Are you taking your infant (under two years old) on their first international flight soon? Wondering what you might experience? Here’s a rundown of a flight from Christchurch, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia on Qantas Airways, with a 1 year old, and what you can expect.
Baggage Allowance
You’ll find you are likely to be packing a LOT. Do not underestimate this. At times you’ll wonder how you’ll even fit it in the boot of a car, let along carrying it through an airport.
It’s worth noting with Qantas, that in addition to your checked luggage, when travelling on a Qantas operated flight with a QF flight number, for each infant travelling with an adult, up to three infant items, each weighing up to 32kg (70lb), can be checked in free of charge~. This can include:
collapsible stroller or push-chair;
collapsible cot or bassinet; and
car seat or baby capsule.
For some, taking all of these items is unavoidable, but if you are able to, you could consider buying a cheap K-Mart/Target stroller at your destination, or renting a car seat.
Getting to the Airport
We had a LOT of luggage, and fortunately had found that when using public transport, including Uber and taxis in New Zealand, you do not need a child restraint (unless one is available in the taxi/Uber/bus). We ordered a larger vehicle although with some careful packing we would have managed to fit into a sedan too.
Christchurch Airport
The process here is fairly simple. You have the extra luggage, so you line up at Qantas at the check in desks, drop off the bags AND the infant items, and head to security and passport control. At security, any baby formula / food is permitted if you explain it’s for them. At passport control, since the child can’t use SmartGate, you travel with them through the families section, and have your passports checked at the desk there, before whisking them through duty free hoping they don’t grab onto anything expensive.
Change table in Christchurch Airport
We used the change table at the toilet between gates 24 and 25. Unfortunately it’s inside the women’s toilets, and our infant was NOT happy about this process. There may be better facilities where both parents can access it easily and perhaps more quietly – the screaming was audible outside too!
Boarding the Flight
When boarding, the staff were very friendly, greeting us and our child. You need to have all three tickets scanned and passports sighted before boarding. Note that while your child doesn’t have a seat number since they’ll be on your lap, their boarding pass will simply say INF instead of a seat number.
As you step onto the plane, if one is not provided, ask the staff then and they’ll provide an infant seatbelt. Qantas unwrapped a brand new one for us! Once seated, your own seatbelt loops through the back of this infant belt, and the belt then clips around them, so they’re securely attached to you.
Surviving the flight
This will depend on your child’s age, whether it’s their sleep time or feeding time, but ours instantly wants to touch all the screens, pull out the safety cards, and wear the (empty) sick bag as a hat! It could be a good idea to bring some toys in your carry on, and definitely bring some pacifiers, if your child uses them. The need for this is two-fold – firstly, to relax them (and reduce screaming), and secondly, it can help with the air pressure changes during take-off and landing. If you don’t use them, feeding the child during these times can assist as well.
Qantas actually provided a … sketchboard? toy, which our child was a bit young for but did buy us a few minutes on the flight.
If you need to change nappies etc on the flight, as it is 3.5 hours, the toilets are rather cramped on a 737, but do provide change tables that unfold from the wall. Fortunately we didn’t need to use this.
There are child channels on the onboard entertainment screens as well. Apparently Bluey was the most watched show onboard Qantas in 2022!
Sydney Airport
Arriving, you disembark the flight (remembering to return the infant belt), and walk to the passport control. If you were using SmartGate you’d normally get a tag before going through, but again, you’ll need to use the family queue. This was fairly quick, surprisingly, but I’ve seen the lines much, much longer in the past.
After passport, you are at the baggage carousels. Identify your carousel and get your bags, but the infant items will be separate – at the very far right of the hall. Walk past all the carousels and you’ll probably see some buggies or strollers sitting there, yours will come too…eventually (took about 30 min for us).
Next is the customs declaration, for us this was straightforward, but it’ll depend on what you’re bringing in, and your luck on the day as well. If you packed food for the flight (eg fruit, veges) you’ll want to discard this before customs.
Once you’re past that, you go through the sliding doors and you’re in Sydney!
Getting to your Sydney Destination
We made a mistake here. Australia’s various states have different laws, and it turns out that in NSW, while you don’t need a car seat in a taxi for a child over 12 months, we’d read that this applied to Uber as well. Apparently no, it only applies to Uber drivers who are taxi-partner drivers as well (must be a specific license?) – or so our mildly frustrated Uber driver was trying to inform us. Fortunately he explained and we found a taxi – the ranks are out the front exit, walk forward and turn left. Once again, if you prefer to get a vehicle with a car seat for your child, you can order them specially in advance from companies like Sydney Baby Taxi, or call a taxi company and request one.
Overall, what can be a stressful time for several hours can be made easier by being prepared, and breaking down the different stages of the mission ahead. Get to airport, get through airport, change baby, get on plane, survive plane, get off plane, get through customs and passport, get to destination.
Three Bonus Tips
Have plenty of (different) food / formula / water. Air pressure can affect taste of food, so be prepared to try a few items.
Change your infant’s nappy in the airport, just before departure. You have a lot more room, time, and it’s easier than in a cramped shaky compartment, and safer.
Have a plan for getting to/from the airport. You don’t want to be at your destination, or running late, suddenly wondering how you’re going to get there.
