Most advice about flying with children is written by people who have not recently done it. Here is what our consultants — several of whom travel with young children — actually recommend.
Book the flight around the child, not the fare
A cheap 2 a.m. departure with a toddler is not cheap. Whatever you saved, you will spend on a ruined first day. For short-haul, fly mid-morning after a normal night's sleep. For long-haul, an evening departure that overlaps the child's normal sleep is usually the least bad option.
Bulkhead seats, if you can get them
Extra floor space matters more than you expect, and bassinets attach here. Request at booking rather than at check-in, and confirm the airline's weight limit for the bassinet.
Ear pain is the real problem
Swallowing equalises pressure. A bottle, a feed, a sippy cup or a lollipop during descent — not ascent, descent is worse — solves most of it. If your child has a cold, ask a paediatrician about a decongestant beforehand; a blocked eustachian tube on descent is genuinely painful.
Pack the bag you can reach
One small bag under the seat with: a change of clothes for the child, a change of top for you, wipes, nappies for double the flight length, one familiar snack, one familiar comfort object and one new small toy kept hidden until the child is bored. The new toy buys twenty minutes, which is a long time at 35,000 feet.
Screens: allow them
This is not the flight to enforce screen limits. Download content beforehand — do not rely on the in-flight system, which fails often and rarely has what your child wants. Bring child-sized headphones; adult ones do not stay on.
Documentation for minors
Children need their own passports and, for most destinations, their own visas. If one parent is travelling alone with a child, several countries — South Africa notably — require a notarised consent letter from the other parent and sometimes an unabridged birth certificate. Check this early; it is a common reason families are stopped at check-in.
At the airport
Most airports have a family security lane; ask for it. Gate-check the stroller rather than checking it in, so you have it right up to the aircraft door and again on arrival. And let the child walk as much as possible before boarding — a tired child sleeps.
Choose the destination sensibly
For a first international trip with young children, short flights and easy food matter far more than the destination's inherent appeal. Singapore, Dubai and Thailand are gentle introductions. Europe with a two-year-old, involving long flights and long drives, is a harder proposition than the photographs suggest.
Our family holiday packages are built around exactly these constraints — realistic transfer times, confirmed family rooms and downtime scheduled rather than assumed.