Taking a baby on a long plane flight

natty · Post by **natty** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:22 pm

Hello everyone,

I would like to get some advice or any help on how can I have my 5 month old baby on long flights. We fly form helsinki to stockholm and stay overnight and then we fly to qatar (we will be staying there for a few hours) before we fly again to our destination.
So i would like to know if i can carry so much baby food in jars for all these flights, will i be allowed to carry like 8 jars from helsinki airport as i want to make sure we have them incase stockholm airport dont. I have been told qatar airport do not have baby food.
And any advise about how to make a baby as comfortable on boards ? How to ease ear pain? Is it true breastfeeding him during take off and landing helps?

Hope anyone can help and any other advise is appreciated.

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tunkkari · Post by **tunkkari** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:09 am

hi, not too sure about the babyfood but maybe you could put it in the hold luggage except for what you need for the particular flight that would be ok. For my kids for ear pain i used to let them suck on a bottle during take off and landing and that seemed to work, dummy would even do the same if baby uses one. Hopefully baby will sleep for you during most of the flights its hard work if they dont.

panda_123 · Post by **panda_123** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:10 am

My friend in Canada travelled with her baby less than 5 months old - and she gave him a soother/pacifier as well as nursed him - and he didn't cry once.

treparcs · Post by **treparcs** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:18 pm

Just came back from a trip now.
Someone told you about the baby basinette... call to the airline so you will have one for the flight to Qatar, call them again to check that they have it, check again that they have heard you. Basinettes are hard, bring and extra blanket for it.
I had in my hand luggage 2 meaty, and 3 fruity baby foods, 0,5 l of milk in a package from the supermarket and another 0,5 l in bottles. No one said anything about it, just keep all of them in a separate transparent plastic bag since in the scanner you'll have to put them aside from your bag.
For the ear thing. If the baby is shouting is good for him, but pacifier, bottle or breast are the other good options.

natty · Post by **natty** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:20 am

Thanks everyone for the advice.
I will try call the airlines and ask about baby food and the basinette, I thought they automatically give us the seats where the basinette will be, do i have to ask_? we bought the tickets on line and we did click that we have a 5 month old baby so shouldnt they know that its a must ?

Any one have advice about qatar airline and being at the qatar airport for transit? are they baby friendly and have baby services at airport?

Many thanks again to u all.

natty · Post by **natty** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:31 am

Hi again,
Does anyone know if the helsinki´to stockholm flight gives a baby basinette`? Do i have to call them and reserve it?
And does anyone know the qatar number?

sorry for all the question.'
thanks

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:53 am

Helsinki to Stockholm is such a short flight that you won't even need it, plus most of the smaller planes that fly there probabl won't even have them.
Those short hop flights are dead easy so don't even worry about that one.
On long haul flights they have only a set amount of basinettes so don't expect that there will be one for every baby onboard.
It's a matter of luck more than anything, if there are loads of babies on the flight then those that are in the seats most suited to using the basinette will get them.
If there aren't many babies then your chances are very good. The best place to sit is behind a toilet or behind a partitioning wall, the basinettes then can be attached to them very easily.
Get to check in early (for the long haul flights) and ask to be seated somewhere suitable for the basinette. If you just get a regular seat you have to put the basinette where your feet go and that just sucks.
With the baby food, our experience wherever we went was that as soon as we said 'babyfood' it was like the secret password to every security checkpoint.
Seriously, they won't even care how much you have or what kind you have with you, for example even bottled water was fine when it was in those feeding bottle things.
As for the Qatar airlines phone number, just google it.

Idefix · Post by **Idefix** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:23 pm

natty wrote:I thought they automatically give us the seats where the basinette will be, do i have to ask_? we bought the tickets on line and we did click that we have a 5 month old baby so shouldnt they know that its a must ?

You should ask. I have been seated in a regular seat, with a baby, when not asking.

The bassinett seats are also requested by other passengers, because they have extra leg room. For instance, on one of my flights a large man said he requested the bassinett aisle, he said he could not fit in a regular seat.

mikkolover · Post by **mikkolover** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 2:07 pm

and see if you can find out what kind of basinett. i was on a flight from frankfurt to sf and they told me we had a basinett. What it was, was a duffle bag for the FLOOR. Just a cold, plastic sport like bag that i was to lay my son in. I was appalled. I think i cried most of the flight , but they said these are perfectly acceptable bassinetts by the airline regulations. My son used a tutti, but the LIFESAVER was having him on me at all times, in the babybjorn carrier. He slept there, ate there, and was content there. You may get a bit warm, but I've been seated in the middle of a 4 seat row and we managed ok, just me and my boy, because he felt safe there.

Oh and you can bring whatever the baby eats as long as it's in a separate bag for security and in its original packaging, no home made foods. Check in case though!

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