post about what to take on the plane for a toddler, something that made my life much easier are diaper pants. I don't know what brands of diapers are available where you are, I used Huggies Convertibles, I think Pampers calls their version Step Ins. They're regular diapers but with the tabs already fastened (sort of like PullUps training pants diapers) so you can put them on the baby while she's standing up or perched on your lap. (The tabs release for removal.) Those airplane bathrooms are so cramped and my boy was too big for the little changing table, so they really were great.

[Angie and Mick]

As my daughter was 3 and half not wearing pull ups anymore however I was nervous in case she had an accident when asleep so I took one of the throw away bed mats which pampers do, I placed this under her just in case when she was asleep. It also came in handy when we kept having spilt drinks.

[veronica]

usually I fly this route at least once a year return and although it is a long time since I have flown with toddlers and babies I am quite 'child aware' I would have thought that a booster or car seat would be more of a nuisance than a help on the plane as it would give a child a lot less fidget room, and boy do they need to fidget, as well as giving less space to fall asleep and spread a bit. Also while I agree that the asian airlines do offer asian foods they also usually have a 'european' choice as well. I am sure that if you stipulate that the child is European they would have something for them in the childs choice, but when I travelled with our kids a long time ago i never stipulated the childs meals, they just ate the same as us as they did at home. Also if you go up to the crew area they are usually more than happy to sort out filled rolls, crisps or fruit for you. Babies are another matter but the crew are always happy to heat (if you want to) the jars of baby food or bottles of milk although again babies have no prconception that certain foods should be served hot so they don't worry if its cold. Disposable nappies are a godsend and for those a bit older it might be an idea to open the door of the plane loos and pop the child outside before flushing them, I have known a few small kids be quite scared of the flush noise. I have also in the distant past made the journey with a very small toddler who wouldn't use the loo only a potty. thats fun too but possible!! the hardest thing is that you have to give the kids 100% attention and play/entertain them while they are awake over a 24 hours period.

its all part of lifes rich experience!!