AIBU to ask about flying to Australia?

[snapdragongirl]

I have never been to Australia, indeed have never even flown long-haul, but will soon be doing so with DC (2 teens and a tween). We are flying with Qatar Airways, economy, via Doha (we have a couple of hours there).

For myself, but also for DC who have (understandably) lots of questions about how it all works, what should we expect in terms of any food/drink that is provided during the flight, and what are your top tips in terms of embarking on a journey like this, eg when to try and sleep, how to manage jet lag, what in-flight facilities/entertainment are there? I don’t even know if we will be able to watch tv/films, having never done this before! Do the seats recline for sleeping? What comfort items could we take to make it more bearable? We also have neurodiversity in the mix to make things more interesting….

Any advice from more seasoned travellers is very welcome as I am clueless!

When I flew to Oz my husband and I took herbal tablets for jet lag. They were called “ no jet lag” aka “ jet ease” . You had to take them at certain times like before take off and every 4 hours throughout the flight. They did help massively although the jet lag is much worse coming home than arriving there.

Would your ND child qualify for special assistance by any chance? If so, that would be a great help and speeds you through all the checks. You could have a look at Qatar website or the airports you are using for more info.

My OH needs assistance due to not being able to walk long distances anymore. We just book assistance with our airline tickets and honestly it is amazing! Fast tracked through everything and brought right down to the gate. Well I have to walk a bit of the way, but most of it is on the buggy thinggy.

It might not apply to your circumstances, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

You need to check the rules of Australia of what you can take in. You may need a copy of the prescription for certain medications.

Buy melatonin for jet leg, it’s over the counter in Aus.