Have Baby. Must Travel.

[SassyMummy]

Over Christmas I'm heading to WA (we're in Qld).

DD will be 17 months on Christmas Day...and I'm wondering what I am in for.

Are there any airlines which you would recommend? I was thinking going QANTAS because they have in flight movies and I don't fancy holding DD on my lap for 5 hours with nothing to do (I'm sure if I have a book/magazine to read she will just snatch it from me).

Also - what allowances are made for parents regarding luggage? Do I have to pay fees on certain objects (like pram/carseat etc) or what?

ALSO - When you travel with bub on lap (too poor to afford her own ticket), are they strapped in too, or do you just have them on your lap. I was considering using her sling for the plane trip but I'm unsure if it's allowed. Any ideas?

Any help would be awesome!

[Starlet]

Gosh, so many mums travelling soon!

Are there any airlines which you would recommend? Qantas, I had a 7 month old on my lap from Perth to the Gold Coast. Not fun, the seats are waaay to squashy.


Also - what allowances are made for parents regarding luggage? Do I have to pay fees on certain objects (like pram/carseat etc) or what? I took a portacot and a tandem pram and they were not counted as part of my luggage allowance. So no charge.

ALSO - When you travel with bub on lap (too poor to afford her own ticket), are they strapped in too, or do you just have them on your lap. I was considering using her sling for the plane trip but I'm unsure if it's allowed. Any ideas? They give u a baby seat belt that you thread through ur seatbelt and then clip it around babys waist. I think u'd probably have to do this for take off and landing, but I'm pretty sure u should be ok to use a sling during the flight.

[Starlet]

BTW, I hope u plan on catching up with some of us Perth mummies while u are here! I'm sure there's heaps of us that would like to meet you!

[Mamaduke]

Are there any airlines which you would recommend? I was thinking going QANTAS because they have in flight movies and I don't fancy holding DD on my lap for 5 hours with nothing to do (I'm sure if I have a book/magazine to read she will just snatch it from me).

We've flown from Melb to Gold Coast with 2 boys a couple of times now and I can't fault Jetstar. Great deals and because we have children, we're first to board (hint - grab the very first seat row. There's a little more legroom, but not near the door as they won't allow children to sit there).
They have personal DVD players which you can hire for $7. They have movies & episodes of TV shows such as Friends, Smallville etc. They're a great idea.

ALSO - When you travel with bub on lap (too poor to afford her own ticket), are they strapped in too, or do you just have them on your lap. I was considering using her sling for the plane trip but I'm unsure if it's allowed. Any ideas?

They will give you a little harness which you slide through your seatbelt and the clip around your child. Once the seatbelt sign is off you can take it off (just as you can your own).
Don't really know about allowances for carseats etc as we always hire those sorts of things. Check out the airline's website - that should tell you.

[Starlet]

I don't think Jetstar fly from Qld to Perth yet. Jetstar has only been flying to Perth since March and I think it's only Melbourne to Perth.

It's worth checking out though, come christmas time, they might have flight from Qld to Perth.

[Mamaduke]

You're right Starlet, they don't...sorry!
They go to NZ but not to Perth...go figure.
Like you said though, come Christmas time things may have changed.

[Merlion]

we spent a bit of money and bought one of those fold up strollers that fit in a bag that fits in the overhead compartments when we went from Perth-Brisb-Christchurch and back. We had a 3 hour stopover in Brissy and worked wonders. We didn't bring a port-a-cot or a car seat as our relatives in chris had them but you can hire them from Perth and they are pretty cheap. If you hire a car I think it cost an extra $20-$50 for them to install a car seat which comes with the hire car. Just a cheaper option.

If need be I have to Port-a-cots and live in Perth if you need to borrow one temporarily. We are actually might be lending clairereid our portable stroller when she goes to the UK. Just let us know I think we might be able to help you out with baby products instead of you worrying about carting them with you

[Melo]

Thanks Sassy Mummy! I was going to post the excat same thing, except we are going from WA to QLD in 2 weeks though!

[little mermaid]

Dont hold me to this but I think you are allowed 2 items on top of your luggage allowance for babies comfort. ie. a pram and a car seat or portacot.