Flying with a baby to Australia – some more info!
Technically, I am not sure Alex is still a ‘baby’, as she is approaching the ‘toddler’ stage, but as she still counts as an infant for a plane fare, and fits into a bassinet, then baby she is for this purpose!
We are flying Singapore Airlines for this trip (to Adelaide, and returning from Melbourne), and while I have said it before, I will say it again… Singapore Airlines are brilliant with infants and children.
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| Alex sporting one of her Singapore Airlines freebie bibs (and asleep, which was pretty good too!) |
We got on board first, and were greeted with a fantastic smile and a bag of goodies – practical goodies that is – nappies, wipes, a great bib (keeping those!), and we also got given (later) a little toy. We were treated like special guests, and asked if we needed anything all through the flight. The lead flight attendant on one of the flights even made a point of learning Alex’s name as soon as we got on and kept calling her by name throughout the flight (I am sucker for things like that!). Andy and I were offered the option of having our meals at different times (we bravely said we would have Alex asleep by dinner and we did manage it – for that meal anyway!).
The bassinets on Singapore Airlines were plenty big enough for Alex (who is 14 months now – almost 15 months), and there were other bigger ‘babies’ on the flight who were happily in their bassinets sleeping. The weight maximum shown on the bassinets was 16kgs, which is a lot more than other airlines advertise (so if you are taking a toddler to Australia, Singapore airlines are your best bet).
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| Alex effortlessly demonstrates the comfort afforded by the Singapore Airlines bassinet (she is under there somwhere!) |
To make the bassinet more comfy, Singapore Airlines have very cute fleecy blankets (with a teddy face on them – aw) that they put in. But I remember from when we flew Emirates they just put in a paper type bottom sheet. We make sure we have plenty of muslins, or a sarong, to put in there, and then a small blanket to cover Alex up with.
It can get quite cold in the cabin on the flights, so we had some layers for Alex to wear (including sleeping in a cardigan on one flight!).
Now I have mentioned before, but when the fasten seat-belt sign comes on for turbulence, you are supposed to take babies out of their bassinets and have them on your lap with their special seat-belt on. To do this comfortably, it’s handy to have a small pillow with you, or put a folded-up blanket over the armrest and have them rest on that (saves your arm going dead!). We bought a nifty little scrunch up travel pillow for this (from an ‘outdoor’/camping shop).
Alex did eat some of the food we had on the plane (perfect little baby-sized servings of cheese with every dinner always a hit!), but we were offered jars of baby food as well. We had packed our own pots of food too – and be very up front at security at the airports that you have these. You are OK to carry enough food and drink for the journey, but you must declare it. That said, there was not a bad selection of baby food at the Boots in Terminal 3 at Heathrow (mostly organic), and cartons (Cow and Gate) and bottles (Hipp for toddlers) of formula to buy. We used these prepared formula servings, as it saved us messing about too much. We also took a few pre-sterilised throwaway bottles for the journey too, on top of our own bottles (Boots sell these – but get them before you go).
Do not forget that if you still have some baby food in your bag and formula with you, then you MUST tick the box on your immigration/customs form for Australia on arrival to say you have food items. This isn’t a problem (no fresh fruit and veg though), and you may have to show the items to customs, but they are allowed – provided you declare them. If you don’t declare the items, you are likely to be fined. Not a good start to your holiday! Our Organix pots and Plum baby tubs made it through just fine, and the rice cakes were good to come in too.
You can of course buy lots of baby products in Australia and any supermarket or pharmacy will have a good selection of food, nappies etc. One thing we did do this time (and may be worth it if you have a fussy small person) is to bring your own formula. There aren’t many of the same brands available here (although they are all fine am sure and Alex tested a few on our last trip) but if you prefer then bring your own. Alex is a Hipp organic milk baby and we brought her supplies with us! As long as you declare your formula you are fine.
