we will be booking flights next month,i wondered if anyone has any advice on flight times which would be the best,to fly through the night or by day we have got 3 children 6 ,18 months and 16 .cheers
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Richard&Sally 3 kids,Naomi,Jack&Sam
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Hi Batman, People will have different opinions on this one!!! We flew on a mid-day flight which suited us perfect, our children were 13 and 15 at the time. I cannot sleep on flights anyway so the midday one was good as there was lots of TV entertainment and eating to do!! Also had a good book and read nearly the whole way. We stopped in Singapore for about 3 hours stretched our legs and the kids had a Burger King there, then we flew on to Brisbane. Arrived Brisbane about 7pm ish (cant remember exactly), so by time we spoke to relatives it was time for bed and we slept like babies. Although all this took 2 days (with time differences) it felt like we had just been travelling all day (which we had). Didn't get any jet lag so all in all was a good flight for us.
Coming home was different story they changed the flight time to later so by the time we were boarding we were all worn out and then trying to sleep on the aeroplane was a nightmare for me (although the kids slept). I felt i had been awake for days and was wacked by the time we finally reached the Uk which seemed to me take an eternity.
Dont worry about your little ones on the plane as when we travelled there were lots of little ones and they were up and down the isles and no-one was upset by it, and staff on the plane were fantastic with the children.
[quote=Mrs C;171017]Hey Kim,
Which company did you fly with?
..
Hi April, We went with Singapore Airlines and couldnt fault them. Staff were really attentive, food was great, Entertainment system was great as so many movies and then the kids could play each other on the playstation too! The boys didnt get bored at all and quite enjoyed themselves playing and watching TV all day!! You could even have cocktails, they made up Singapore Slings which were really nice.
Couldnt fault them at all and I have to say was dreading the flight but there was no need as it was a pleasure to relax and do nothing for the day and be waited on!! And as I say we only had a 3 hour stop in Singapore then onto Brisbane and it was time for bed.
I will definately be looking to fly with them again when we go to Australia again.
we will be booking flights next month,i wondered if anyone has any advice on flight times which would be the best,to fly through the night or by day we have got 3 children 6 ,18 months and 16 .cheers
We have always chosen to fly in the evening. We are off to Oz at the end of the month for a 5 week holiday/reccie OUr flight leaves at 6pm, so I know that within a couple of hours after the initial excitement has gone our youngest (18mth) won't be able to stay awake and our 4 yr old is just a sweetie, he has been known to drop off before take off and wake up 12 hours later when the seatbelt signs go on. Even if he doesn't I know that he will be happy at the chance to sit in front of the tv for hours. We then stop in Singapore for about 7 hours, which we hope to just wear them out then again an evening flight arriving in Melbourne early in the morning.
Evening flights have worked for us and we hope they will again, by the time they are changed into their pjs and settled down it passes a fair bit of time. It also gives us plenty of time to get to the aiport without getting up at the crack of dawn.
One tip if you do have an early morning flight, I never get the kids dressed, I just take them out of bed at the last minute into the car then get them dressed at the airport.
Greetings! I'm with Michelle on this one. We fly in the evening. When your kids are older - I'd do what's best for you (the adult) but when they are younger, we find night works best. We just took our 3 (10,8 and 3) and departed at 10:35pm and the longest flight was first and our youngest was able to sleep for a longer chunk of time. Found the night flights sometimes have vacant seats and we had an extra for our 3 year old to stretch out a bit. We then had a 5 hour layover in Hong Kong and flew again departing at 11:35pm their time. Once again with the time difference a large chunk on the second flight was sleep time. The older two were in video/game heaven and didn't care but for our youngest I was SO THANKFUL he slept for about 5 hours on the first flight and 3 on the second. Doesn't seem like much but it helps. On the way back, we found it harder but that was because we really didn't want to come home and knew we faced a 5 hour train journey back to Cornwall at the other end. We have decided that when we go for good, we will break the journey but for the reccie we're glad we did it all in one go. We flew Cathay Pacific this time and couldn't fault them.
Forgot to mention, we decided on Singapore Airlines rather than Emirates as we wanted to get the biggest chunk of the flight over with first and from what I can remember via Dubai is only about 7hrs on the first leg of it.
Price wise there was not much between the two. We have also booked a seat for both our children even though the youngest is under 2. it is expensive but in terms of luggage and room we felt it worth the extra money.
Well for us we have booked a night flight, leaving at 10.10pm. Last time we flew to oz it was a morning flight. This time round we're hoping that we may get a bit more sleep. Will let you know once we're there if this works out better.
We're hoping our 3 year old will be totally knackered by the time we take off and nod off peacefully. (fingers crossed).
eddie,tina
cheers guys for the replys very helpful,just waiting for the interest free credit card to come through and we will be booking flights cant wait .swaying towards the night flight at the minute but if every other decision we have come to during this journey to oz is to go by we will definately be changing our mindthanks again
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Richard&Sally 3 kids,Naomi,Jack&Sam
TRA Passed 3/12/06
136 Visa Posted 10/02/07
visa acknowledged 13/03/07
co & meds requested 27/03/07
meds sent 01/05/07
police checks emailed 12/05/07
visa granted 23/05/07:biggrin:
We flew to Oz first time at night, arrived early hours of the morning in Melbourne (about 5). We then got a couple of hours sleep got up and kept going through the day. No jetlag!
This time we flew in the afternoon, got to Melbourne about midnight, slept till morning - serious jet lag!
This is just our experience though, others have different times that work for them.
Felicity
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Felicity + Michael - We're 'Pozzies' - Happy and Lovin' it!
Melbourne since September 07
OUr flight leaves at 6pm, so I know that within a couple of hours after the initial excitement has gone our youngest (18mth) won't be able to stay awake and our 4 yr old is just a sweetie, he has been known to drop off before take off and wake up 12 hours later when the seatbelt signs go on. Even if he doesn't I know that he will be happy at the chance to sit in front of the tv for hours. We then stop in Singapore for about 7 hours, which we hope to just wear them out then again an evening flight arriving in Melbourne early in the morning.
thanks again
