What would you do? - London to Sydney with a 19mo!!!

[thentherewerethree]

Me,dh and dd (19mo at time of travel).

1. Two premium economy seats in one hit.
2. Three economy seats with one or two night stop.
3. Any option or other form of transport we haven't thought of?

We can't decide, please help. Trip is a necessity to see ill parent.

Thank you!

2 economy in one go. The 19month old will only want to sit with you so thierd seat will be a waste. families are given priority seating on long haul with lots of leg rooma dn you can get a sky cot. baby will sleep lots. Making one journwey into two with stop over is silly as you will add at least 4 hours to tatl travelling time with airport check ins etc and jet lag will be worse. bite the bullet and go for it. you'll be fine.

I wouldn't rely on the sky cots - our 'little' 10 month DD only just fit in one on a recent flight to Australia. BA have these clever britax seats that go in bassinet positions and definately accomodate bigger children, but there is still a weight limit of 13kg.
I personally would go for the three seats, check about car seat requirements though as most airlines require under 2's to be in one. It is a long way to have a child on your knee especially a 19mth year old. From Singapore-Brisbane (7hrs+) with Qantas we were not in a bassinet position although we had requested one and had one confirmed up to the time we checked in. (Other adults were put there instead with no children!!)They would not move us. The journey not very good at all. Don't rely on having a bulkhead seat and plan accordingly. They are also allocated by age of child - the youngest get them first.

I would go straight there as it gets it over with and to benefit from a stopover you need a good few days to make it worthwhile.

Have a good trip.

At 19 months I would definitely recommend having three seats. With only 2 seats, as well as the issue of having dd on your lap for 20 hours, the logistics around meal times etc get really tricky when you have no where for the child to sit.

At 19 mo, dd will almost certainly be too big for a bassinet, so you don't really want to be stuck with the seats at the bulkhead as you can't lift the arms up (table and tv screens are stowed in them). If you can lift the arms up then dd can lay across your laps when sleeping.

In my experience, on Qantas/BA, you are required to have your child on your lap for take off and landing and they give you a special infant seat belt that you attach to your own. I think you can only use car seats in business class.

I agree with getting the trip out of the way in one go. You don't want to start getting used to one time zone only to then have to readjust again.

Three seats and a one-shot marathon would be my vote, for the reasons given above.

Sorry to hear about the illness in your family; you must be very worried.

3 seats and all in one go would be what I would do. You can use a child seat if you like - depends on child whether that works or not. My DD flew everywhere in child seat (always economy.) and slept really well. DS was better without car seat, so really depends. Car seat needs to be one which can be attached only with lap belt and should be approved for aircraft use (ours has a sticker on the side and we often used to have to show it for them to allow us to use it.

3 seats. 1 long painful trip.
DS scrapes the bottom of the centile charts but would not fit into the bassinet at 19mo.
Ask about the carseat option - I know a friend of mine does it (in economy) but don't know who she flies with.
Fly Singpaore Air if you can. Qantas is bad, BA is diabolical. If AT ALL possible, arrange to arrive in Sydney in the evening - I have found this is the key to getting babies to settle into the new timezone as quickly as possible. It seriously makes a difference.

I would do the 3 seats in one long trip. You can put dd between the two of you.

We flew Australia to London 18 months ago with 3 dc aged 9, 7 and 4. We took the two seats on the window and the three across the aisle. Easy to get up and down for the toilet and the youngest ds slept on the floor on the blanket for 8 hours!! The other two dc top and tailed on two seats. dh and I took turns spreading out on two seats which you could do if your dd is awake and sitting on a lap.

We flew Virgin Atlantic so you can choose your own seats on the plane as soon as you have booked. You want to be close to toilets but not too close as they get very busy with a lineup.

You can also choose your meals in advance.

Three economy seats, one trip.

Premium economy arm rests don't usually lift and you will find this very annoying as your dd won't be able to lie down properly. With 3 economy she can put her head on your lap and feet at other end and sleep.
Get the 3 next to the window.

If you book three seats as a family with a young child, unless the plane is utterly rammed they are quite likely to put you in the middle block of four with an empty seat beside you.

Oh yeah, if not full go for the middle block and get an extra seat, good idea.

Oh wow, excellent help! Thanks everyone!

We've been looking at all the options for the last couple of weeks (I now know the seat pitch, width and recline for all airlines going to and from oz - www.seatguru.com is great but it probably means you end up splitting hairs over the details)

ILovePudding: Thanks for the tip about the bulk head rows, they are quite tempting but the armrest thing would definitely be an issue.

We never considered going economy in one hit, seemed like way too much of a nightmare but I think you have all convinced us with the one hit, three seats thing now.

I hope we can find a flight that lands in the evening, thanks for the tip Bubbaluv!

Wow GMarksTheSpot, that trip sounded like a major expedition!

Marsha, never thought of the premium economy armrests!

Ninedragons, thanks for the tip but we will be travelling in the northern hemispheres summer holiday season (I'm a teacher) and the plane is likely to be rammed so will go for the three by the window.

Once again thanks everyone for the words of experience!

Oh BTW, when the armrests are up and the seats are reclined does the armrest stick out by your shoulder or is it flush with the seat back?

Practically all the flights from the Far East into Sydney leave late evening and arrive in the early hours because of the time difference.

BA premium economy armrests are fixed as well. Their seats are wider than those in economy; thats about the only difference seat wise. The PE section seems to be a bit quieter as well.

Having been to Sydney there is no way I would do that journey in one go even if in Business class. It will entail two nights in the air and not enough sleep.

If going via Singapore remember there is a swimming pool in the terminal. I travelled to NZ on my own with a 19 month old and found this invaluable for stretching, manic activity and tiring her out during the 3 hour layover. It only became a problem when she insisted teddy needed a bath too.

Qantas do a flight that lands in the evening.

In the non-exit rows, the armrests retract flush with the seats.

I'd resist the temptation to book seats online. Occasionally they substitute a plane so you book thinking ah, that's a good seat on an A380 and you end up on a 747. Just get to the airport early enough to take your pick.

It's still worth smiling nicely at the check-in staff and asking for the seat beside you to be blocked. With the economy the way it is, there might be fewer people going to Australia for their holidays. Definitely don't get the bulkhead. Your DD won't be able to sleep on the floor at your feet (I think this is what people generally have in mind when they book it). The flight attendants will make you pick her up and put her on your laps.

Snorting with laughter at the thought of turning up at Auckland airport with a soggy teddy in a plastic bag.

"Your DD won't be able to sleep on the floor at your feet (I think this is what people generally have in mind when they book it)."
Our 3 year old did this with Cathay back in 2006 from Hong Kong - London. Perhaps it's not allowed now?