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| Alex at Singapore’s Terminal 3, keeping an eye out in case our plane leaves without us… |
And one last thing that I loved about Singapore Airlines… you get your buggy back for your transit in Singapore! Result! Other airlines tend to check your buggy all the way through to your destination, which means some serious arm-strain as you have to then carry your small person with you around the airport when you make a connection. Some airports do offer complimentary buggies (e.g. there are Emirates buggies in Dubai airport), but these are on a first come first served basis, which of course can mean no buggy. We picked our buggy up from just a few steps after we got off the airplane in Singapore. Literally halfway up the ‘arm’ to the terminal it was there waiting for us. Alex had a lovely push around the new posh Terminal 3 in that (and left mummy with free hands to do shopping with!).
And one last tip… if you can, try and take ‘night flights’ to travel on. Having the cabin lights out for the majority of the journey was ideal for small people sleeping their way to Australia… zzz…
Read more posts in these categories: Babies, Flights, Travel
Wow, thanks for this post, I am traveling to Australia with my 3 month old tomorrow and was googling plane bassinets when I found this. I am now going to go and grab some extra receiving blankets, a cardigan and a hat for the flight!
It is great to get some tips from someone who has done it themselves! I sure hope we get the wonderful reception on our airline you did with Singapore.
09 May 2008 at 10:33 pm
I am travelling to Australia next week with my 4 month old. Believe it or not, I haven’t actually paid for the ticket. I have to choose between leaving here in the day or leaving at night. I was just wondering what you recomend. Also thanks so much for posting this. Makes me feel a little less nervious.
29 May 2008 at 11:04 am
Hi Louisa,
then it might be better to take a day flight so that you are more awake for the trip and dealing with them.
Choosing between a day and a night flight will depend on how good your little one is with sleeping at night. If they are more likely to sleep longer when the lights are dim and there is less commotion then definitely opt for the night flight. If they are a light sleeper/on a 3 hour rota of feeding, sleeping and looking cute
Personally I try and take a night flight as the cabin lights will be dimmed for a lot of the trip and if your baby already has a night time routine (we didnt get to the sleeping through the night stage til at least 6 months!) then a night flight is definitely the best option.
However if you have a bit of a screamer (!) a day flight is less disturbing to everyone else as they aren’t trying to sleep.
We have always taken evening flights as the first part of our trips to Australia as for us it gets the ‘long bit’ out of the way first and we try and get as much sleep as possible… but then small people tend to have their own idea about that so it’s more about what you would prefer in terms of environment (‘day’ or ‘night’ in the cabin) and whether your little one is a good night time sleeper.
Hope this helps, and have a great trip.
Lucy
30 May 2008 at 8:47 am
Hello there,
i’m so thankful for the good informaion and also answered my question.I’m planning for year end vacation trip with my kids 3 and 4 yrs old.I heard that it’s not easy to get thru the OZ Immigration as i was told that we are not allow to bring baby formula to australia.I was thinking about to change our vacation destination.
with the information given i thanks u alots for the helps. I hope you can share with us you vacation experience in australia.I’m planning to visit my sis at perth and then fly to brisbane for movie world.what say you?
Best Regards,
Farrah, Malaysia
http://www.resumeweassist.com/blog
Tips for effective career marketing
22 Jun 2008 at 1:47 pm
Hi Lucy, I am traveling with SQ from Germany to Singapore with my 1-year old son. On the picture of Alex in the bassinet, was she sleeping on her stomach? My son does not like to sleep on his back. Do you think there would be a problem if he sleeps on his tummy in the bassinet? Could I book for the bassinet in advance by calling SQ or upon doing the online check-in?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Jisca
27 Jun 2008 at 1:48 pm
Hi Jisca
The Sinagpore bassinets are pretty roomy and your son should be able to sleep on his side, front or back (and roll over). Alex usually sleeps on her side
You MUST call the airline in advance and book your bassinet as there are only a limited amount of seats on board that can have a bassinet with them. The airline may have already allocated you a bassinet seat as you have booked an infant ticket but if there are more infants than bassinets on the flight then its first come first served. Definitely don’t leave this until check-in as then you might miss out.
