David48 Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 (edited) Most likely, soonish, I'll be flying Thai with a two Infants aged 1 year old. I had a mental list of questions so phoned through to one of their Australian Offices. Fifteen mins to pick up. The lady, an Aussie, I almost wanted to apologise for disturbing her. The monotone drone and the silent *sighs* spoke of a consultant not having a good day. Soooo ... I get around to asking about what Thai offer on-board for infants and how is the bulkhead accommodation allocated. She ... "How old is the sprog?" Me ... "We have twins, they will be 12 months old when travelling" She ... "Thai supply bassinets up to 6 months old" Me ... "But my boys are 12 months, and classed as infants" She ... "Well, we have nothing for them." Me ... "How is the seating allocated for those with infants?" She ... "24 hours before the flight, the staff will look at who requires that (bulkhead) space, the number of wheelchairs etc we are expected to carry". "But the staff will do the best to have you made comfortable." Me ... "So, it the flight is near capacity, the boys will be sat on our laps for the entire 10 hour flight? She ... "Yes" Me ... "Sigh" She ... "Well, you can always buy a child seat for them ... Khun Key Nok" We then went onto why Thai charge a ridiculous amount for a single ticket as opposed the price of a return ticket. OK, the conversation above ... they weren't exactly her words ... I embellished ... but, geeze, it felt like that was what she was saying. Anyone got any tips on flying on Thai with an infant aged 6 months +? Any experiences generally for flying with young 'uns? Thanks in Advance ... . Edited September 1, 2014 by David48 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisb Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Only on Thai domestic flights so not really the same thing. I googled flying Thai with infants and it bought up quite a few hits. We flew last time with Air Asia, at least with them you can pre book a hotseat on the bulkhead which includes a bassinet. Our baby was over 12 months at the time, so not sure why Thai won't allow this. I'd rather say bye to Thai Air, and book with Air Asia. Extra $50 for a bassinet seat, $100 for 2 bassinet seats. Holding twins for that distance just won't be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Pelago Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 I almost thought this was in the wrong forum and should have been in the conversation section (the Pub?) until I finally got to the point at the end of a long read - if you are after some serious replies perhaps next time just ask your question? Not sure why the long emotive anecdote at the start, oh well. As for flying with infants, I have friends who flew with their 14 month old daughter and 3 year old son from Hobart to Bangkok, joining their Thai fight in Melbourne. They were able to pre-book on the bulkhead and got a bassinet for the girl. Why not try Air Asia? You can pre-pay per bassinet and the cost overall is still way cheaper than Thai. Plus they have the brand new terminal to transit in KL (KLIA2) which gives you a break. Then again you may be after a direct flight to get it all over in one hit. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 (edited) We too have flown Thai Airways, LHR-BKK-LHR, with a a one-year old who nevertheless got a bassinet. But that was ages ago, their policy may have changed. At least the sprog did fit in the box. Edited September 1, 2014 by Ricardo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seabass69 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Here's my tip for flying with Thai...cancel your ticket and book with another airline 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post nowork114 Posted September 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 2, 2014 We have traveled a lot with our daughter and here are some tips: 1. Check what airplane your are flying in and check the seating arrangement (seatguru.com) 2. Book your seat through travel agent or online (first row with place for bassinet) 3. If 2. doesn't work, show up @ airport 3+ hrs before departure and book @ check in counter 4. The bassinet is provided by cabin crew and they will set it up for you if you ask (and if your baby fits in it - google dimensions and measure your baby) 5. Ask for assistance, we were always provided good service when traveling with infant (priority check-in, fast track immigration, boarding first etc.) Also check with airline, some have rule 1 adult for 1 infant. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkpanther99 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 We flew back to the UK 18 month ago with ETIHAD and flew to Japan for a holiday with THAI about 1 year ago. On the flight to the UK our daughter was in a basinet and it was fine. However, with THAI, she was older so we couldn't get her in a basinet and my wife and I took it in turns to hold her while she slept during the flight - but that could be much harder with twins! As for general tips, some advice that was given to me which worked when we flew with our daughter: - fly as late at night as possible so that the kid(s) are really tired and just sleep as soon as they get on the plane. - give your kid(s) a bottle of milk during take off and landing as this helps to avoid discomfort from ears popping (i'm pretty sure that's the actual medical term! lol!) during the change in pressure. Like I said, both worked for us and our daughter was good as gold on both flights. