How big are the sky cots?

[jochick]

We am flying out to Singapore with our three young children in September and have booked a bassinet for the youngest who will be thirteen months.

I am now a bit worried that it won't be big enough for him. Has anyone flown with Singapore Airlines recently and used the bassinet? Is it suitable for a child of this age?

Also, if anyone has any handy tips for stress free travel with kids I'd be most grateful as the oldest two will only be 4 and 3.

Thanks

[danuse]

Hi, I flew with Lufthansa but I suppose all cots on planes are the same size. My daughter was only six months then and she was almost as long as the cot. I was told a cot can carry babies up to 10kgs. Now she is fifteen months and she is definitely too big for a cot.
What about a portable lcd/dvd for other kids? One of my kids usually sleeps on the floor (I know it´s not the safest thing to do) and another has two seats for himself - they are older than yours though.

[jpatokal]

What about a portable lcd/dvd for other kids? One of my kids usually sleeps on the floor (I know it´s not the safest thing to do)

Most airlines don't allow this, and SQ tends to be a stickler for protocol.

[Amelia Camelia]

Hello,

We flew Singapore airlines and used the Skycot with our son when he was about the same age and maybe even a bit older.

Here is the info from the Singair website :

Bassinets
While a limited number of bassinets are available onboard on a first-come, first-served basis, we recommend you request a bassinet upon booking to assure easy travel with your infants.
The dimensions of the bassinets are 769 L x 299 W x 200 H (mm). Bassinets can support a maximum weight of 14kg.

You will be placed at one of the front rows where there's no storage in front of you - you can only use the overhead locker. The bassinet/sky cot is only for use during normal flight - so you can't use it during landing and take-off and if there is any turbulence you will be asked to take your baby out and put them on your lap with an infant lap seat belt.

It's a bit awkward with the trays of food and the pull-out TV screens, but after saying all of the above - it worked really well for us. Our son slept for most of the flight in the skycot.

When we travel we tend to fly at night so for the majority of the flight our son is asleep. We feed him before we get on the plane - that way we don't need to worry if he likes the plane food or not or when it's going to be served etc. Rememeber to pre-order child meals if you want them. Some people give their children antihistamines to make them drowsy - this isn't something we've felt the need to do. Also for takeoff/landing - we gave our son a dummy/pacifier when he was a baby to suck on and sweets/candies now he's a bit older so that the swallowing action unpops his ears. A lot of children/babies cry because they can't balance the air pressure.

Bring warm clothes/blankets for your children. The blankets provided aren't adequate - it gets awfully cold on the plane.

The other thing is that ... the plane is quite loud - I think a lot of children/babies find the engine noise quite soothing, so don't worry too much... my husband and I do pass the time by walking up and down the aisles every now and then with our child but that's not a bad thing considering the whole DVT scare.. and there's the tv and games. I think your older children will enjoy the children's fiilms - the headphones are a bit tricky though - they're a bit big. We had to fold up the socks provided! and put them on his head! (V amusing for us).
Maybe buy a few new toys (or card games like snap) and hide them away so they are new for the plane journey. I'm sure you already know to bring some snacks - although SingAir is pretty good like that and they tend to have apples/biscuits/crisps available.

Ok - sorry for the waffle - I hope some of it helps!
A

[jochick]

Thanks for that. Am feeling a bit happier about the whole thing now. We are also flying at night, so I'm hopeful they'll sleep for some of the journey, although they've never been on a plane before, so I'm expecting quite a bit of excitement!

[Amelia Camelia]

Seriously - don't worry about it.

The lights are all turned off with the odd reading light here and there, so it's quite dark. I forgot to mention - you may want to bring their pyjamas with them if it's a really long flight and pull-ups if they wear them while they sleep... and any other comforting things like blankies, teddy bears so they feel more cosy.

Take care
A