Long flight with children

[Cie]

Wife and I are taking our 2 and 3 year old boys to Hawai'i for 11 nights in August (8/5 - 8/16).

I haven't flown long distances with my children, and am trying to determine whether I should book a flight through Houston or Salt Lake City. Through Houston, we would fly roughly 1 hour to houston, and 8 hours to honolulu. Seems to me that an 8 hour flight with my boys could be tough for everyone involved:scared

Through SLC, we would fly 4 hours to SLC and 5 hours to honolulu. I figure that a pair of 4-5 hour flights is the better alternative, but am not sure.

Does anyone know from experience whether avoiding the 8 hour flight is a good idea in order to keep toddlers from going stir-crazy?

 

[Morris]

Cie, we've taken the 2 year old grandkids with us on 4 three hour flights and have not had one moment of problems from either. Granted they do get itchy but we bring things for them to do and it hasn't been a problem. One flight included an 8 hour layover and they were great. Expect them to sleep for a good part of the flight too. GL!!

 

[Old School]

http://www.flyingrugrats.com/

http://www.flyingwithkids.com/travel_tips.htm


http://www.onestepahead.com/custserv/shop_smarter_article.jsp?pageName=Flying_Tips


http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/860495/tips_for_flying_with_small_children.html

 

[yyz]

I think it all boils down to whether or not your kids are well behaved, or pieces of shit.

Pretty much how they act in the car is what you will get on the plane, IMO.

If you let them act like assholes in the car........guess what?

 

[saint]

benadryl is your friend

 

[dawgball]

Portable DVD player


and I'm not opposed to the benadryl, either

My younger son has had problems with the approach to landing with his ears hurting badly. that's no fun for anyone.

 

[dickiesports]

Seriously

Seriously

Yes DVD players with extra batteries are necessary but if I were you I would extend the trip 2 days fly through LA. Spend extra day there and back. Halfway point for you and will save your trip. Asking a 2 and 3 yr old to go 11 hours will ruin your trip.

 

[ryson]

Suck it up and go with the direct out of IAH. On the IAH - HNL - HNL-IAH legs you will be flying on the 767 which is a 2-3-2 seat config so you can get the family to take the 3 middle seats and you grab an aisle seat on either side and basically you have the entire middle row so the kids can sprawl out, sleep etc. Also all of the sh*t you have to pack when traveling with the family will be a pain in the a** getting on and off planes. I have gone to the islands many times with my son which started when he was 2 on direct flights from IAH. Like others have said bring stuff to keep them occupied, it's a long flight period there is no way around it. In my experience it's not the flight it's the flipping jet lag when the kids are up at 2AM wanting breakfast that kicks my a** The flight home is not a big deal because it's a red-eye and everyone sleeps (except me I can never sleep on flights) but the kids will need some time to recover due to the time change.

 

[gardenweasel]

just in case,take a handful of large plastic ties and a couple of ball-gags.....your fellow passengers will thank you...

i don`t envy you...g.l.,brother..

 

[Phenom]

just got back from Hawaii a couple weeks ago, shorter flights are the way to go, it is ridiculous how little room you have especially when someone leans their seat back, we had one toddler on our flight a couple rows back that was good for most of it but could hear loud crying and complaining every several hours...

 

[yyz]

just got back from Hawaii a couple weeks ago, shorter flights are the way to go, it is ridiculous how little room you have especially when someone leans their seat back, we had one toddler on our flight a couple rows back that was good for most of it but could hear loud crying and complaining every several hours...

Your seat goes back too, brother.

 

[Phenom]

Your seat goes back too, brother.

Its the knees man, its the knees. Leg cramps to, and yes I know you can move around after the pilot turns off the seatbelt sign.