I also suggest that you join Krisflyer which is the Singapore Airlines frequent flyer club (free to join) as then you can contact ‘member services’ and make sure you have your bassinet confirmed through them as a ‘valued customer’! Here’s the contact numbers http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/krisflyer/customerservice/contact.jsp
Have a great trip!
Lucy
02 Jul 2008 at 8:37 pm
Hi
great information thank you.
I’m planning to go to sydney on singapore airlines with my 7 month old daughter Emily, i will be travelling on my own with her as i shall be visiting my sister (going to suprise her!!) any good ideas on getting the babies to the oz time zone quick and easy?? I’d hate her to be awake all night and asleep in the day!! my sister has a 14 week old baby (who we have not met before;-) do the babies just sort themselves out over a few days or is there more to it!!!!!!
I’m still breast feeding so not too worried about the flight, but maybe i should be!!!!!!
thank you for your reply in advance
Helen
03 Aug 2008 at 8:17 am
Hi Helen
You should be fine travelling on your own with Singapore Airlines as the flight crew will do a great job of looking after you. They will most likely look after your daughter if you need to use the loo or eat for example (they will hang on to your dinner until she is asleep in the bassinet for example). Also if you have a bassinet seat chances are you will be sat next to other people travelling with babies so that’s always good for someone to keep an eye out
In terms of sorting out sleep patterns when you get there then it takes Alex a couple of days to work out what’s going on and then she’s usually almost on ‘normal’ time (much quicker than me!). The hard part is waking up your little one if she is having too long a nap in the day (we would wake Alex up after an hour or so) but if you do this then means more chance of sleeping longer at night.
Do be prepared to do a bit of ‘midnight’ entertaining for the first couple of nights… our last trip to New Zealand (shh I know its not Australia!) saw us taking a few middle of the night strolls with Alex around the hotel lobby in the buggy!! It worked eventually…zzzz….
08 Aug 2008 at 7:01 pm
hi lucy.
Many thanks for your reply,a great help. I think i’ll book my ticket tommorrow, can’t wait to suprise my sister, just found out she’s moving to Armidale so will have to take another flight once i reach sydney!!!!! ahhhh. luckily it’s only 1hr 10 mins.
Thanks again
Helen
16 Aug 2008 at 5:46 pm
Hi Lucy,
Thanks for all the great information here. Reading ti has really helped me feel better about taking my six month old to Australia next month by myself.
Just wondering if you know if I could take the car seat (part of the buggy travel system) on the plane with me? I need to take it as my parents in OZ don’t have one, but don’t know if I would be able to check it on the flight with the buggy. Thanks in advance for your reply.
Megan
23 Aug 2008 at 11:00 am
Hi Megan
You can take a baby seat with you to Australia (although double check with your airline). When we took Alex on her first trip (4-5 months) we took her car seat that clipped into her buggy so I know its possible! You have to check the car seat in though but you should be able to do this at the gate.
I would recommend getting hold of some thick bin liners to tape up with the car seat in to protect it – ours made it there and back no problems like this (and a couple of internal flights too!).
If you are on your own it might be easier to check in your car seat and buggy when you check in your suitcases and then use a sling/carrier for the airport and flight as then you don’t have to worry about having hands free for collapsing your buggy at the gate and wrapping up your car seat.
Like I say – do check with your airline but we have travelled with a car seat before so its definitely possible (that was with Emirates).
Have a great trip!
Lucy
25 Aug 2008 at 8:26 pm
Wow!!! what a reassuring website! I’ve found this in the nick of time as we’re off to Oz this Sunday travelling with 2 kiddies – not too worried about the 3 1/2 year old but have been pulling my hair out thinking about travelling that far with my daughter who will be 16 months old. We’re going Singapore Airlines, which from the sounds of it should make for a more pleasant journey!
Just wanted to say what a fab website and that as a result of reading it I am much less worried about my trip…. just need to get on with the packing!
11 Sep 2008 at 8:26 pm
Hi Clare
Glad I have made you less worried about your trip to Oz (only way to be is excited!!). And yes you have made a good choice with Singapore airlines (make sure you sign up for Krisflyer points before you go!). The flight attendants are so lovely on Singapore they will make the flight so much more bearable (and the food’s good too if you get the chance to eat dinner in peace!).