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZurf Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaVisionBurma Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Post containing not very much at all has been removed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ricardo Posted September 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 2, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! While I do understand that infants/toddlers can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes, to other passengers in the same cabin, until airlines start to let us put them in a dog/cat-box with the rest of the cargo in the hold, we really don't have much choice ! Most parents understand that, and are more tolerant, having been there themselves ! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Frank James Posted September 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 2, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! I read through the thread just to see how long it would take before somebody said either this, or, "don't sit anywhere near me!" Well, the species has to reproduce itself, or all progress stops. And those of us without small children need to cut slack for those who do their reproductive duty. I remember the misery of being on a jam-packed 4 hour flight, with a baby on each of our laps. 12 hours could take you all the way to the outer reaches of sanity. Good luck to the OP. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattk1 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 (edited) I travelled to the UK with my wife and our two sons, 2 years old and 4 months old. It was the worst thing I've ever done, from now on if family want to see me and the kids they have to come here :-) Good luck with your trip :-) Edited September 2, 2014 by mattk1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchisaan Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it!I had more trouble dealing with drunk adults than small childeren.Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar God Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 I was on a 12 hour flight from AMS to Bangkok and in the middle if the night, some guy from coach decided that walking through business class was the best thing to do to help quiet his screaming baby. To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! Isn't there a lovely boat trip from OZ to BKk? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebrown Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! I read through the thread just to see how long it would take before somebody said either this, or, "don't sit anywhere near me!" Well, the species has to reproduce itself, or all progress stops. And those of us without small children need to cut slack for those who do their reproductive duty. I remember the misery of being on a jam-packed 4 hour flight, with a baby on each of our laps. 12 hours could take you all the way to the outer reaches of sanity. Good luck to the OP. I recently flew KLM Amsterdam to Bangkok with about 5 infants (under 3 years old) in close proximity. Nothing makes the flight more enjoyable than screams/crying and the smell of dirty nappies and sweet puke on the nose, when there's heavy turbulence to cope with as well! It's up to the airlines to provide adequate private facilities for families so that other passengers don't have to suffer like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Normus Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 The best tip for flying with infants is to try to get them to sleep for as much of the journey as possible. In our case we didnt let our 2 year old son fall asleep in the terminal (even though he was very tired) before our flight, better for you and everybody else if they are bawling in the terminal rather than awake and hyper active on a long haul flight. I am due to take my son now 5 and daughter who will be 2 on a long haul next year and am not looking forward to the prospect! Good luck to you and your Mrs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar God Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 A while ago cinemas used to have glassed-in crying rooms in the back of the theater so when mom thought her 6 month old baby would enjoy watching The Unsinkable Molly Brown as much as she did and it cried instead, she could move to the soundproofed room so as not to spoil the cinematic experience for the people who paid their $3.75. Airlines on the other hand let babies fly for free and move them to bulkhead seats, directly behind first class or business class so the people who paid $4000 for a lie-flat bed do they could sleep can enjoy the crying too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rct99q Posted September 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 2, 2014 i fly often with my daughter (14 months). 1. if available purchase the extra seat (75% of adult fare) similar to child fare. 2. not all airlines supply bassinets. it is subject to childs weight usualy around 10kg max (for safety reasons). 3. never use medications to help baby sleep 4. if baby cries ... so be it. people dont like f*¥k'em 5. try to keep to a normal schedule for the infants 6. normally thai airways long haul are okay once on the airplane in flight service is fine. however they are not baby sitters. 