10 Things to Know When Flying with Multiples
Are you a jet setter? Having young multiples certainly can put a damper on your travel plans, but it IS possible to fly with twins, triplets, and more. Just make sure you know the airline rules beforehand and let the planning begin! This information will be most relevant for those of you traveling with infant or toddler multiples and two adults. If you have the option, one adult per infant is ideal. For the rest of us, here is what you need to know for domestic flying with infant multiples:
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1) Start Prepping
Start reading books like Patricia Hubbell’s “My First Airplane Ride” to start getting them used to the idea of flying. Airplaine toys were also a hit with my triplets.
2) Seat or Lap?
Children under the age of 2 can have his/her own seats with an FAA-approved child safety seat device, but they are also are allowed to sit on an adult lap. Children over the age of 2 are required to purchase a separate seat. *Keep in mind that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), as well as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), highly recommends that all children sit in his/her own seat with an approved seat or harness. They haven’t banned lap seating… yet.
The major factor to consider that you won’t find any information about on any airline website is that the FAA will only allow ONE LAP CHILD PER ROW. This will cause you a major headache if you don’t know this and plan ahead. For example, if you are flying with twins and are planning on both of them sitting on laps, you will be split up on the aircraft and sitting in different rows. This is due to the limited number of oxygen masks in each row.
I know some of you are thinking, “who cares if my family is sitting apart on the plane?”. It may even sound kind of nice. A min-vacation, perhaps? First of all, you are on your own now. Need help carrying your gear to your seats? Time to turn into Hulk. Need something in the diaper bag that is with your husband ten rows up? Too bad. Need to go to the bathroom? Unless you trust a stranger to keep an eye on your infant, forget about it and start limiting your water intake.
There are pros and cons to both scenarios.
Separate Seats: Pros- more space (having a baby on your lap is very confining on a long flight), you will have your hands free, your family won’t be separated due to air mask regulations, and babies/toddlers understand carseats so they are more likey to be content in his/her own seat rather than on a lap. Cons- cost $$$, and you may have to provide a child safety seat or harness for each child.
Lap Seats: Pros- cost-effective (and your child can fly for free…or at a discounted rate for some airlines or international flights), no need for child safety seats or harnesses, and lots of snuggle time. Cons- confined space (so much sweating), harder to keep you kiddo seated, and it can be challenging to tend to your other children (if you have children sitting next to you).
Bottom line: Both options work if you plan ahead! If you choose the lap seat route, just make sure you pre-select your seats ahead of time so you can make sure you are as close to your family as possible. If you can’t select your seats, get to the airport early! *TIP: child safety seats are only allowed in window seats and non-exit rows. Some airlines don’t allow them in the rows above or behind exit rows as well. Make sure to select seats beforehand, so you don’t run into an issue with seating while on the plane. Take it from me; it’s incredibly stressful and awkward to have to ask passengers to swap seats after you’ve already stolen theirs during pre-boarding.
3) What to bring on the plane
While a CRS (child restraining system = car seat) is not required for airplane travel with a toddler or baby in the U.S. (or Canada), the FAA recommends securing a baby / toddler on a plane. I used infant carriers when my triplets were, well, infants. When they outgrew those, I switched to the harnesses. And once they got to the point where I was confident in them being able to sit independently (age 3), I stopped using car seats and harnesses altogether. The lap belt works just fine for them now.
Child safety seats: The less you have to carry, the better. If you are each sitting in your own seat, you’ll need a child safety seat. Most car seats are FAA approved, but some airlines may want to see proof (usually a sticker on the seat). Make sure your seat will be approved before your trip. I’ve also had issues with our approved seat fitting on some planes. Luckily, they let it slide, but the smaller/slimmer your car seat, the better (no wider than 16 inches). The FAA website states that as long as your car seat/infant carrier is approved, it is the airline’s responsibility to move you to a seat that will fit if you are in a row that will not fit your approved car seat/carrier.
Child Harnesses: It was nearly impossible for my husband and me to carry our bags plus three infant seats down the aisle (and good luck getting any crew to help you. We’ve flown a dozen times and have never been able to get help down to the plane…. ever. Even when we begged). Luckily, the FAA approved these wonderful CARES harnesses that fold up into a nice, tiny travel bag. Since you no longer need car seats, these REALLY free up your carry load. The only downfall I’ve found is that because they have to slip over the seat, they wrap around the seat in a way that covers the tray-table for the person sitting behind you. Also, don’t buy the knock-off versions of these. The harnesses made my CARES are the only FAA-approved harnesses.