Enjoy your packing now. I am also about to pack too as we’re off on hols this Saturday. Not to Oz though – just grabbing some Mediterranean sunshine for a week this time.
Have a lovely time Down Under.
Lucy
11 Sep 2008 at 8:52 pm
Hi Lucy,
I loved reading your website/blog. It gave me a bit of confidence to be prepared for our trip. My hubs and I are braving our first international flight ADL – SIN with our 16 month old. She is pretty active and we know she won’t want to sit still. We are flying with SIA (which seems to be the way to go) and I think we have the bulkhead/bassinet seats allocated
Does it make any difference if we get the “middle” bulkhead seats or the ones on either side of the plane? Is there more room on one or the other?…..
I am hoping that if the plane is not full, they may leave the seat next to us empty, is that likely ?
Going in a month, so starting to pack now….Just found more bits of your website to read !! …
Thanks.
18 Feb 2009 at 12:54 am
Hi Sarah
Glad you like the blog and good choice for picking Singapore Airlines for your trip. We flew with them to Adelaide last year and they were great!
You asked about the position of the bulkhead seats and the middle or side options – here’s my advice. I personally prefer having 2 of the 4 ‘middle’ seats – the reason for this is that you have the bassinet right in front of both of you. You also know that you can get out easily to the aisle as and when you want to. Also you don’t have the temptation of a small person opening and shutting the blind on the window for several hours (lived through that fun game before!!).
It’s not possible for me to say if you could get a spare seat next to you if you take the bassinet seat by the window – often they given to families with 2 adults, a child and a baby these seats as they are a ‘3′. Also as the bulkhead seats are quite coveted you might find it unlikely the seat will be spare next to you. You have to weigh up if you are willing to risk having someone next to you sharing the the seats by the bassinet or confirming the ‘middle’ seats and knowing you will have bassinet right in front of you and have room to yourselves.
You will find you get quite a bit of ‘foot space’ with the middle bulkhead seats so its not too bad.
You can check in online in advance with Singapore so do this to make sure you’ve got the seat you requested.
And for the journey…pack lots of little toys and bring them out one at a time, and we found children’s magazines or books with stickers brilliant! Alex is obsessed with stickers
Have a great trip!
Lucy
18 Feb 2009 at 8:59 pm
Hi Ms. Lucy,
Thank you so much for posting this blog. I have a four month old daughter and we are flying to adelaide next month. Reading this made me less worried about flying with her for more than 10 hours. I pray to God hopefully no crying fits is going to happen. I got all my fingers crossed. Wish me luck!
02 Mar 2009 at 11:46 am
Hi, I read your very helpful site before flying from Heathrow to Christchurch via Singapore with Singapore Airlines, and thought that my recent experiences might help some of your readers.
My baby is 8 months and bottle fed so I bought some of the tetra-pak cartons of formula, plus some baby food she likes, and the whole lot was taken off me at security at Heathrow. The officer there said I had to open and taste it all, and I pointed out that it was sterile therefore useless to me if I opened it and she replied (she was very nice by the way) that she understood but those were the rules. When I got through I went to the Boots past security to replenish and the guy serving me told me that there was no point buying too much as I would have the same problem at Singapore security when changing planes. Now, I am clearly an idiot, because I took the advice of someone who works at Boots. I bought just 3 cartons of formula (I had some dried powder with me as a back-up also) and was gutted to see signs everywhere at Singapore saying that exceptions to the liquid rule are made at that airport. I could have carried any reasonable amount for the flight.
On the return journey, I decided to chance the liquid-exceptions rule again (with powder in my case as a back up again) and security at both Christchurch and Singapore were lovely, unquestioning and helpful. I got all food and liquids for her through fine, including 4 bottles filled with boiled water to make up bottles, and had a flask which I had filled at a cafe after security with boiled water for warming the milk as I suspected the airline staff would be too busy to warm bottles before take-off.
I think the lesson for me was to have a back-up and be prepared for the worst, as it is at their discretion.
