My husband and I will be taking our first flight with our baby in June, when she will be just over 9 months. Its an approximate 5 hour flight. Would you prefer a direct flight on Southwest (its the only airline that I can find that offers a direct flight); or a flight with a one-hour layover in the middle on a better airline? What option is easier with a baby?
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5 hours isn't that bad. Especially if SW is cheaper I would do a lap baby ticket direct. We did this with babies that age, definitely doable!
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@2littlepumpkins: Thank you for your response! SW is definitely a cheaper. We were considering even getting baby her own seat if we took SW so we could have the whole row since SW seats suck. The flight times are kind of crappy. Like someone would have to pick us up at our destination at 1 am. There is only one direct flight each day. But we are still considering it because, well, direct.
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Nonstop. Whatever you can do to minimize the total travel time, IMO.
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@MrsADS: Thank you for your comment!
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I'd say direct, unless you have major status on the other airline and you're likely to get upgraded, a seat blocked for the baby, etc. besides the hassle of changing flights, there's the increased potential for delays/list baggage/etc. with a second flight.
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@PinkElephant: Nope, no status with any other airlines. We would just fork over money for business class (but not first class, darn it.) And I don't really want to pay that amount, but we can if we determine we *need* to.
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For the stop over to not just be crazy with getting everything off the plane and onto another it would make the whole trip so much longer. It's great you have a second set of hands I just did NYC to Seattle with my 5 month old and he was already a handful.
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I could be wrong but I though southwest will let babies board early anyway? If you and your SO took a window and an aisle, the odds of someone sitting in that middle seat between you would be almost zero unless it's completely booked. So yeah personally I would go with the direct flight- bonus that it's cheaper!! But the actual flight times might sway me.
That said I've only flown SW once so I can't compare the seats. I don't remember them being any worse than other airlines besides jet blue. And I was very pregnant at the time.
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Nonstop for sure! I almost exclusively fly SW anyway, though
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Southwest has been the best to fly with baby for me. I've pretty much always had an entire row to myself. I sit towards the back and pretty much no one is going to deliberately sit next to a baby (even a cute, well-behaved one)
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I prefer to fly SW with kids, and I think takeoff and landing is the hardest part of flying with them. For me, the direct SW flight would be a no brained.
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Layover especially if your kid is mobile. I think it gives you a chance to have your kid crawl around and get a bit more tired and then maybe she can nap on the next flight. I'm doing a similar flight with a 3 year old and 8 month old next month and we opted for the 2 hour layover.
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@agold: Hi there! We are flying with our August 2016 baby in June too. Southwest is amazing with babies, you get to bring all your luggage, stroller, car seat, and a playpen for free. Nonstop for sure, it's rough, but IMO it's easier than a layover. Having to go through takeoff/landing and the crying from change in pressure two times sounds miserable for them and for you.
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I prefer direct nonstop always no matter how long the flight is. Too much hassle getting on and off the plane with kids.
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Also as someone mentioned Southwest is open seating and no one will elect to sit with you unless the flight is sold out. We usually end up with a free seat, which, makes me
Southwest even more.
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Definitely direct on a 5 hour flight. Also the upside about a crappy flight time (at least at night) is that the odds are decent that your baby will sleep for a lot of the flight.
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Direct. An hour layover can be really stressful if your first plane takes off late or if the gates are far apart. Not worth it.
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Direct - we also always had really good luck on Southwest scoring an extra seat for our kiddo. You can board after A (family boarding). Just head straight to the back of the plane and take 3 seats in a row. You'll be the last person to have someone take that third seat if the plane is full!
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@peachykeen: completely agree!
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@agold: I really don't think there are many airlines that are significantly 'better' than SW. I've had great experiences with them especially with a kid so we can do early boarding.
Direct flight all the way.
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I prefer SW flying with kids over any other airline. I also will only fly direct with my kids unless it is absolutely impossible.
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@agold: what would you consider a better airline? I love southwest they have the most comfortable seats too and you get a checked bag for free
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We fly exclusively with Southwest and Alaska ... both are amazing airlines. I love Southwest's staff, boarding process (you board early with kids), on-flight entertainment, and their snack/drink options. Also, I've lost a bag (for 2 days), and they more than compensated me for the inconvenience. Not sure why they would have a bad reputation?? They are awesome.
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I've done both... Having a layover gives you a break, which is nice, but only an hour is tough. What if there's a delay or something? You don't want to be running in the terminal to connect. Is there a big price difference? And where cross country?!?
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@maddyz: @Foodnerd81: @MrsSCB: @peachykeen: @rattles: @MrsKoala: @MrsBeluga: @dolphin: @erinbaderin: @Finfan: @winniebee: @youboots: @travellingbee: @Mrsbells: @littlejoy: Thank you, ALL OF YOU(!!!), for sharing your thoughts on this!! I love that you all seem to love Southwest!!
@Foodnerd81: @erinbaderin: The flight times are interesting and I can't even think yet if they are bad or what. Going there - drive to complicated airport 45 minutes away. 5 pm take off and 1245 am arrival. Coming home - 715 am take off and 925 am arrival. What do you think? That is the direct southwest flight.
@MrsKoala: What do you mean by mobile? Haha. My LO wants to be mobile. I think her poor little leggies are so chubby that she's not yet crawling. But good point about the layover - maybe a little longer lay over is better than a short one during which we would have to rush!
@MrsBeluga: I am wishing us BOTH the best of luck flying with our precious August babies!! Thanks for telling me about what I can bring on to the plane! I might direct message you later about flying with the playpen!
@youboots: @Mrsbells: @littlejoy: I have almost always flown Southwest, too. (Sometime Delta because uncle is an airline pilot.) I always feel like cattle on Southwest, though, and wondered how that would be with a baby, but you have all made great great points and tips about flying with a baby on SW. I was thinking that going business class on a Delta flight might be more comfortable. But its just a guess! I don't at all think SW has a bad reputation. I love the SW pilots. And I love when the SW pilots are funny people!
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@littlejoy: I like Alaska for flights to Hawaii!
@LindsayInNY: Just PIT this trip. Next time, we plan to leave baby in PIT and go to new york for a couple of nights!
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As a perk of my business credit card, I have access to airport lounges, which makes me more likely to choose two hour layovers. But I think a one hour layover is meaningless since switching planes takes most of that time.
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@agold: Yes!! @youboots: and I (and our families) have gone twice together in the last two years. The flight attendants are always amazing ... I'm pretty sure they've given us free booze each time, and lots of "Oh my goodness, we understand it can be hard to travel with babies!"
I love the SW staff too, and am totally weirded out when we get an un-fun crew (rare). One time, we had an all female crew (pilots too), and people clapped when they landed. Like, did they think a plane run by women would crash? Hahaha.
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@littlejoy:
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@youboots: Haha. I always say "probably not", but then we end up going. Also, A told me that oceans only exist in Hawaii, and she really wants to do a waterslide with T.
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@agold: YES!! Please!
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@littlejoy: @youboots: @LindsayInNY: Let's all plan a trip to hawaii!
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I have done this a bunch of times and I actually really prefer a stop somewhere in the middle. Otherwise, it's 4.5-6 hrs to fly coast to coast and I generally want to shoot myself. I do fly alone with two under 4 though.
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I also really like flying Southwest with kids. I don't consider it a lesser airline. In fact, it's easier to get an extra seat for a lap child on SW than on an airline with predetermined seating. So maybe since you are flying with a little one I'd go with the direct flight. With toddlers, I think a break is better.
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34 comments