*TIP: Because you can board before everybody else, you will have time to set the harness up. To make sure the passengers sitting behind can use their tray-table, unlock the table on the back of the seat so the strap can be secured underneath it. Then re-lock the table over the strap. Passengers have always been very understanding about it once you tell them what it is, why it’s there, and that it won’t interfere with the function of his/her table. Better yet, I love to have the very back row of seats so I don’t have to mess with anybody’s table.
Bags: Do yourself a favor and check everything and anything you don’t absolutely need on the plane. If you are using harnesses but need car seats when you get to your destination, check them (for free!). These car seat bags are wonderful! For the flight, you only need one diaper bag per adult. This way, if you do get separated, you have everything you need for the kid/s that are sitting with you. I fill my bag with lots of snacks, water/milk, toys they have never seen before, and (gasp!) a tablet for emergencies. *TIP: Make sure the content on your tablet is actually downloaded on the device before your trip. For the love of God, do not rely on the aircraft Wi-Fi. *TIP: Get yourself a few of these straps that attach to sippy cups/snack cups and fit nicely to the arm of the seat, so they don’t go anywhere when tossed. These spill-proof snack cups by Munchkin are a MUST as well.
3) I.D.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, children under the age of 18 do not need to present a photo I.D. when boarding a domestic flight. It’s always a good idea to visit the airline’s website in advance, however, as some airlines may ask for an I.D. to verify a child’s age. I’ve never had to show any sort of I.D. for my triplets, but I always bring a copy of their birth certificates just in case. The airline may need to prove they are under the age of two if you are planning to fly with one on your lap.
4) Know the Airline Rules
I cannot stress this one enough. Most people don’t have to worry about the logistics of flying with multiples, and, unfortunately, airlines haven’t thought about it much either. So, many airline rules applied to family travel can put a serious strain on those of us flying with twins or more.
On one of our trips, I had done all my planning ahead of time, so I was shocked when my family and I were denied boarding a connecting flight because the employee at the gate desk insisted that I could not have two babies in one row. We insisted that the rule was that we couldn’t have more than one LAP baby per row, and since we only had one lap baby and the other had his own seat, we were not breaking any rules. With twins, this wouldn’t have been much of a problem because my husband and I would have sat in different rows anyway (one lap baby each). With triplets or more, that would mean one baby would have to have his/her own seat in a row with complete strangers. What’s the difference between a baby sitting between two strangers or between his/her parents? It makes zero sense to me.
After almost an hour of getting nowhere, she maintained that we were wrong and that the previous flight crews on every other flight we had ever taken were also mistaken. The gate was about to close when the pilot came out to see what was happening. Luckily, he agreed with us, and instead of being stranded overnight in Denver with triplet infants and two diapers left, we boarded and went on our way. Phew!
*TIP: Bring a print-out of the airline rules regarding infant seating to avoid situations like this. I couldn’t connect to the airport wi-fi long enough to show them the rules online and I could have avoided a potential disater if I had it printed and with me.
5) Avoid a Long Layover
Sometimes there is no other option other than having a long layover. With infant or toddler multiples, I would define “long” as more than two hours. They will want to stretch their legs just like you are and letting multples roam free in a busy airport has never been the funnest of times for me. It usually ends in tantrums, lots of comments from onlookers, and me strolling them around for the entire layover answering the same question over and over. “Yes, they are triplets. Yes, I was huge. Were they natural? Sorry, gotta run!” I have found 1.5 hours to be the magical amount of time that allows for a bathroom break, snack, then head to the gate.
6) Getting around the airport
The majority of my traveling anxiety revolves around that moment when you are rushing off the plane and to your next gate. Chances are, your gates are not next to each other so getting across a busy airport quickly is a daunting task. If you are lucky enough to have a direct flight, you can take your time with boarding and exiting the plane.
Since wagons are not allowed in airports, a stroller, stroller-wagon, or a carrier/s are your only other options. If you are flying with twins, baby carriers are the way to go. If you have triplets or more, a stroller of some kind will be needed.
Because strollers often get damaged while flying, don’t plan on bringing your most expensive stroller. Also, depending on the crew, some crew members will refuse to gate check a cumbersome stroller and you will be stuck dragging your belongings around until you get it back at baggage claim. No bueno.