I had to use the horrible airline hot water for her bottles on the way, there seemed no alternative.
Singapore airport does not sell the tetra-paks of formula by the way, and Christchurch does not have a pharmacy past security.
However, the good news was that my baby, who is not a good sleeper, really liked the bassinets and slept a lot – 7 hours during one flight! We were amazed. The staff were nice but not that helpful, and the food they offered us in jars was horrible unfortunately. Plus, whenever I walked around with her, I was asked to sit down again.
Good luck to anyone flying! I must say, it seemed an eternity on the flights themselves, but the holiday was worth it.
Hope this info is helpful to someone reading this!
29 Mar 2009 at 10:23 pm
Hi Holly
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! It does seem that its down to luck if you get through Heathrow security with formula cartons
We have managed it and with food a few times now but like you say we also prepare for the worst and have back up biscuits and powder formula too. Thank goodness for Boots!!
I know the flights are a long long way but am so glad you said the holiday was worth it. Some brilliant advice for everyone here – thanks again for sharing.
Lucy
16 Apr 2009 at 12:45 pm
Hi
Thanks for all the information – I’m flying Singapore Airlines to Christchurch, NZ in less than 2 weeks with a 12 week old and a 3 and a half year old – on my own (not sure what possessed me to think that was a good idea).
Do you know whether the armrests in the bassinet middle 4 seats are movable? I’ve travelled this route (UK-NZ) with other airlines where sometimes the armrest on the bassinet row between the second and third seats can be raised but can’t find any info as to whether this would be the case with Singapore Airlines?
Wondering how well my 3 year old will be able to sleep in the seat if the armrests are fixed? I wonder if they’d let her sleep on the floor if there’s enough foot space?
Any suggestions
12 Jun 2009 at 12:27 am
Hi Alex
I think that you can raise the arms on the Singapore seats BUT this will depend on the aircraft you are on and the seats you get so I cannot be sure… The best option I’ve found is to take a travel pillow to put over the arm-rest and use it down. I got a great ‘folds-up-on-itself’ pillow from a camping shop. The only other suggestion is to find out direct from the airline which planes they will be flying on your route and get the specifics from them about the arm rest (although even then planes can be subject to change at the last minute).
What I do know is however that you will most definitely NOT be allowed to let your 3 year old sleep on the floor even if there is enough space. This is against regulations and you also have to factor in that for a good proportion of the flight the seat belt sign is likely to be on (for turbulence etc) and she would need to be in her seat. Also for safety I personally would also make sure she was belted up during the flight where possible.
Another option may be this pillow/sleep aid that I’ve not ever used but always see advertised http://www.jetsleeper.com/ – not sure if it will ‘fit’ a small person but worth a look. Or make sure she has her own travel neck pillow. You can get kids sizes of these – for example as animals (cute I think!) http://kidstravel2.com/neck_pillows and also try the ‘Softeeze’ neck pillow on http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk – code B3060 – both cost £10.
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Lucy
15 Jun 2009 at 11:25 pm
[...] written about this before, like here, here and here, but from all the recent questions I’ve had, it seems there’s more to say (!), and also [...]
23 Aug 2009 at 3:37 pm
Wow – what a really useful post.
I have just started researching opinions for travelling to Oz with an 11 month old and I found this straight away. My husband wants us to go to Oz for Xmas to see his friends and I really want to go but was getting a little nervous about travelling with our daughter. You’ve made it sounds quite straight forward and I’m sure he will be pleased to know it has convinced me to go. We’ve flown to Italy twice and she travels really well but I was concerned how she would cope with a 24 hours flight. I think I’ll definitely look up the cost of flying with Singapore airlines now based on your recommendation.
Thank you so much. Have you any tips on the best place to stop over for refuel or do you not get a choice in this?
Lisa
07 Sep 2009 at 12:58 pm
Hi Lisa
So glad have made the trip something you’ll be looking forward to now (or at least willing to do!)
