San Fran with 8 month old DD

[Scarlett175]

Hi there

we are flying to SF in December to spend Xmas with family, very excited but have a few questions re the flight etc.

We are flying with Virgin, have phoned and booked a skycot, but they said they can only pre-book 1 adult seat with the skycot, and that the other (for DH) would be allocated on checking in but most likely together?? does this sound right?? theres no way I want to be seperate from hubby on an 11 hour flight!!

Secondly am taking baby bjorn to navigate airports etc, pushchair to check in with luggage (have quinny buzz was just going to take buggy bit) but am lost as to carseat. My brother will be ferrying us around in his car, so I know I need a carseat, should I take ours and check this in also (will I have to pay extra, will it surely end up battered??) or is there anywhere to rent just this. or should I buy one...

any other tips for this trip appreciated

x

Hi scarlett,

re your comment:-

"We are flying with Virgin, have phoned and booked a skycot, but they said they can only pre-book 1 adult seat with the skycot, and that the other (for DH) would be allocated on checking in but most likely together?? does this sound right??".

No, I would not take their word for it. Why on earth can they only prebook one adult seat with the skycot?!. You could well end up sitting apart on the aircraft or relying on the goodwill of other pax on the aircraft itself if this is not sorted asap. You both need preassigned seats in the bulkhead row (this is where the skycots are usually placed).

BTW how old will your little one be at time of travel?. I only ask as those skycots look very small.

As for the car seat I would not bother with taking your own. Can your brother instead hire such a seat from his local area for your visit?.

You sound like you're going to be loaded down what with the pushchair and the baby bjorn. Do you need both?. Re the pushchair you should be able to take it up to the actual aircraft gate so you won't have to check it in with the luggage.

This is from VA's website:-

Note the second paragraph.

Where you have pre-assigned a seat online, check in needs to be completed no later than 2 hours before departure time to enable us to honour this request.

The exception are flights out of London Heathrow, when check in must be completed 13 hours prior to departure to retain pre-assigned seats. (Your SF flight I believe departs from Heathrow).

Whilst we always try our best to meet your requirements, please note that seat numbers are never guaranteed and are subject to operational changes.

Hi Attila

thanks for this I am just about to call Virgin so hopefully will get the seating sorted. Its my worst nightmare to be seperated for that long I actually think I would turn round and go home! DH is very good at soothing/settling DD so I need him!

Re the baby bjorn, I guess I was thinking at the moment DD is 5 months and has never hugely taken to the pushchair, every time I take her out in it, she ends up crying (she is not a cry-ey baby) and I end up carrying her tiger in the tree style. I have never been sure if this was because she is very used to slings and now her BB carrier and has got more used to it so it seemed less stressful to juggle her around airport etc in this and check the pushchair in.... she is getting heavy so i am bound to need the pushchair for days out while we are there...

Do you not think an 8 month old will fit in the skycots?? she is a bit tiddly, only 14 pounds now at 5 months but long?? I was hoping she would rather than having to hold her the whole way...

thanks for your responses!!

x

These are the dimensions of the skycots VA use for your reference:-

Skycots in Premium Economy and Economy Classes on A340-300 and B747-400:
Max weight of infant: 9,0 kg 19.8 lbs
Max height of infant: 740 mm, 29.0 inches
Skycot dimensions 35cm (width) x 21cm (depth) x 74cm (length)

Infant Cradles in Premium Economy and Economy Classes on A340-600:
Max weight of infant: 11,0 kg 24.25 lbs
Max height of infant: 760 mm, 30 inches
Infant Cradle dimensions 28.63cm (width) x 72.7cm (length)

Would use both the baby bjorn and the pushchair in your case.

Hi there, I recently travelled solo with my 7 month old to SF with Virgin.

I booked a skycot for both journeys but never used it as my son sits up and crawls, and could have easily clambered over the sides. I could never have shut my eyes to rest for fear of him falling out, so I was his bed... Not comfy for me but it gave me peace of mind!

I didn't take a pushchair or car seat as I was lent stuff by friends out there. I used a sling for carrying the baby around the airport and found that to be just fine.

If I were you (and Virgin can't guarantee that you can sit with your DH), I would forget about the skycot and get seats together. After all, you will have him to take up the helm if you need a break. Skycots are ideal if your baby isn't yet mobile or if you're travelling solo.

Hope that helps. Don't worry too much about the travelling; people are always happy to help when you have a baby... it's the jetlag once you get back to the UK that is the WORST thing!! We've been back for 3 weeks and he still isn't sleeping right...

Have a great trip!

Hi Happysurfwidow

thanks so much for your reply. Hope your bubs is sleeping better now, I honestly almost did not book to go worrying about DD's sleep!! and typical just 5 weeks before we are due to go she has started to sleep through the night.

Did your baby sleep much on the actual flight?? We have such a consistent routine at home (including blackout blinds etc) I am honestly thinking she will be too interested in everyone else to snooze at all...

This is standard for Virgin and BA I think. OK, you might be parted from DH for 11 hours but think about another parent with an infant needing a bulkhead seat who can't get it because your DH is sitting there?

Totally acceptable. YOu just need to take it an hour each and swap seats or even swap after you've seen the movie you want to!