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Air travel with 21 month old twins
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Anonymous
| Need to input/feedback regarding air travel. I am being sent for a short trip to Minneapolis, MN for a conference in October. We have 19 mo old twin boys that will be 21 mo old when I go. My spouse has a sister in the area with a son about the same age that we have never met! I am trying to convince my husband the he & the kids should come along. We would just have to pay for tickets. He gets along with his sister well. His mother has agreed to come in town and help with the twins. He is still is refusing to go! He is really freaked out about the actual flight. The last time we flew they were about 13 mos old and it was somewhat stressful. We were both really nervous about the boys having meltdowns on the plane. But everything worked out well. He thinks we won't be so lucky this time. THe flight is direct, about 2 hr 40 min and its when they would be awake anyway. Has anyone flown with rough and tumble 21 mos old boys recently? Any words of advice. |
Anonymous
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Yep. I have 26 month old fraternal boys and the last flight we took was when they were 23 months. It was 2.5 hours (direct.) Everything was fine (this was their 7th roundtrip flight.) Our biggest challenge was getting them to stop kicking the seat in front of them (one one leg of the trip we held them in our laps and the other we put car seats in empty seats.) We brought lot of new snacks (fruit snacks, granola bites, yogurt covered raisins) and a lot of familiar ones (regular raisins, protein bars, cheerios) and lot of new toys (I stocked up at the dollar store.) Stickers were a huge hit as well as McDonald happy meal toys (who knew!)
Go for it. It really isn't that bad - and after all - if it is, it is only 2 hours and 40 minute of your entire life. You can all handle it! |
Anonymous
| I have very active, energetic twin boys-they took their first flight to Europe at 1 year old, second flight at two years-(7-9 hours each way) it's definetely a challenge! Flight attendants will help on most airlines, although Lufthansa sucked bad the first time the twins flew-the attendants didn't know how to strap in car seats, (a safety violation in my book) and then later told us they actually didn't have yogurt and other snacks for the boys-just didn't have enough on the plane-they for some reason didn't have a record of these infants flying, and hadn't stocked up-really weird. My wife reminded them that the boys had paid something like a 75% or more fare, and were entiltled to all the rights and amenities as any other passneger. We think the crew may have been on a double shift if thats legal-but they sucked all the way around-not just with us-sullen, cold and unfriendly, with very few exceptions. On the connection in Frankfurt, they separated us, and my wife sat with one boy, I with another-but this time with the boys on our laps-definetely less safe than using a car seat-apparently there weren't two seats side by side, where a kid could sit next to a parent in his car seat-so we held them. That connecting flight was only an hour, but I'll never forget Lufthansa's rudeness, unpreparedness, incompetence, and outright stupidity. Will never fly them again-there are much more kid friendly airlines-avoid Lufthansa. Other trips have been good, with help, toys, lots of food, and most of all friendliness. Flying a couple hours is like a walk in the park. |
Anonymous
| curious-why were they obligated to have yogurt on the plane? Was this something you can order ahead of time--I never knew you could order food ahead of time if so and wondered how it's done when it works? Regarding car seat-I am with the airlines on this one because there are so many car seats out there that they can't possibly know all the versions and I would think the responsibility falls on the parents. Rudeness never works-sorry they were mean to you. |
Anonymous
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Our twins really started to enjoy air travel at 18 months versus 12 months. (Which is like 5 years age difference in adult time.) Anyplace with lots of wheels is nirvana for our kids.
Recently, our now 3 year old, not yet pottytrained frat boys had a blast with a 3 hour emergency delay added to a 2 hour flight out of Dulles. They had way more patience for gate changes and schlepping than most of the adults. They were content to snack all day long on stuff they don't see at home, unlike many of the grownups. They thought the airport was our destination. They wanted to turnaround and come right back. I hear your DH's concerns. Who wouldn't?!? But you're more experienced parents now. And IMHO, the twin toddler novelty factor can work in your favor during travel. Airline staff and passengers seem a little more tolerant and willing to lend us a hand than people with "regular" kids. Or at least that's my impression. Maybe it's just that I'm pushier about asking for sympathy. 
Like PPs we keep a small stash of new toys. But to encourage (bribe) good behavior, we usually get key chains or something at a newstand next to a gate as a "surprise" just before takeoff. Now I'll confess the real trick. The portable DVD player (or a laptop). Go ahead and flame me, but a Baby Einstein on mute for a few minutes can buy you some critical distraction time either in the airport or during your stay. Adjusting routines on arrival is always worse for us than the actual air travel part. But don't tell your DH. Hope things work out well. |
Anonymous
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To answer the poster regarding the obligatory yogurt, most civilized airlines on transatlantic travel will have food for the kids (although we brought plenty of our own), including snacks like yogurt, fruit, etc.