If you’re planning on flying with Singapore Airlines then your stopover option will be just Singapore. That said you can of course jet off on a side to trip to most places in Asia from Singapore if you wanted too. Or just a 1 night (or more) stopover in Singapore is an easy and great option with a small person.
Lucy
20 Sep 2009 at 9:01 am
Hi,
I am flying London to Brisbane on Singapore Airline and I’m wondering if anyone knows if the carseat (which sits on my stroller) is weighed??
I know you can check it in no problem but I don’t know if this is part of the additional, non-weighable items.
I’ve only got an infant fare (bassinet) so can’t use the excuse of needing it on the plane.
Need the carseat at the other end, so really want to take it.
Thanks,
Deborah.
30 Oct 2009 at 6:32 pm
hi lucy
thanks for u immpresive blog here, helsping mommies here about travellling with their babies. I will go to oz for holiday, visit my goodfriend there at perth.. so im worry about baby formula.u hv said it must be declared. is there a form that i should fill it up in a plane to oz or after arrive/before? im flying with air asia (malaysia). hope u can help me.
02 Nov 2009 at 1:30 am
Hi Lucy,
You already know it’s a great site, but I’ll say it again! Definitely feel less dread about our Christmas trip from Europe to Australia! In fact, it was the only site I found that had info about the Singapore Airlines bassinets, which is important for us, as we have a 21 month old. He’s quite tall (86cm) so I hope he fits in the bassinet.
I thought I’d share this travel tip, which I thought was great: Although families are allowed to board early, it’s tough to have a restless kid sitting even longer on the plane, so one parent should board and set up, while the other parent can stay and play in the waiting lounge until the last minute (only works if you’re travelling in two, obviously).
Anyway, having a toddler rather than a baby, I was wondering if you have any tips for fun or engaging toys/games while on the flight? I’m going to buy a few new things, and am expecting to do a lot of walking the aisles… any experience/ideas with this?
Thanks,
Erin
29 Nov 2009 at 9:20 pm
Hello Lucy,
I am traveling between London and Melbourne in a few months (with Singapore air) and was wondering if you had any suggestions about the type of stroller that I should be taking? I was thinking that a light umbrella-style stroller would be easier to cart around than the pram I use at home. Any ideas? Yours Ro
11 Feb 2010 at 1:35 am
Hi Lucy, your blog is very useful for new parents like me & my wife. We are travelling to Melbourne in AUgust with out young son … great infos!
thanks so much
Hakim
21 Jun 2010 at 11:01 am
You are very welcome. I know what’s like (with 2 small people now!). Double trouble
01 Jul 2010 at 1:14 pm
great site you have.
i see this is an old post but i just stumbled across it. I love flying singapore airlines and i flew alone last year to australia from france with my 2 month old.
I am going again this year, but my little boy is now almost 12months and 77cm tall. On the singapore site it says that the bassinets are only 77cm long! So i just wanted to warn people that even though there is 14kg limit for the bassinets, your child may be too long to fit in anyway.
i think it will be more comfortable buying him a seat, as i am travelling alone with him again and can’t imagine him been on my lap for the entire 22hrs!
07 Jul 2010 at 9:19 am
Next month,I will be flying Singapore Airlines from Sydney to Istanbul-Turkey with my 17 months old daughter.It will be quite long flight (almost 25 hrs) and I am glad to hear/read all the suggestions and experiences because I was also wondering about bassinet dimentions,can I able to bring my light stroller into cabine etc..
It’s good to have some opinion about Singapore Airlines and definetly I will post my experience at my arrival back to Sydney.
BTW. Just wondering Do they keep milk at the plane (because my bubs needs 1,5 ltr milk for whole journey) or Do I need to purchase after security check at the airport ???
27 Jul 2010 at 3:29 pm
Glad all the info was helpful Naz
And to answer your question… NEVER rely on getting the food/drink/milk/nappies etc you might need on the plane – always take your own. For cows milk buy a decent flask and buy some after security when you’re ready to fly. It should keep cold in a flask for a good few hours. Also take some water to make formula too (or buy cartons airside). This means you’ll not be caught out.
Have a great flight!
01 Aug 2010 at 9:45 am