my family an i fly to Brisbane in november for a recce. We are already going thru the visa process. What i need to know is i have three kids 11,9 and 2. As regards to the flight,am i i for a long 23 hrs ? :? :?

 

Hi, we went last year with China Eastern and had a 6 hour stop in Shanghai airport (were not allowed to leave the departure lounge) It gave us a chance to freshen up and change underwear etc in the toilets, but we were really fed up waiting for the next flight. We have 2 teenagers who were bored. Don't know what it would be like with three younger ones...maybe they will be sleepy (hopefully).

The flights themselves were okay at first, but couldn't sleep so it was very long for me. The boys did sleep for a bit though and there were films being shown etc. Just make sure you take things to keep them amused.

Also have some spare food with you in case they don't like what's being offered on the plane.

Stayed overnight in Shanghai on the way back which was better. Stil a long flight though! :shock: :?

 

My husband is flying out for a reccie and is flying with Emirates from Manchester to Dubai where he has a 3 hour wait and then straight to Brisbane. If you fly with Etijhad then you stop at Abu Dhabi before going on to Brisbane. He had quotes for other airlines but they stopped here there and everywhere with long waits and stopovers, which must be torture. I take it from your name you are a scouser, where are you from? I am originally from Maghull and my OH Bootle.

 

Like you i panicked at the thought of the flight with my 2 terrors. Thankfully i worried for nothing and it really wasnt that bad which was great as due to doing Wanted Down Under we flew here ,back and then here again!!!!. Myself and hubby ''took turns'' with the little one and im sure we spent more time walking up and down the aisles than sitting down,lol. The tv movies and games kept my then 8yr old pretty satisfied so he wasnt a pest(that much,lol)
The only advice i can really give is do not let them sleep unless you are in the air, no matter what,lol.
Lots of Luck
Cal x

 

Hi

I've travelled with my 3 regularly and it's always much better than I think it will be!!! As Cal says, DO NOT LET THEM SLEEP BEFORE THEY GET ON THE PLANE LOL!!! When you get on you will be fed fairly quickly so try and keep them occupied until then and let them eat before they sleep. Most of the planes have individual consoles these days so your older two will be well occupied with movies and games etc. Your 2 year old will be harder to occupy but you will probably find he/she sleeps a lot anyway.

Good luck!!

Love

Fred

 

I flew with Air NZ - we had a 2hour stopover in LA, a 4 hour stop in Auckland and then we were here!

 

We did Brussels-Dubai, Dubai-Singapore and Singapore-Brisbane. All three legs were not too long for the kids (4 and 5 at the time) and we could grab a couple hours "sleep" on each leg. Leaving at 5pm on the Sunday and arriving at 6am on the Tuesday, we found ourselves surprisingly fresh and didn't suffer from jet lag at all (we went to bed at 8 that night, and that was it!). So I recommend shorter legs instead of 2 long ones which can be boring for the kids and hard on the grownups nerves and legs.
We flew with Emirates and enjoyed the service.