Families of 4 (2 small kids) how do you sit on airplanes?

[Minnie824]

Well, we're thinking of maybe flying to Disney this year as opposed to driving. We drove last year, went well, planned on it again. But, we're tossing around the idea of maybe flying instead. Our DDs will be 5 and 2.5 yrs at the time. They've never flown before. I'm not sure how we should split up? 2 and 2? or 3 and 1? Theres issues with both....2 and 2...younger DD would not sit as well for DH (likes to scream, etc), older DD would, but would be more nervous flying, and would want to sit with me. So, not sure which would sit with me, and which with DH. If we did 3 and 1, I would sit between the 2, DH across the aisle, but older DD would most likely want the window, so younger DD would be at the aisle, which may not be the best (shes the troublemaker ). So, what do you normall do?

Also, we'd be taking a single stroller. Do not need it at the airport, so I think we could check it, but what type of bag, etc would it go in? I'm afraid of it getting smushed by all the luggage.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

When we flew to WDW last September , DS was 7, DD just shy of 2. DS sat by the window. DD sat in the middle, and I sat on the aisle, DH got the easy job and sat by himself on the other aisle seat.

It worked OK, that way DS and DD could both watch the DVD player.
Good Luck!

 

[beattyfamily]

There's two variations:

First we each seat with one of them and they get the window seat...other parent and child sits behind the first parent and child thus 2 windows.

Second we get four seats in a row and one child gets the window going down and the other gets it going home and one parent sits with them going down and the other lucky parent gets the seat across the aisle.

We did scenario #1 the most and it works out the best (2 windows) but now that they are older, we do scenario #2 more frequently but they do fight over the window seat sometimes.

 

[Hannathy]

We always sat 2+2 because they always wanted a window. If the younger has a window they may be more distracted and I know the older will want one.
Once my DD hit about 11 we sat 1+1+2 so she and my DH and my DS could all have a window. I got the middle with my DS who was 5.

Plus I think with little kids you both should share the joy of being talked to the entire trip and not get to sit there smiling and reading the paper(if DH gets the single seat!)

 

[camouseketeer]

but we've always had at least one carseat with us, so we had to use the window. I would put my youngest behind my oldest so when she kicked the seat in front of her, we would only be kicking my older DD!

If you think having the window is going to be the bigger battle, I would sit 2 and 2 so they both can have one.

The other thing to consider is toys, DVD player, coloring books, etc. If you sit 2 and 2 in separate rows, you will have to have two of everything because sharing will be harder. If you only have one DVD player (if you bring one), you'd probably need to sit together.

The other thought is bathroom runs. Sitting 3 and 1 will make potty runs easier since your DH can sit right by whomever is left at your seats (tough to fit both DD's and you in the bathroom.

 

[KimberlyC]

If the 2.5 yr old is going to be in a carseat (which is safer and may be easier if she's the "troublemaker"), your options will narrow.

I had planned to put my almost 2 yr old DS in the middle seat between DNiece (12) who would prefer the window seat and myself (on the aisle) with DH across from me in an aisle seat (3 + 1 configuration). But now my understanding is that the airline will require the carseat to be by the window. DS isn't going to like that one bit as he would prefer to be between my niece and myself so that we could both "entertain" him. So I guess we will wait and see. Whoever DS wants to sit next to will get stuck in the middle seat. If DNiece was younger I'd try changing my seats to a 2 + 2 configuration to avoid any issues about unfairmess since the younger one in the carseat will always get the window, but at 12 she's old enough to understand and not care and she enjoys helping take care of DS.

I will be carrying the carseat in a pac back (like a back pack) and since the airport is a lot of walking I'm taking a good umbrella stroller. Umbrella strollers can go as carry on and don't count toward carry on luggage allowance. I have no idea how to package a regular stroller which would have to go in checked baggage as they just seem way too difficult to deal with and are much heavier. Some umbrella strollers come with their own travel bag.

