Early January this year, we (three of us and my mum) boarded on Air Asia X, took a 7-hour night flight and landed at Adelaide, Australia. As a first time flyer, Jaden's performance was great. He loves aeroplane and couldn't wait to see the real big bird. The over excited boy did not sleep until past midnight. We have purchased the front row hot seats for the convenience of putting him in the bassinet. We were lucky that as the result of just been discharged from the hospital barely 3 weeks before the trip, Jaden was at his lowest weight record, 10.3 kg. This qualified him to stay below the maximum capacity of the bassinet, which is 11kg.
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| Looks like the bassinet is a bit too short for my baby. |
The only challenge we faced was whenever there was turbulence, we were instructed by the air stewardess to carry the sleeping baby and put him to sit with us. This woke up the sleeping baby every time and it was hard to comfort the sleepy grumpy boy. I prayed so hard for not to have turbulence but still couldn't avoid to disturb him 3-4 times throughout the journey.
Adelaide is a good place for toddlers. Low population, fresh air, plenty of well-kept parks, stroller friendly pedestrian streets, clean and convenient baby rooms in most of the public premise. The barely 2 -year-old Jaden did not really know how to appreciate the excitement of theme park or zoo. What attracted him the most was the spacious greens that allows him to roam freely. Back to the basic, freedom is mankind's ultimate need. Expensive toys and luxury materials mean nothing to a toddler. Sadly, we do not have much luxury to enjoy this basic needs in the big cities of Malaysia. Security was the biggest concern of most parents when bringing kids for outdoor activities. In addition, the heat and the haze condition lately, impose further limitations to most parents here.
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| Having some fun at the zoo. |
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| He loves borderless greens |
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| Jaden and his favourite toy car |
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| Dipping his hand in the chilly fountain |
7 happy days passed in the blink of eyes. The return flight was a day flight, Jaden only slept for 2 hours for the whole 7.5 hours journey. The rest of the time, he was busy playing with other toddlers and passengers in the plane.
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| Bye bye, drink more water while flying to prevent dehydration. |
3 weeks after returning from Adelaide, we boarded on Malindo Air to fly to Penang for Chinese New Year reunion. Again, another smooth journey for Jaden.
With these successful flying experience, we are ready to fly further and higher in the future!
hi, how to book the bassinet ? I hv booked the air tickets to Japan for my whole family inclusive of my 11-month baby girl. Anyway, can't find any code to book it? Can you advise? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Chia, basically, there is no code that can be used to book the bassinet. What I have done is to look at the seating plan to see where the bassinet symbols are. After that, book the seats nearest to the bassinet (always named as Hot Seat at the 1st row) where bassinet can be provided upon your request when you are on board.
Deletehi dear, i am glad that you shared you experience on boarding with your baby, i am going to Aussie soon and my baby is "longer" than the bassinet, i am really worry that it will be difficult for him and it is a midnight flight, any advices from you? thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Vivien, if your baby is longer than the bassinet, he/she might not be able to sleep comfortably in the bassinet. Also, there is a weight limit for the bassinet. If not mistaken, the maximum weight for bassinet is only 11 kg. I would think that if you are traveling with a partner, you might want to skip a seat between you and your partner when choosing your seats online. It is very unlikely for the airlines to allocate another passenger between your selected two seats, unless it is a full flight. In that case, you can at least let your baby utilize the seat between you and your partner instead of having the baby sitting on your laps throughout the flight. If seats are not pre-purchased prior to boarding, you can also explain your situation to the check-in officer during check-in. They are quite helpful if you are traveling with baby, provided you check-in earlier at the counter. In terms of food, most of the time, direct latching can keep your baby calm and comfortable. You can also bring enough supply of milk powder, hot water (allowed if traveled with baby) and baby snack on board. I have traveled a few times by MAS, Heinz baby food were provided. When you are on a flight, regardless of whether your baby is in the bassinet or placed on an empty seat, you have to put the baby on your lap and buckle up the baby safety belt (which is attached to the adult safety belt) whenever there is turbulence. I personally find this very disturbing as it always interrupt the sleep of the baby. However, for safety reason, this rule must be complied. To me, long haul traveling with baby has never been a pleasant one, but it is bearable. Some babies sleep through the flight due to the low oxygen level in the air craft. Hopefully your baby is a cooperative one. Good luck and happy traveling!
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