We paid 75% or more fare (I forget the exact amount, but well over $1000.00 each), for these kids to Lufthansa-they are absolutely required to provide them with the same things they provide to other paying passengers. They have the exact same rights and are covered under the same exact rules and regulations as any adult passenger. By the way, adults were complaining too. Service was slow, the attendants were sullen-it was just magnified because we had kids. Food, safety, (especially safety), competence, consideration, and a pleasant attitude, are expected in return for paying them my hard earned $$. Shit, they let us stand on the damn tarmac in Frankfurt, with our kids in a double stroller, because those idiots didn't or couldn't help us-everyone else was on the plane, and we were trying to figure out how to get two kids, 2 car seats and the stroller on board-I couldn't take one kid, leave my wife with the other, then run back down and help her with the other kid and the stroller, all the while leaving kid #1 up in the plane! These are not special needs kids-but happy, healthy guys, so no special training or consideration was requested-normal human decency was all we asked-all anyone had to do was offer a hand. (interestingly in Frankfurt a gentleman, who I will always be grateful to offered to take one of the heavy car seats I was carrying and walked with us the considerable distance to the gate-he wasn't affiliated with the airline-just a nice guy) We have pictures of the boys in their stroller, laughing, absolutely alone on the tarmac, except for us, the parents-no other passengers-oblivious to our dilemma. It brought my wife close to tears after having to deal with these a-holes across the Atlantic. We were exhausted and standing there like fools, wondering if they were going to rev the engines, not even knowing if they realized we were on the tarmac! Can you say "safety violation" !! Believe me-Lufthansa SUCKS. They are awful. Finally one of us ran up the steps, asked (or begged) for help from the reluctant, idiot attendants, who seemed bothered, but whoopee-obliged us, their paying customer. Real assholes. Unlike some folks we have seen on other transatlantic flights who hold their babies on their laps (dangerous) so they don't have to buy an extra seat and to save money, we again paid for a service (and seats for the twins) and expected to receive it. We booked months in advance, and our travel agent (we don't use the online services-but a trusted agent who has booked travel for us for years-she once stayed late in her office on Christmas Eve, and was on the phone for hours to arrange for me to switch airlines, when my flight was delayed due to a snow storm). We were told in advance what Lufthansa (what any airline should provide for that matter) would provide-and yogurt was the least of it. We were assured of trained, capable attendants who were experienced in strapping car seats in properly-please understand this is not a luxury or a nicety, but essential to the safety of the child. So to the poster who mentioned the wide variety of car seats-no the obligation is not on the parents -aircraft attendants are normally trained in this-we are not! Airline attendants need to insure proper car seat mounting in their aircraft, where they have a responsibility for the safety of each passenger. That being said we strapped the seats in ourselves though, with some grudging "help" from a couple of attendants-it seemed like a learning experience for everyone (we are very experienced now with the seats-that was our first flight with kids). My understanding is that every airline trains their personnel to properly install car seats, just as they train them in other safety measures. Remember these people are professionals, and we were assured of their competence before we booked with them. We have flown many other airlines, and have never experienced the incompetence, and disregard and rudeness of that crew (and it may have been an isolated incident-we had flown Lufthansa prior to having kids, with no problems, as I said other passengers seemed to have their problems with them too). The airlines have a mandate to care for their passengers and keep them safe. They sucked-I will never fly them again-other airline personell have been so considerate, professional and competent-I'm just wondering what Lufthansa's excuse is. They just suck. |
Anonymous
| Wow. You seem really angry. |
Anonymous
OP, don't let your husband read the Lufthansa posts or you'll never see an airport again! PP, sorry to hear about the travel nightmare. Reminders to all of us with air travel problems. Escalate (as politely as you can) any concerns to the most senior staff and captain on board. Get names of staff. File a brief complaint by email focused on safety concerns. (Good way to vent.) And ALWAYS ask for a specific type of compensation that might make you feel a little better, like half your DC's ticket etc. Doesn't matter if they "legally" owe it to you or not. The fine print on tickets absolves them from pretty much everything but getting you to destination in one piece. As a parent and client manager in the service industry for over a decade, I can assure you that most big companies see a customer with a complaint, info on underperforming staff (customer perception is always reality), and a specific payoff get much more attention. Those that simply say they'll never fly again are written off as not worth the effort to respond. Trust me, I'm the customer from hell with wild preschoolers. But we always get the extra snacks. Have a good trip OP. |
Anonymous
Not the PP, but I would be angry if I bought two seats for my two children under 2 and then couldn't use it because the airline didn't allocate seats properly. (among other things, PP said). |
Anonymous
| Damn right I was angry-wouldn't you be too? if not you got a few loose marbles or like to be treated like shit. |
Anonymous
why were you trying to get stoller on board? strollers are always gate checked |
Anonymous
| -Anonymous traveler-afraid to use your name?-bring your own yogurt and strap in your own carseat big guy-maybe the attendants were treating you how you were treating them. You seem like a person that believes the world revolves around them and one that has no humbleness at all-Im actually glad you had a crappy flight-you deserve it. You made your travel agent stay late on christmas eve?Just for you? I think that and all the rest of the malarky you wrote says it all. You are better than someone who wants to save some money by keeping thier child in thier lap? Your worse. Too bad those kids of yours are going to grow up rotten snobs like you-just what the world needs more of! |
Anonymous
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OP - I have twin girls and a older sib and relatives in MN also. Our first trip with all 3 was hellish - girls were 14 months and DS 34 months -but then again 3 under 3 is often hellish so I can't blame the travel.
The last time DH and DS went early and I brought the girls (26 months) solo. As another poster already said it is a finate period of time. Don't sweat it - even if the kids are terrible the whole time - you get over and and so do your fellow passengers. Truthfully, I perfer to takethe twins solo - DH is so stressed during travel he makes me crazy! |
Anonymous
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I'm the PP and just one other thing - seating arrangements can make a differnce. We actually do best when DH and I sit one in front of the other ( as opposed to across the same row).
When traveling solo I sit in the middle for take off and landing then move the girls side by side and sit in the aisle seat. |