7. our little one is breast feeding so it is easier on her ears during landing and take off to feed. sucking motion helps pop her ears, as one poster noted by bottle feeding. 8. it is also important to notify airline you are travelling with an infant. regulatiojs statevthey can only carry a limited number of infants per flight subject to how many in flight crew the aircraft carries. 9. infants do not fly free. they pay 10% of the regular adult fare or 10% of the lowest available fare that allows an infant/child discount. if you buy a cheaper on line fare they sometimes do not allow any discount fares such as infant, child or senior. this applies to most intrrnational flights as well as domestic ones 10. you are allowed one checked bag, one carry on, and if room allows a small stroller. the stroller is subject to space and in flight crew may ask it be put under neath in baggage hold. but you can usually use them right up to the boarding gate. 11. arrive early. 12. take advantage of the pre baording assistance if they offer it. early boarding. it makes it a lot easier to settle in when not so many people pushing by. also you get a chance to makr contact with the in flight crew which is always helpful. i usually get one of them to hold or walk with my daughter for a little bit and it is always well received by the crew members. 13. your babies will cry at some point. my wife always gets upset as she feels bad for the people around us. as noted earlier i say piss off. i have fown hundreds of thousands of miles in my lifetime so far and have encountered worse problems from adults then a crying baby or two. airlines are people movers thats all. 14. bring toys, games, snack foods. it is not the airlines responsibility to look after your babies. they will try to assist but more than likely there will be a handfull of adults who will occupy their time with insane demands such as a glass of water or a beer every time they walk down the aisle. 15. if at all possible dont drink alcohol, sleep in rotations. if babies sleeps make sure one of you sleeps while the other stays awake. 16. i fly to US and Canada flight times are in around 11-13 hours on the long haul portion so familiar with the routine. although a new experience for you, you must understand that todays airlines are just moving people from point a to b. the luxury travel of days gone past are over. most airlines dont give a rats ass if you travel with them or not. even booking business or first class does not guarantee you anything special these days. however in the future i would not pick Thai airways for international flights if at all possible, or even air asia, but for some destinations you may not have a choice. I just recently flew with Korean Air (2 weeks ago) and they were fantastic. one flight attendant walked with my little one for about an hour giving my wife and i a much needed break. the FA had a smile on her face the whole time, which was the only time during the flight she did smile, but the whole in flight crew were great. so sometimes it does not matter what the airline is like but if you get a good in flight crew it helps. next up Air China in one week....yippy. good luck on your journey....oh and just a reminder once the babies have past their 24 month birthday they pay a childs fare. so if you fly out when they are at 23 months and return when they are 25 months you pay half infant fare and half child fare. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 Thanks for all the responses above ... particularly the one from rct99q ... I do understand the negative comments about screaming kids on flights. Last year, I saved up the pennies and flew Business Class on one long haul leg. We had a screamer through out the night flight just behind the bulkhead ... It's a goldfish bowl up there in the skies ... my partner and I will do our best to allow the kids to enjoy their first flight, but, at the same time, try not to disturb others. Sadly, due to the tight enforcement of the Thai Airline Policy that they won't supply Bassinets to Infants over the age of 6 months, we are forced to seek seats elsewhere. At this stage QANTAS looks the go, but yet to confirm their Policy regarding infants. Meaning you lot are all safe to fly Thai again ... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidermike007 Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! Is it considered ok to give a toddler a small dose of a sleeping pill, for a long flight? It seems to be a reasonable solution, and may result in a smooth flight for all involved. And please make sure the infant is not suffering from any sort of ear or nasal congestion prior to the flight. If so, consider an analgesic, to prevent any pain due to compression issues. I have been on countless flights where an infant was in obvious pain or distress, and barely stopped howling for the entire flight. This is very unfair for the 300 other people on the flight. It is painful to have to listen to this for hours on end. Please do not even consider taking an infant on a long flight unless you have all of this under control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draftvader Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! To all you who fly and are pompous bell-ends. Please stop doing it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post draftvader Posted September 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 2, 2014 On some more serious notes.1) Dummy (pacifier) 2) Mummy's boob (not for Daddy!) 