6 Tips for Flying Solo with Young Children

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I love to travel and now, so do Lyric and London. And I’m proud to say that in the last five years, I have successfully flown at least 15 round trips solo with them from Las Vegas to Hawaii.  Lyric was four months old on our first solo flight together, and then we became a traveling trio when London was born. My motivation was seeing my family in Hawaii with the girls for an extended visit, usually for a month, and normally élan couldn’t be away for that long. Some say I am a super mom for traveling solo with young children. But in all reality, the first time was definitely nerve-racking and stressful even though I looked cool, calm and collected.

In the last five years, I’ve gained a lot of frequent-flyer miles and experience flying with young infants and children. So I thought it would be helpful to share my personal tips for flying with young children, since my little travelers are currently three and five.

Here are my 6 tips for flying solo with young children:

1. Take advantage of TSA Precheck and pre-boarding
I have Global Entry which includes TSA Precheck, and because Lyric and London are under 12 we can all go through the TSA Precheck line together. This saves us lots of time, but more about the benefits of TSA Precheck in a later blog.

Guests needing assistance, families with children under two, and unaccompanied minors get to pre-board the plane first and get situated before the mad rush. Since I travel with a lightweight double umbrella stroller, I’m allowed to pre-board in this category, even though my girls are over two years old. This is because strollers and car seats are checked at the gate prior to walking on the plane. I learned my lesson a few years back on a red-eye flight when Lyric refused to walk because she was sleepy and I only had a stroller for London, so now I always travel with a double stroller. I decided not to bring a car seat on the plane this time for London and it went very well.

2. Bring activities
I make sure to bring a fully charged Kindle, iPad Mini and their princess headphones which has a built-in dual port. That way they can either play games on their devices or watch cartoons and movies on the plane if I purchase the in-flight entertainment. Since their headphones have a dual port, they can share the audio and I only need to purchase the service for one seat and they can share the screen. This is usually enough for them, but I also let them pack a few toys, coloring books and markers.

3. Bring food, snacks and water bottle
I bring my own food, just in case I don’t have the chance to eat during the designated meal time, or if it’s not offered complimentary. This was more important when they were a lap child, because it would be way too difficult to lower my service tray to eat with utensils. I usually bring something handheld like a Bobbie from Capriotti’s, a spam musubi when I’m departing from Hawaii, or simply a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. The girls definitely don’t eat airplane food unless it’s cookies, so we always pack a lunchbox filled with their favorite snacks and candy. We bring our own water bottles to fill up when we get through security and sippy cups to transfer drinks on the plane to prevent spills.

4. Be prepared for popping ears and motion sickness
Although Lyric and London are experienced jet-setters, they do have their own specific issues when flying. Lyric’s ears have trouble popping, usually on the descent and cries softly that her ears hurt for a few minutes. To help relieve the ear pressure on the way down, I bring gum and lollipops so we can try to nip it in the bud before the pain starts. But if that doesn’t help, we yawn together and use the Valsalva maneuver, which is the technique of closing your mouth while pinching and blowing air through your nose. Just recently, I heard of a product called EarPlanes, so I will have Lyric try it on our next flight and I’ll update this post if it works for her.

London, on the other hand, gets airsickness and vomits 99.9% of the time at the end of the flight, either while the plane is landing, taxiing to the gate or even on the car ride home from the airport. It’s truly unpredictable and I’m so happy when we make it through the flight and all the way home without an incident.  When she was younger I would limit her milk and food intake while flying. But now that she’s older, she tells me when she’s about to be sick, and I hold a big plastic bag in front of her, instead of those small air sickness bags they provide in the seat pocket. I just ask for one from the flight attendant when we board the plane and Lyric is ready to help by handing me napkins and wipes.

5. Choose flight times and seats that are best for your traveling situation
When I travel solo with Lyric and London, I like to take either the late afternoon or early evening flight. That way they’re awake when we board, and then fall asleep for most of the plane ride. I once booked a red-eye flight from Las Vegas to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines with a departure time of 1 am. Big mistake! It wouldn’t have been so bad if I had only one sleeping child, but it was next to impossible to get two sleeping children to our seats without the help of the flight attendants.

When choosing seats, my first choice is a three-across if it’s available. That way we don’t have a random person at the end of us who might not like the idea of sitting next to kids on a six hour flight. But if we do, I always get complimented at the end on how my girls are such great travelers. I try to pick seats that are near the bathroom but as far as front or back of the plane, that doesn’t matter to me. I like to deplane after everyone anyway, so I don’t feel rushed getting our bags out of the overhead bin. And that way I can take my time getting the girls situated with putting their backpacks on. Plus, strollers are brought up last to the jet bridge, so I would have to wait in any event. However, the next time élan flies with us, I do want to get the two seaters, so that the Lyric and London will have the experience of looking out the window seats.

6. Don’t forget your travel essentials
Here are some other items I bring that I haven’t mentioned yet. Create a list of what works best for you: Pull Ups, wipes, Kleenex, small blankets, plastic/Ziploc bags, change of clothes for the girls and myself, medicine, travel neck pillow, noise cancellation headphones, peppermint essential oil, backpack, phone charger, etc.

I hope you will find my tips useful if you ever need to fly solo with young children, and I hope you enjoyed reading about our experiences. Check out my Amazon picks for Flying Essentials that make airplane trips more comfortable for you and fun for your little ones.

If you’ve traveled solo with young children or if you have any tips to share I’d love to hear it!

Best,
Marlene