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 Air New Zealand, that in addition to your checked luggage, for each infant travelling with an adult, you can take two items from this list:
Pram, stroller or buggy
Car seat
Bassinet or port-a-cot
This is in addition to their normal baggage allowance:
Child fares have the same baggage allowance as an adult fare
Infant fares include a carry-on bag but no checked-in baggage.
You can bring a single stroller all the way on to the aircraft if:
It’s completely collapsible and fits in the overhead locker
You’re flying internationally
You’re flying domestic on 777-300, 787-9 and A320 aircraft
If the flight is full, they may ask you to check-in your stroller at the gate.
Prams, three-wheeled buggies and large strollers don’t fit in the overhead locker, but you could consider buying a cheap K-Mart/Target stroller for the flight and your destination.
Getting to the Airport
We’ve previously made a mistake here, so heads up!. 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?). We called 13 Cabs who turned up within minutes, and dropped us off at departures, with a very easy ride. However, 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.
Sydney Airport
The process here looks daunting, but is fairly straightforward. Air New Zealand check in is usually to the left side of the departures hall, but you can check a departures screen as you enter, and see which row to walk to. Check in at the desk, and drop off your checked luggage, and then they’ll direct you (it was just a few metres away for us) to the oversize luggage, where you present your passport and boarding pass and drop off the baby items.
Next is passport control. Follow the big ‘Departures’ sign and you’ll be directed to the right once inside, as you will need to go through the families section instead of SmartGate, and have you and your little one’s passports checked there.
Behind that is security, where baby formula / food is permitted if you explain it’s for them. After that, you’ll have to navigate duty free without spending too much, before using the screens to identify your gate. Allow plenty of time – this is a BIG airport with a lot of walking if your gate is in the 50s, all the way down the right hand side.
Change table in Sydney Airport
This was a pleasant surprise. Our tip is to change the nappy before the flight, and so we used the change table at the bathroom in the middle between gates 53 and 55. There is a separate family room (press the button to open) which allows both parents to be in there with the child (as opposed to just in the women’s, for example), and there is a lot of space, and was clean.
Boarding the Flight
When boarding, the Air New Zealand crew were welcoming, 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. Air New Zealand had a box of half a dozen of them, and got one out for us. Once seated, your own seatbelt loops through the back of this infant belt, and the belt then clips around them, so that 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.
Air New Zealand didn’t provide our infant any toys/distractions, but they do have a child’s version of the flight map, which entertained our little one for a few minutes.
If you need to change nappies etc on the flight, as it is ~3 hours, the toilets are rather tight on a AirBus 320 Neo, but do provide change tables that unfold from the wall. Fortunately we didn’t need to use this.
There are also channels for kids on the onboard entertainment screens, which might provide you some more relief.
It’s helpful to fill out your arrivals card ON the plane rather than at passport control. Remember to pack a pen, otherwise the staff do also provide them. It’ll save you time and hassle.
Christchurch Airport
When you disembark the flight (don’t forget to return the infant belt!), turn left and down to duty free, and then through to passport control. Again, you’ll need to use the family queue. It doesn’t take long, and the staff are friendly.
After passport, you are at the baggage carousels. Identify your carousel and get your bags, but the infant items will be separate to the right as you look down the hall from passport control – look up on the wall for the sign. It didn’t take long for our items to appear.
Next is the customs declaration. New Zealand is one of the strictest, especially when it comes to food items, so you’ll want to be sure to declare, declare, declare any food items you still have. There are amnesty bins in the baggage hall for you to drop off any fruit/veges/food scraps and opened packages of baby food. Sealed baby food and tins of food are generally ok, but make sure to declare it on your form and show them if asked. This line can sometimes be quite long if you’re on the late night flight, so it might be worth feeding little one before you go through, if the line looks long.
Once you’re past that, you may be directed to have your bags x-rayed, and pick up a RAT test (at least, this was available for us), go through the sliding door and you’re in Christchurch!
Getting to your Christchurch Destination
We had a LOT of bags, 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). Right outside the terminal (literally 5 seconds from the door), is the taxi rank, and we grabbed a larger vehicle although with some careful packing we would have managed to fit into a sedan too. If you order an Uber, you’ll need to walk straight ahead, through the parking garage and the pick up is on the other side of that.
Overall, what can be a stressful time for several hours can be made easier by being organised, and breaking down the different stages of the challenge 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. Yay!
Three Top Tips
Carry 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.
