Baby Talk: Flying On A Budget Airline With A Baby

Nothing humbles you as a parent like flying with a baby. After bringing our 6-month-old to Tokyo by ourselves, my husband and I thought we’d survived our trial by fire….until we found ourselves crammed into a fully-packed Jetstar flight, on Economy Class, with a baby who was heavier, squirmier, and more vocal than she was the last time we flew.

She had also started solids. Like most budget airlines, Jetstar doesn’t offer infant meals, meaning I had to pack travel-friendly baby food on top of milk, clean water, and utensils.

While the flight going there felt like the longest flight of my life, the return flight was much easier, thanks to the lessons I learnt during our departure from Singapore:

Boarding strategies - chiong ah!

Some parents swear by waiting till the end to board to minimise time spent in a cramped cabin - others, like me, chiong to the front of the queue so that we have adequate time to settle in and get baby used to her surroundings. Discuss this with your spouse ahead of time so that you’re on the same page once the gate opens.

Can I gate-check my stroller?

Check with your airline as policies vary. When we flew commercial, the airline let us stow our travel stroller in the overhead compartment, but Jetstar would only let us bring it onboard if it were stored in a stroller bag (which of course, we didn’t have), so in the end, we gate-checked it.

You should also remember to ask where you can pick up your stroller upon landing. Do you need to wait for it at the gate after de-planing, or can you pick it up at the baggage carousel? We forgot to ask on the way back to Singapore, leading to a minor goose chase when we realised that our stroller was nowhere to be found (thankfully, it appeared at the odd-sized items section just when we were about to call for assistance).

IMAGE: 123RF

Embrace the food pouch

I know, I know – food pouches aren’t the most wholesome choice, but if you’ve ever tried preparing freeze-dried porridge or serving home-cooked food to a baby on a flight, you’ll know that it’s by far the most convenient one. Commercial airlines might be able to help you heat baby bottles or food, but budget airlines typically can’t. So you’ll need something easy to pack, easy to serve, and that will keep your baby full for the duration of the flight and beyond. Think of food pouches as your combat rations!

During my departure flight, I was too lazy for even a food pouch, so my baby only had biscuits and milk since it was “only” a five-hour flight. Little did I know how much I’d need a more calorie-dense option to get through the hours(s) spent in immigration, at the baggage carousel, and on the cab to our hotel.

Sorry, no bassinets (most of the time)

Unlike commercial flights, budget airlines typically do not allow or provide bassinets in the cabin if it’s a short flight. Instead, you’ll be asked to keep the infant in your lap and buckled in with an infant seat belt during takeoff, landing, and once the seat belt sign is turned on.

Budget airlines feel cramped to begin with, let alone when you’re wrestling a nearly-10kg baby on your lap. Here’s how to make it more bearable:

• Mummies, book a window seat to keep distractions (and the eyes of nosy onlookers) at bay. With a window seat, I was able to breastfeed my child with some privacy and to face her away from people when I needed her to be calm while eating her food.
• Invest in fidget spinners. Sticking a few of these on the window will keep your child entertained long enough for you to get a few bites of your own dinner in.
• Flying with members of your extended family? Depending on their tolerance for infant shenanigans, ask grandma or grandpa to sit directly in front of you and your baby so that if the baby kicks the seat, at least they’ll be bothering a family member instead of a complete stranger.

Speaking of fidget spinners…

As all parents know, infants love novelty, so she played with everything other than the toys that I’d painstakingly packed for her. The barf bag, the in-flight menu, the safety guide, the wet tissue, and the seatbelts were all the equivalent of new toys, so what I’d recommend is that instead of packing a bag full of familiar toys, pack a bag of toys that baby has access to only when flying, so there’s some degree of novelty still.

IMAGE: 123RF

Can I purchase a separate seat for my baby?

We get it, not everyone wants to deal with a lap infant for five hours at a time. Check your airline’s family travel policy, but typically, budget airlines in Asia allow you to purchase a separate seat for your baby as long as they’re in a car seat or a child restraint device. Do note that you’ll need to bring these yourself - airlines don’t provide them - and that they’ll be subject to safety checks before you’re allowed to use them onboard. You might also be asked to remove your child from the car seat and strap them onto you during turbulence, takeoff, and landing, so bear that in mind before taking the plunge.

(My child barely tolerates the car seat to begin with, let alone when we have to keep taking her in and out, so keeping her on our laps was a no-brainer.)

How do I deal with dirty diapers?

Budget airline lavatories are even more cramped than the ones on commercial airlines, so forget the big diaper bag. Prepare a mini-bag with only the bare essentials so that you can squeeze yourself and your baby into the cubicle. Don’t forget to bring something for her to fidget with in case she goes into Alligator Mode (IYKYK) mid-change!

Bring extra sets of everything

Budget airlines provide a stripped-down travel experience, so don’t expect them to pop up with unexpected treats like extra diapers, baby-friendly snacks, or even water for making formula milk. Extra clothes for yourself and the baby, extra wet wipes, and one more milk feed more than you think you’ll need will go a long way. Don’t forget extra feeding utensils and pacifiers–if your baby is anything like my 8-month-old, she’ll slap them out of your hands and onto the floor within 20 minutes of takeoff.

Consider a red-eye flight

Again, I know. If flying on a budget airline with a baby equals flying in hard mode, then what does that make flying on a red-eye with a baby?

Hear me out: I’ve gone on four flights with a baby, with one of them being red-eye, and honestly, this was the easiest. I fed my baby during takeoff and she slept for at least five out of the seven hours of the flight. Turns out it’s a lot easier to align flight timings with baby’s nighttime schedule than with her (much more volatile) nap schedule; and when she wasn’t napping, she’d be wide awake on the flight, with little space to crawl or to play.

Remember, when in doubt, check your airline’s infant policy. AirAsia, Scoot, and Jetstar have theirs available online!

Worst comes to worst, jio your baby’s grandparents for the trip, like we did. Surprise, surprise: having extra hands is the ultimate life hack for flying with an infant!

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