Flying With a Toddler, Part 3: Pick Your Seat

I couldn't have planned my last flight to Vancouver any better. We went out in late July since it was the only time we could get off before Audrey turned two years old and we'd have to pay for her fare. Here's my next tip in my series of Flying With a Toddler.

Tip 3: Pick Your Seat

There's a whole strategy with picking your seat. If you plan well and are a bit lucky, you'll end up with a spare seat for your under-two-year-old to use without having had to pay for it. Having that spare seat is really handy. Audrey could lie down and have a snooze for a few hours, leaving us free to get up and stretch or eat a little over-priced Mr. Noodles unencumbered.

Strategy #1: Always pre-book, even if you have to pay a little extra.

Strategy #2: Look for planes that have three seats in the middle between the two aisles, or at least three seats in a row. I've purposely crossed flights off of my list if they didn't have a larger plane with this configuration. If you are travelling with another adult, book the two outer seats, leaving the one in the middle free. The chances of a single person booking the middle seat between you and your travel companion are slim if there are other options available. And if in the rare chance it does happen, you could request that the person switch seats so that you and your travelling companion are sitting beside each other. After all, who wants to sit between two parents and their toddler?

Strategy #3: Choose seats towards the back of the plane. The seats toward the front of the plane seem to get booked first, so you'll have better odds at getting an empty seat if you're at the back of the plane.

Strategy #4: If it's not possible to get an empty seat based upon the pre-booking seating plan, request the bulkhead. This way, you'll get more leg room and your little toddler will have a chance to stretch his or her legs without crowding the aisle.

Strategy #5: Ask the flight attendant if you or anyone else can be moved to allow for a free seat. After all, the unlucky passenger who might be sitting beside you would likely prefer to be sitting beside a quiet (or even chatty) adult, rather than a potentially screaming, drooly baby that might potentially spit up on him. This is my least favourite strategy, but one that I've employed so that two young girls could sit somewhere else to allow for my husband to sit beside me and freeing up an empty seat between us. I actually think those girls appreciated it.

Two trips ago, I had the flight from hell, squeezed against the window beside a woman who would not stop talking to me. No leg room, no view. Just me and my overly tired daughter who had been up since 5:30 that morning. I was regretting having switched planes, which had a luxurious amount of open seats and ended up being only 30 minutes later than the flight I ended up with.

Then again, you could always splurge and just buy that extra seat.

View Other Travelling Tips:

• Pick Your Stroller
• Board Last

Flying With a Toddler, Part 2: Board Last

Audrey should have her own frequent flyer points. She's flown to Vancouver five times and to Calgary once - all before she turned two years old.

We're old hats at it now, but originally, the prospect freaked me out. I dreaded the thought of having an inconsolable baby crying non-stop for 5 hours, the glare of other passengers burning into my back. I couldn't find many tips online, so I turned to friends and family for pointers - most of whom didn't have much to say in this department.

Tip 2: Board Last

Jesse's aunt, however, had one pointer that I still follow: board last, especially if you have someone with you. The airlines always invite families to board first, but if you think about it, it actually makes more sense to board last:

• Your kids can have a chance to run around more.
• You can walk around freely.
• You limit the time that you're in a confined space and on that plane.

And the business flyer in me doesn't want to be on a plane any longer than I need to be.

View Other Travelling Tips:

• Pick Your Stroller
• Pick Your Seat

The Perils of Flying

So my flight out to Vancouver was utter hell. Arrived at the airport at 6:20 am and arrived in Vancouver 12 hours later. Probably the worst travel experience I've ever had.

Showed up a smidgen too late and ended up missing my flight. The most aggravating part was that I was in line waiting to check in and I missed my cut off. Found out that if I ended up checking in online I would have probably ended up catching it.

Thankfully got on the next flight and was relieved to find out that there was ample room for Audrey and me. Too bad the plane had to get a thingamabob fixed on it which meant that we all needed to deplane. Worst part was that I was walking all over the terminal without my stroller and with the heaviest backpack EVER (have no clue why I packed that laptop).

Begged a flight attendant to let me on the next flight. Unfortunately, my bags would have to follow from the other plane. Got squeezed in the very back beside a overly chatty woman who would not stop talking (at one point Audrey was so tired that she wailed in the woman's face, begging her to shut her yapper so she could have a moment of silence to sleep).

Ended up needing to wait for my bags in Vancouver. The ironic part was that they came only 30 minutes later. If I had just ended up waiting, I would have saved myself a ton of grief.

Patience is definitely not my best asset.

Flying With a Toddler, Part 1: Pick Your Stroller

I'm planning on flying to Vancouver with Audrey on Thursday. Audrey's done more flying than my 40-year-old brother has done in his lifetime. I myself am a pretty seasoned flyer. But this is the first time with just Audrey and me. Usually my husband comes with. I'm a little panicked. So I'll post a few tips when travelling with a toddler throughout the next weeks.

Tip 1: Travel with an umbrella stroller

When Audrey was born, our only extravagance was the red Bugaboo Frog. We thought it would be great walking the dog at the beach and around the neighbourhood (and it was and is), but its collapsibility was killing me when travelling, not to mention while storing at daycare. (More about that in a later post.)

So I went out and bought a Maclaren.

I don't regret buying the Frog, but I will say that tooling around town in my new Maclaren Quest is a dream while shopping, and the breakdown a breeze. I'm sure it will be a hit when walking up to the plane. The Frog breaks down in two extra parts. We didn't want to bother with the travel case so we strap the seat to the frame before we board the plan. That's ok for my husband but it will be a big pain in the butt when I'm by myself dealing with a toddler. I also won't need to hassle with reassembling the stroller when leaving. Or be concerned that the wheels will be in Toronto while the seat will be in Vancouver.

More travel tips in the weeks to come...