Here are your options: one stroller (double/triple/quad), a combination of double and single strollers, or single strollers only. I have tried all of the above and found a combination is the easiest with only one single stroller. So, if you have twins, a double stroller works perfectly and allows one person to push. You CAN use two single umbrella strollers and attach them with these stroller connectors but I found those to be a bit hard to use in a time-crunch and hard to push of you only have one hand to push them. My personal fave is the ZOE double stroller (because its light as a feather and easy to fold in a hurry) with either the triplet attachment (they have a quad too!) or an umbrella stroller. Then, get one of these gate-check bags. It can hold whatever combo you choose on one bag, so you won’t have to worry about lugging a bunch of strollers down the jetway.
*note to mention: I just received the WonderFold W4 “wagon” and because wagons like these are push wagons, they are technically “stroller-wagons” and are allowed to be gate-checked at airports. But, because it was not cheap and is so very needed in my life, I probably won’t fly with it in fear of it getting damaged.
7) Change Diapers before Boarding
It is so hard changing diapers in an airplane bathroom. Find a family bathroom in the airport, and you can roll your stroller right in (they fit!) and start the assembly line! This is an excellent time to make sure YOU are taking care of yourself as well!
8) Boarding
This part is stressful…. but it doesn’t have to be! Once they announce pre-boarding, you have a couple of options.
Boarding separately- *If your multiples are still in infant carriers and you got them all separate seats, skip to the “boarding together” option* This option seems crazy, but actually really works well if your kids are using car seats/harnesses/laps and at least one can walk enough to follow you. Once they call for families with young children to board, you or a second adult would take the car seats/harnesses and one child (the good walker) to the plane. Once you get on the plane, plop the kiddo in a seat and set up the car seats/harnesses.
The second adult will then wait to board with their assigned boarding group. The seats will be set up and ready to go when they board!
*TIP: Keep the kids in the stroller as long as possible! I made the mistake a few times of taking them out and folding the stroller in the stroller bag before boarding, and it was a nightmare to contain three babies and carry all of our gear. Keep them in the stroller all the way down the jetway until you get to the plane. Once you are down there, take them out (this part is always dicey, but usually there are crew members right there that can help contain them while you fold up the stroller amid the line of boarding passengers), put the stroller in the bag, and leave it there to be taken under the plane. Beware- you will get lots of comments from boarding passengers during this time… so put on your perma-grin.
Boarding together- (this option also gets tons of stares and “you sure have your hands full” comments from observers) Put the “teamwork makes the dream work” method to use! Once they call for families to board, drag everything and everybody to the plane, plop the kids in the seats, bribe them to stay-put (JK….sort of), and set everything up together as quickly as possible before the rest of the passengers start boarding.
*TIP: make sure to get a gate-check tag for the stroller/stroller bag before boarding starts.
9) Feed during takeoff and landing.
We all know how annoying it is when the pressure builds in your ears, and you can’t “pop” them. Babies haven’t mastered ear-popping skills yet, so if you don’t intervene, you’re in for a rude (and loud) awakening. Feeding during this time can help relieve the pressure because the sucking motion will help equalize their ears. I usually make a bottle the second I get settled on the plane while passengers are boarding and place it in the seat-back pocket, so it’s ready when I need it for takeoff.
10) Skip the “Goodie Bag” for Fellow Passengers
You’ve seen or heard of them before; little packs filled with earplugs, Advil, and some cutesy little message like “Hi! My name is Oliver, and this is my first flight! In case I am not so sweet, here is a treat and earplugs for your enjoyment.” This is just my humble opinion, but I feel like if people are going to complain about (or be scared by) a crying baby, they should probably avoid public transportation if it bothers them THAT much. You have enough on your plate with multiples. Passengers will usually understand if your baby/babies act up because they have probably been in your exact same shoes at some point. If it makes you less anxious about your travels, go for it! But don’t feel like you need to provide the entire flight noise-canceling headphones like George and Amal Clooney did when they flew with their twins. Babies cry. You can’t control it. People will get over it.
I hope you were able to take away some ideas that will help you with your trip planning. My best advice for flying with multiples: just go for it! Sure, it’s difficult…. But it’s SO worth it. Feel free to comment, email me at thesecretlifeofthrees@gmail.com, and/or follow me on IG @thesecretlifeofthrees if you have any specific questions. Happy travels!
Important Disclaimer: I intend for the information on this website to serve as a general overview on matters of interest derived from my experience traveling with my own children. I am not an expert on the subject and safety of car seats for airplanes. I attempt to ensure that the content is current and accurate but I do not guarantee its currency and accuracy.
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