Is it worth paying the increased airfare to fly non-stop with a toddler?

[Anonymous]

Youngest DD will be 20 months at the time of our trip to Europe. I hate the idea of having to connect and think it would be much easier to just put her to sleep as it's an overnight flight. But....the airfare would cost us another $2k to fly non-stop. Experienced toddler travelers I ask you: Is it worth the extra money?

[Anonymous]

Yes, within reason. I would pay $100/ticket no question. Above that it would depend on the length of the flights and layover.

[Anonymous]

When mine was younger, I actually liked the stop over so he could move around. It all depends on your kid, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Oops, sorry posted above with out reading the full post. How long is the first flight? At 2k, I wouldn't splurge on the nonstop, but my toddler is an excellent flyer

[Anonymous]

Where are you flying to and where is the layover? If, for example, the layover is in New York so you still have the long flight to Europe for sleeping, I would be willing to do that.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends -- how much an extra $2k means to you (also, is that per ticket, or total?), where the stop is (both in terms of when the flight interruption hits, as well as if it's an airport that is relatively easy to navigate), and I'd also consider time of year (I'm more sensitive to layovers in the winter, when weather has a bigger chance of screwing things up). I'd also consider how long the layover is, as well as if your toddler is a good traveler and/or likely to sleep on planes. Mine do pretty well traveling, since they'll watch the ipad for hours, but neither sleep well on planes.

$2k seems like a lot to me. We have a pretty high HHI, even for DC, but still, that's a lot. But ... depending on the other factors, I'd consider it.

[Anonymous]

Op again. It's about an 8 hr flight non stop.

With 1 stop we're looking at a connection that puts us flying for about 2 hrs, then connecting at 10:30 pm with a one hour layover. Then on to the last leg of the trip.

I keep playing the scenario of waking up a cranky toddler in my head over and although she's typically a good baby...I feel this may be asking a bit too much from her.

[Anonymous]

I have traveled quite a bit with my three kids and no I would not pay extra to fly non-stop, even when I flew alone with them during toddler years. I just find that if I check everything I don't need, take a stroller and a backpack that had things to do and snacks and food for them to eat, bought milk at the airport so I had enough (back then many airlines did not serve milk as a drink option), it was fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends -- how much an extra $2k means to you (also, is that per ticket, or total?), where the stop is (both in terms of when the flight interruption hits, as well as if it's an airport that is relatively easy to navigate), and I'd also consider time of year (I'm more sensitive to layovers in the winter, when weather has a bigger chance of screwing things up). I'd also consider how long the layover is, as well as if your toddler is a good traveler and/or likely to sleep on planes. Mine do pretty well traveling, since they'll watch the ipad for hours, but neither sleep well on planes.

$2k seems like a lot to me. We have a pretty high HHI, even for DC, but still, that's a lot. But ... depending on the other factors, I'd consider it.

Family of five, that's another 2k for our airfare total.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have traveled quite a bit with my three kids and no I would not pay extra to fly non-stop, even when I flew alone with them during toddler years. I just find that if I check everything I don't need, take a stroller and a backpack that had things to do and snacks and food for them to eat, bought milk at the airport so I had enough (back then many airlines did not serve milk as a drink option), it was fine.

Even in the middle of the night?

[Anonymous]

We fly to Europe regularly to visit our parents.
When the kids were babies and toddlers, I can totally see myself plunking down and extra 2K to fly non-stop. That would be 2K total, not 2K per person, right? I wouldn't have done 2K per person.

We have also tried the alternative, and your level of exhaustion depends on what your plans are for your trip, what airport you're changing at and how your toddler actually reacts. The best airport to change is Reykjavik. It's small and clean without long lines like Frankfurt and Heathrow (those are nightmares - you may have to carry your toddler and bags from one end of the airport to the other, worrying you'll miss your flight and bumping into everybody else as you scoot along - then just as your flight is called and you're still miles away from the gate, DC goes big time in his diaper and you HAVE to find a bathroom. Can you tell I have PTSD?)

Whatever you decide, plan on a full day of recuperation when you finally get to your destination. And at least a weekend when you return home.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't, but my kid did ok on the overnights and is a pretty good traveler. Depends on your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We fly to Europe regularly to visit our parents.
When the kids were babies and toddlers, I can totally see myself plunking down and extra 2K to fly non-stop. That would be 2K total, not 2K per person, right? I wouldn't have done 2K per person.

We have also tried the alternative, and your level of exhaustion depends on what your plans are for your trip, what airport you're changing at and how your toddler actually reacts. The best airport to change is Reykjavik. It's small and clean without long lines like Frankfurt and Heathrow (those are nightmares - you may have to carry your toddler and bags from one end of the airport to the other, worrying you'll miss your flight and bumping into everybody else as you scoot along - then just as your flight is called and you're still miles away from the gate, DC goes big time in his diaper and you HAVE to find a bathroom. Can you tell I have PTSD?)

Whatever you decide, plan on a full day of recuperation when you finally get to your destination. And at least a weekend when you return home.

Ha! I pay extra to avoid Frankfurt.

[Anonymous]

I actually like stop overs when traveling with a toddler. It gave him a chance to get out and run around a little. So I would definitely not pay extra to do a non-stop.

I would, however, pay extra to do a daytime flight. Overnight flights are full of people trying to sleep. A noisy toddler is not appreciated (not that there is anything anyone can do about it). On a daytime flight, my DC would nap for several hours and was generally well-behaved the rest of the time. It was also easier to adapt to the jet lag. A tired toddler is usually much harder to travel with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually like stop overs when traveling with a toddler. It gave him a chance to get out and run around a little. So I would definitely not pay extra to do a non-stop.

I would, however, pay extra to do a daytime flight. Overnight flights are full of people trying to sleep. A noisy toddler is not appreciated (not that there is anything anyone can do about it). On a daytime flight, my DC would nap for several hours and was generally well-behaved the rest of the time. It was also easier to adapt to the jet lag. A tired toddler is usually much harder to travel with.

I don't think I would be able to entertain a toddler in a seat for 8 hrs? At least at night I'd have a chance of her sleeping.