 

[kldmom2000]

When we flew for the first time with our girls in 12/04 to go to Disney, we took Southwest and I had my 26 mo. old DD in her carseat next to the window, my then 4 yr old DD next to her in the middle seat, and I sat in the aisle seat. DH sat directly behind me in the aisle seat (he fell asleep for most of the flight... how nice for him! ) My girls did ok-the younger one thankfully napped both ways for most of the flight and my 4 yr old dd was kept happy with a portable DVD player and coloring books

We had a Maclaren stroller that we brought along and we just gate-checked it when we boarded the plane.. it was nice ot have it to use as soon as we got off the plane at our destination

For this upcoming trip, our girls will be 4 (turning 4 on the trip) and 6. We're flying Delta (hopefully!!! ) and the seats I chose were 3 together (same arrangement as last time w/o the carseat now) and DH will be sitting across the aisle from me.

 

[ntburns22]

The kids flew for the first time when they were the same age as your children. We did 2 and 2. We put our DS in a carseat. He knows the carseat rules and he did great. They were not afraid one at all, My sister is a flight attendant since she flies all the time the kids were excited to fly too.

 

[Kae]

we do the 3 & 1 that way both parents are on the aisle. I have 1 kid get the window on the way there and 1 on the way home. When we did 2 & 2 dd kept changing her mind on which parent she wanted to sit with.

Kae

 

[HopperFan]

I would make sure you also check when booking regarding the requirements for the particular airplane and the kids ages. There was a family behind us a few rows last summer that was very upset when the attendants would not let them sit how they had thought they could. Kids wanted to share a DVD player or something.... and the attendant told them on that plane there couldn't be two young ones with one parent on that side of plane, one needed to sit with each parent......they should have checked with airline when booking.....I didn't catch it all but it sounded like if they had inquired about the rules for that plane when booking they could have resolved it in advance. Being that planes are pretty full these days, just plopping into another seat isn't an option.

 

[NotUrsula]

and the attendant told them on that plane there couldn't be two young ones with one parent on that side of plane, one needed to sit with each parent....

That would almost surely be because they were lap children. You cannot have more than one of them in a row because there is only one extra oxygen mask in each row.

BTW, ordinary long-fold umbrella strollers are not allowed as carryons on any US carrier that I know of. You have to gate-check them. You might be able to sneak on a Combi or a Quinny Zapp, but only if it is covered. FA's dont want strollers in overheads, even if they fit, because they take up too much space that is needed for other passengers' rollaboard cases.

 

[SylviaL]

I have 2 boys--3 and almost 5. I prefer to sit 2 and 2 if two of us can be in front of eachother because my 3 year old likes to kick and it's harder to control him. On our last trip, we had to sit 3 and 1 with my husband in the aisle because DS3 has to be next to me. By the end of the flight (4+ hours) I was exhausted! Good luck.

 

[JulieNMM]

My kids are 4 and 6. DH sat far away from us (lucky him!) and we three sat together. Reason being that DH is very short tempered with the kids and I didn't want him yelling at them the whole time. Also, one kid sat by the window on one flight and they switched for the second flight (we had 2 flights each way). Also, DD4 sat in the middle and DS6 by the window so they could both watch a DVD. Even though the kids are a little older and not babies anymore, it was still tiring for me.

Oh and we checked our stroller as luggage and it came through just fine. As did the booster seat. When the kids were littler, I checked their stroller at the airplane door and then someone stowed it somewhere and it was there waiting for me as I got off the plane.

JULIE

 

[fofinia]

Hi. We haven't done it yet but we will be sitting 3 +1. And my reasoning is I prefer not to sit next to strangers. Especially in the middle seat next to someone else. I've had bad experiences before. My husband who doesn't care will sit across the aisle.

As for your carriage. We always gate check our strollers. We need them in the airport for sure. And it's so nice to be able to prop carry on bags on them while waiting for boarding. I have a stroller bag that I believe I bought thru Toys R us. online. Graco brand, I think. And if you don't want to leave your carriage exposed you can put in the bag then carry it down the jetway and leave it with the attendant for gate check. This has worked fine for us on Jetblue especially.

I believe the bag cost about $25. But I bought ours 4 years ago.

