Long direct flight or shorter connecting flights w/ toddler?

[Gena]

We're thinking of flying form Mich to Calif with our son, who will be 16 months old at that time. Would it be better to have a long direct flight (almost 5 hours) or short flights with a connection? We have only flown with him once before and that was only a 1 hour flight.

Most of our trips are by car and we stop every couple of hours to let the little guy out of the carsear and burn off some energy. So I'm inclined to think that a connection would be better, because I think he would have being on the plane for 5 hours.

On the other hand, connections are a pain and with a toddler in tow I'm sure it's even more of a hassle. Plus there is the issue of installing & uninstalling the carseat multiple times.

Those of you who have travelled with your little ones, what works best? A long direct flight that gets you to your destination faster? Shorter flights with a layover so you can feed the baby, run around, etc.? Any other ideas?

[emilyf]

We always choose a direct flight if at all possible-just shortens the travel time by so much. DS has done several long flights and it's been fine-just bring lots of distractions, hopefully he will sleep at least part of it.
Emily \r\nmom of Charlie born 11/02

[kristine_elen]

Long flight! He will probably fall asleep in the car seat and it won't be bad. If you connect, you have to haul the car seat, deal with more waiting, make his ears pop again, etc, etc. You also might have a delay on the other flight.

[vpalmer]

I would choose a long direct flight over a connecting flight every time. Installing the carseat and having to drag your gear through the ariport is no fun one time let alone twice. :-)

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born 6-03

[janeybwild]

Another vote for a direct flight. Apart from the energy saving for you, its once less stop for them to lose bagage, bang up you stroller, have a delay etc.

[babymama]

Definitely long direct flight. Having done this a few times (once by myself w/ DS), the hardest part of airline travel is the airport time - transporting car seat, keeping DS out of the busy foot traffic, going to the bathroom with DS and bags and carseat.

So I would definitely go with the long direct flight.

Lydia
Mama to Santiago, born 11/16/03 and
One on the way, due 01/03/06

[kensjen]

We always do the long direct flight. In fact, we have one coming up (6 hours) that I am dreading! :)

The trick is in the timing. We try to fly early in the day or late. If we have an early flight, Jonah will nap at least an hour or 2 and if it is late evening, he will sometimes sleep the whole time. Of course you never know with toddlers!

Have lots of distraction toys, maybe a DVD player, snacks, drinks, and tons of patience! ;) Good luck!!

[DebbieJ]

Do you mean direct or non-stop? They are two different things. A direct flight is a flight in which you do not have to get off the plane, but the plane will land to let off passengers and take on new ones before you reach your final destination. Southwest often has these types of flights. Non-stop, is, well, non-stop.

If it is non-stop, I would take that one. If it is direct, I would take one where you have a small layover and change of planes to let your little one run around.

~ deb
DS 12/03
And a niece or nephew arriving in early August!

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/10029.gif

[Mommy_Again]

OK, I'll be the lone voice of dissent. Mind you, I have never DONE a long direct non-stop, but my experience with shorter flights is that it allows them to sleep on the plane, get out and run around during the connection, eat on the next plane and then sleep again. I don't know about you, but my DS doesn't sleep for 5 hours in the middle of the day, especially not on a plane. I am just too chicken to get into a confined space in the middle of the sky with him for that long. We are still flying with him on our laps so we also dont have the car seat to deal with, so I am sure that makes a difference.

Of course, DS is the only one at library story time who is running around the room istead of sitting and listening to the story...so I think a lot depends on your child. Also time of day is important...if it's a night flight, obviously go direct.

[stefani]

My vote will be for direct non-stop flight. I have travelled with DS and DH as well as with DS alone, and the transit time is stressful.

Good luck!

[jbowman]

I always try to get as few connections as possible, and I always opt for a direct, non-stop flight when I can. The descent is the worst for Ellie (I think her ears hurt) and the whole changing planes thing is a nightmare. JMHO.

[murpheyblue]

Bite the bullet and go for the long flight. Stops just drag the day out and are exhausting for everyone. We've flown cross country with DD (21 months) twice and once to Mexco. Try to book a flight for nap time or bed time and you'll buy yourself a couple hours of shut eye.

[Gena]

Wow. Thanks for all the input. I'm really amazed so many of you go with the direct non-stop flights (thanks Deb for pointing out the difference between direct & non-stop).

I realize that connection are a major pain, with all the stuff and everything. But Hubby has an amazing talent for piling a ton of stuff on a little umbrella stroller and pushing it while I sling the baby.

But the main thing is that I know my son cannot handle a 5 hour car ride without stopping & getting out. Even with sleeping for a while, even with new toys/books as distractions. How is he going to handle a 5 hour flight?

To make things more complicated: if we do connecting flights, we can fly through the smaller regional airport nearby. This means parking, security, and baggage would all be a breeze. For direct flights we have to go to the big metropolitain airport, where everything is much more difficult.

[californiagirl]

We don't really have a choice. If you go to Australia from the US, there's no way to do it without 5 hours at a stretch minimum. So we don't think 5 hours is a big deal. In fact, we normally do LA-Sydney in one hop, so we're prepared to deal with 11 hours. No, she doesn't sit still that long, but we walk up and down the aisles periodically. Yes, you do have to pack a lot of stuff.

[hez]

A good point about security being easier to deal with in a smaller airport (shorter lines!!!).

Payton just did a 3 hour flight to and from CO-- and had no issues to speak of. He fussed a little before going down on the way out (flight was after bedtime), and needed lots of attention, but fell asleep during takeoff on the way home (flight was at naptime).

I think I'd have to weigh it-- how long would the layover be, what's the chance that one flight or the other would be delayed (lots of airlines publish the on-time rates of their flights), and will the connecting airport have a play area convenient to where your airline's gates are... I watched a family chase their 20 month old all over the St. Louis airport a few weeks ago, and they looked pretty frazzled. Those of us around them did our best to try to entertain the cutey-pie to help *all* of our sanity :)

Good luck making your decision. So far we've chosen the non-stop option on both our trips (4 flights) and that aspect of the trip has been good-- we'll probably continue with that choice in the future.

[jbowman]

We try to get as few connections as possible, but often fly out of our local, regional airport b/c it is easier: cheaper to park, easy to check in, etc. This necessitates a connection, which is ok--but all things being equal, I prefer a direct, non-stop flight.

[jesseandgrace]

The long flight is better. It is nice to have the stretch in the middle, but sometimes they fall asleep right before you have to switch and then wake up cranky, you have to lug everything through the airport, you have a chance of delays again with flight #2 instead of just one possibility, etc. The only time I pick a connection over a non stop is if the only non stop is at 6:00am or something like that so you have to be at the airport by 5:00am. I find that this throws things off so much that it is just not worth the benefits of the non stop for anyone, because I also try to factor in how they will feel when we get to our destination.

[bunnisa]

Although of course I personally prefer nonstop flights, I've found (short) connections to make life with DS much easier.

He cannot stand to sit still for hours, and usually by the end of each leg, he is just starting to get antsy again. The connection provides some "new scenery" for him, a chance to walk a bit, and just breaks up the trip in general. Plus, he gets 2 takeoffs and landings, which he really enjoys.

We've flown a lot, and this was something I learned from experience with him. Yes, it's a pain to change planes, but I'll take that over dealing with an increasingly unhappy toddler any day.


Bethany
mom to William 6/03
and another little one due late Feb '06!
http://lilypie.com/days/060226/0/8/1/-6/.png