3) Bottle 4) Be prepared to get up and walk a lot 5) Be realistic, you are bored, uncomfortable & irritated. Why wouldn't the little one be? 6) Be 1st in the queue for check-in and make sure your little ones look the CUTEST they can be. We did this with Aeroflot (BKK-LHR via Moscow). Our little one, 19 months at the time, charmed the pants off the 2 girls running the check-in desks. They politely checked our names and headed off. Once on the plane it became totally clear. We had been bulk-headed the whole way in a pair of seats on our own. The first, long, leg to Moscow they even had a pair of empty seats behind us, which I grabbed the instant the sign went off. Sadly on the way back the stone-faced 81tch at LHR took no such joy from our daughter and we were shafted all the way! On the point about getting the air-crew onside we have also had this luck too. Once it gets quiet they will often offer up a pair of arms for 20 minutes or so to give parents a chance to reorganise their meager family space. TAKE ADVANTAGE. If they don't then just take your child to sit on the jump seat in the galley for a while. It keeps them distracted. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Pair of charmers there, David ! Coochy coo ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 (edited) <snip> Airlines on the other hand let babies fly for free If only ! Unlike most other sorts of carry-on luggage, rug-rats need their own ticket, even in a bassinet, and are charged accordingly ! We recently waved-off number-one-child to university, he reports that he had a crying-baby next-to/in-front-of him on three of the four sectors, we merely chuckled at the memories of when that was him crying ! The biter bit, so to speak ! Edited September 3, 2014 by Ricardo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jossthaifarang Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! scenario: Single mother lives in country A Parents live in country B (for whatever reason) Parents are killed in a car crash Single mother decides not to go back to country B with her infant for the funeral, because MZurf asked to please stop doing it! Come on, there is world filled with people doing all kinds of things outside of your little bubble mate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jossthaifarang Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 We have traveled a lot with our daughter and here are some tips: 1. Check what airplane your are flying in and check the seating arrangement (seatguru.com) 2. Book your seat through travel agent or online (first row with place for bassinet) 3. If 2. doesn't work, show up @ airport 3+ hrs before departure and book @ check in counter 4. The bassinet is provided by cabin crew and they will set it up for you if you ask (and if your baby fits in it - google dimensions and measure your baby) 5. Ask for assistance, we were always provided good service when traveling with infant (priority check-in, fast track immigration, boarding first etc.) Also check with airline, some have rule 1 adult for 1 infant. Regarding number 3: You could also try checking in online and choosing your seats 24hrs before the flight, (usually only possible if you have not taken a low cost option) May help a little.. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jossthaifarang Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! While I do understand that infants/toddlers can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes, to other passengers in the same cabin, until airlines start to let us put them in a dog/cat-box with the rest of the cargo in the hold, we really don't have much choice ! Most parents understand that, and are more tolerant, having been there themselves ! Very well said, i agree 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post David48 Posted September 3, 2014 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 3, 2014 6) Be 1st in the queue for check-in and make sure your little ones look the CUTEST they can be. We did this with Aeroflot (BKK-LHR via Moscow). Our little one, 19 months at the time, charmed the pants off the 2 girls running the check-in desks. They politely checked our names and headed off. Once on the plane it became totally clear. We had been bulk-headed the whole way in a pair of seats on our own. The first, long, leg to Moscow they even had a pair of empty seats behind us, which I grabbed the instant the sign went off. . 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h90 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 To all you who fly with infants and toddlers: Please stop doing it! While I do understand that infants/toddlers can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes, to other passengers in the same cabin, until airlines start to let us put them in a dog/cat-box with the rest of the cargo in the hold, we really don't have much choice ! Most parents understand that, and are more tolerant, having been there themselves ! Well if we couldn't stand this disturbance we would be extinguished a million year ago. Of course babies are annoying but that is life.....No babies....no humans and everyone was one at some time. I have the feeling the least tolerant are people who had babies before and it seems that men are more tolerant than women. When I am total tired and a baby cries into my ear 10 hours, you won't see anything else that a big smile to it an the parents..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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