 

[KimberlyC]

BTW, ordinary long-fold umbrella strollers are not allowed as carryons on any US carrier that I know of. You have to gate-check them. You might be able to sneak on a Combi or a Quinny Zapp, but only if it is covered. FA's dont want strollers in overheads, even if they fit, because they take up too much space that is needed for other passengers' rollaboard cases.

Regarding the umbrella stroller, we may be referring to the same thing but using different terminology. By carrying on the umbrella stroller I meant that it goes onboard the plane with us so that we may use it in the airport as opposed to checked baggage that you pick up off the conveyor belt in baggage claim. I used the "carry on" terminology because of what Northwest had to say about "carry-on" items (below).

I got the distinct impression that fully collapsible umbrella strollers were the only type allowed on board (not checked and picked up at baggage claim) and that the other kind were not.


From the NWA website:
Personal Items
In addition to your carry-on bag, customers may carry-on a purse or briefcase or laptop computer or small backpack. Dimensions of the additional item must not exceed 15"x11"x6". At least one carry-on item should go beneath the seat in front of you.

Additional Items that may be brought on board and do not count towards your allowance:

Overcoat or wrap
Fully collapsible umbrella-style stroller
Camera and/or pair of binoculars
Cane
Umbrella
Medical assistive devices
Two-wheeled baggage cart
Infant diaper bags
Child Car Seats
Collapsible wheelchair
Reasonable amount of reading material for the flight
Pair of braces or other prosthetic device (provided you are dependent upon the device)

Northwest also accepts small pets as carry-on luggage for a nominal fee.

 

[HopperFan]

QUOTE=NotUrsula "That would almost surely be because they were lap children. You cannot have more than one of them in a row because there is only one extra oxygen mask in each row."

One child was approximately 4-5 and had their own seat. It may have still been an oxygen issue because even though he had his own seat, I would think he still would have needed assistance with the oxygen. So maybe assisting two children was too much ???

I haven't needed strollers in a long time, but I used to always take an umbrella on board and the attendants would hang them in a closet for me. Maybe that isn't available anymore ???

 

[Tam1067]

We're 5 (kids ages 8, 6, 3), and we sit in a row, with three on one side of the aisle and 2 (dad and kid) on the other). I'd advise sitting 3 and 1, with one child on the aisle and the other at the window. That way, both parents can deal with the kids. If one of the kids is in a car seat on the plane, you have to seat him or her at the window.

Strollers can be checked with the baggage or gate checked. That's a good option because you can wheel it right to the gate and then pick it up at the gate when you land--they bring it to you like they do wheelchairs and the like. We've never had problems in that regard.

 

[JVL1018]

We've always done 2 and 2 in rows one behind the other.
We asked the kids who they wanted to sit with and that's the way we did it. Most of the time switching on the way back home.

This time I bought the tickets and picked seats the same way and my kids(4 and 6) told me they wanted to sit next to each other, so I switched our seast to 3 and 1 across the aisle. We'll see how it goes.

 

[mumzie2three]

We've done both based on what the airlines gave us. This time I got to pick our seats and I've decided to go with 3 and 2, with my DH and oldest DD in front of me and the 2 younger DDs. One of our flights the people in front of me and the girls asked to be moved before the plane ever left the ground. It kind of ticked me off since my girls are very well behaved and I had tons of stuff to keep them busy. My plan is to avoid this and also to have DH take his turn with them on one of the flights, so I can relax, I hope. I also made sure to do non-stop this trip, the layovers almost did me in last time.

 

[lorrainesy]

When we flew to WDW last September , DS was 7, DD just shy of 2. DS sat by the window. DD sat in the middle, and I sat on the aisle, DH got the easy job and sat by himself on the other aisle seat.

It worked OK, that way DS and DD could both watch the DVD player.
Good Luck!

I think this is your best bet. Also you will have better luck getting the youngest to sleep if she is in the middle. If she is on the aisle there will be too much too distract her (people getting up to use the restroom, snacks handouts and other children)

Also check out Jetblue they have great prices, there is a TV in every seat (with Nick Jr. and cartoon network) and theyare the best with children.