flying to Oz with daughter

refundmeplze!

Hello all, I am flying on Friday (for the first time ever:eek: ) to Sydney:D with my 13yr old daughter to visit my brother. As I have never flown anywhere before, let alone a long haul flight i am feeling rather nervous :eek: :eek: ! Can any of you guys help me out on a few questions.......Is it best to check in online 24hrs before flying or at the airport??I MUST be able to sit with my daughter and am worried in case we are split up. I am travelling with BA in world traveller, does the flight have free drinks and snacks etc?It does say that I get a free meal, but not sure about drinks.I have a 2hr stopover at singapore and have been told that electrical items are very cheap, if i buy some hairstraightners there will they work in the uk?I am absolutley dreading transferring flights so any tips gratefully received!!!! Also any flying tips in general for flying with kids gratefully received. My daughter often feels sick/headache on long car journeys, do you think she will feel the same on a plane???
Thanks for reading, any tips welcome!!!!!!!!

Sam_Bee

Hello all, I am flying on Friday (for the first time ever:eek: ) to Sydney:D with my 13yr old daughter to visit my brother.

Lucky you! Have fun!

Is it best to check in online 24hrs before flying or at the airport??I MUST be able to sit with my daughter and am worried in case we are split up.

Yes, check-in 24 hours before hand on here: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/mmbhome/public/en_gb

You will need your surname (!) and BA booking reference (contact your travel agent / BA if you can't find it - it will be a 6 digit letter/number combination). Do it 24 hours in advance (exactly if possible)

Use this website to help choose your seat: http://www.seatguru.com/

I am travelling with BA in world traveller, does the flight have free drinks and snacks etc?It does say that I get a free meal, but not sure about drinks.

Yes, all completely free. Wine, beer, spirits, the lot.

I have a 2hr stopover at singapore and have been told that electrical items are very cheap, if i buy some hairstraightners there will they work in the uk?

I doubt you will have enough time to work everything out, so probably won't be worth the stress. Or if you come back via Singapore, maybe check out the prices on the way out. Changi's a nice airport to stretch your legs. It should work with an adapter if you do buy it.

I am absolutley dreading transferring flights so any tips gratefully received!!!! Also any flying tips in general for flying with kids gratefully received. My daughter often feels sick/headache on long car journeys, do you think she will feel the same on a plane???

I got over travel sickness as a kid with those travel sickness armbands you can buy in chemists (really work!). And ginger nuts (biscuits!) seemed to help. I'm sure she'll be having too much fun with the seat back entertainment anyway!

AussieLass

You can ask for any drink you like on the flight. But they regularly come through with drinks and snacks. You won't go hungry.

I've never checked online before the flight but if you want to it won't hurt. You won't be split up. You will be seated in the seats you've been allocated.

Transferring flights won't be a hassle. It's on the board and you just go to the Terminal it says. If you only have 2 hours in Singapore you won't have a great deal of time for shopping. Only in the airport. I didn't see that many bargains there tbh. If the straighteners do have different plugs you can buy UK sockets that attach on to them for you to use. I would get them on the return trip myself.

The flight is long and boring. But they have head sets where you can watch movies etc. The little screen is on the back of the seat in front of you. Take a good book etc. She may feel a bit queasy. You might be best to ask your chemist what they recommend to take just in case.

Enjoy your holiday & have a great flight. HTH.

Angua2

Hiya. Have a brill time! Great post from your first responder.

Did a long-haul to Oz years ago now...found that I got extremely dehydrated - to point of nose-bleed, so would highly recommend taking all sorts of hydrating things (check allowances) from nasal spray (sorry for yucky details) to mists/spritzers for face AND remember to drink as much water as you can while flying.

This might sound a bit new-age, but i'd also bring relaxation tapes/cd's - to help with any anxiety and promote sleep without the drugged feeling of, well, pharmaceuticals...

I don't think you'll need to worry about being split from your minor daughter - even if airline mucks up, solo passengers are often very willing to trade seats to allow you to be together. This happened to me - airline split seats for me and my 5 yr old! Flight staff and passengers were brill and it was sorted in seconds once we were on the plane.


As for transferring flights: be as organised and light-weight (hand-luggage wise) as possible. Review, review, review to exclude unnecessaries, duplicates, etc.

General tip for flying with kids: have snacks and entertainment! I got a portable DVD player for my ween and it's been great investment.

Relax and enjoy!

refundmeplze!

Thankyou all for your excellent advice!!:T I will definatley use the online check-in 24hrs before.I think that I will give the shopping a miss as i only have a 2hr stopover on the way there and only an hour and a half in Bangkok on the way home. I dont suppose any one knows if we get one of those freebie bags with socks, toothbrush etc in?? or should i pack my own???Silly questions i know but have never flown before!! Am very excited about the holiday:D , just worried about what to expect on the plane!! :eek:

Scarlett1

refundmeplze! wrote: »

Thankyou all for your excellent advice!!:T I will definatley use the online check-in 24hrs before.I think that I will give the shopping a miss as i only have a 2hr stopover on the way there and only an hour and a half in Bangkok on the way home. I dont suppose any one knows if we get one of those freebie bags with socks, toothbrush etc in?? or should i pack my own???Silly questions i know but have never flown before!! Am very excited about the holiday:D , just worried about what to expect on the plane!! :eek:

I didnt get any freebie bags when I went to OZ, but I did find toothbrush sets in the drawers in the toilets of the plane, I bought my own flight socks and took along some wet wipes aswell, have a good time

Angua2

I think you can get lots of your answers here:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_gb

go Information > Travel Classes > World Traveller

Due to airport security restrictions currently in place in the UK, only ONE piece of Hand Baggage will be permitted when departing from or transferring through the UK.

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john0612

your daughter might get a pack with goodies in it.

we fly with emirates and they gave our son a backpack with teddies/colouring books etc..
they also gave us a bag full of toothbrushes&toothpaste /playing cards sweets too.

manda1205

we flew with singapore airlines and got goodie packs, toothpaste, toothbrush, other bits too, also they came round with blankets and pillows too. For the travel sickness bit, I bought boots own make tablets and they were rubbsih. I dont actually feel sick when flying just nervous and light headed, but when we were in oz (we were there 6mnths) cos we did lots of boat rides etc and Im very sick then, I bought some travel sickness tablets in oz (travacalm) and they were absolutely brilliant, so if you do need some get some in oz I think theyre better than over here.

Barcode

(1) Try seatguru.com if you know the type of plane (likely a 747-400) and then pre-book your seats. I've found the two seats nearer the back where the fusuelage begins to taper best for leg-room in WT.

(2) Yes, you will get free drinks etc.

(3) The stop-over is really easy. Browse the shops, rest etc. You will go through security just before the departure area, i.e., they scan you, you then go to sit down before boarding the plane.

I'd check you actually are with BA. They codeshare with Qantas on this route, so you might be on a Qantas plane for one of the legs (also excellent for long-haul).

aliciaoggy

Hi i flew to sydney via hong kong in march with a 3 year old. I packed a back pack for her with snacks mini cheddars, fruit etc. I also packed coulouring books, books for her to read.I took a mini tube of toothpaste and toothbrushes flight socks, slippers. I packed a change of clothes for my daughter and myself so that when we arrived at hong kong airport we could freshen up and change clothes.I also packed olbas oil, calm tablets, face mist, moisturiser,flannel ,throat lozenges. Remember if you take any liquids in hand luggage make sure they are under 100ml.Hope this helps.