fear of flying

Last night, Chris mentioned that he was hoping to make a business trip back to Calgary at the end of June, and I immediately was excited! I figured that Madeline and I could tag along for the first leg of the flight, to Toronto, and then say goodbye to Chris as he hops on a connecting flight to Calgary and we'd catch a connecting flight to Edmonton to visit Madeline's grandparents and aunties. This way, both Chris and I would be able to entertain Madeline on the airplane for the first leg, and I'd only have to wrangle her solo for the second five-hour segment. Except Chris was quick to tell me that he would be flying Business Class with his co-op student, not sitting with the rest of us in Economy. So, no fatherly assistance. Boo. I would love a quick trip to Alberta, so I'm kind of bummed out.

I know that I theoretically could fly home any time I wanted, but I'm intimidated by the prospect of taking my wonderful-yet-highly-energetic toddler on an airplane for ten hours without back-up. The battery life on our portable DVD player is only three hours, so it doesn't count.  Madeline totally passed on looking at her usually-beloved books on our last flight. Even if I packed her playdough, crayons, and finger-paints in her carry-on bag, I don't see those providing more than one hour of collective amusement. So, what do I do with the other six hours?

Interestingly, Air Canada charges passengers who want to sit next to each other an extra $15 per ticket. I suppose that I could just not pay the $30, sit a few rows back from Madeline, and watch the in-flight movie :)

Update: Last night at dinner, Chris said that he'd be happy to give me a hand and sit with Madeline and I for the part of the flight that we'd share, so she and I do get a visit with our families! Whee!

Comments

[Miah]

i think that once the plane takes off, you should go up to business class and he and his student should let you have the big seats.

alternately, why doesn't he pay the extra $15? daddychip wrote all about how wonderful and proud he is when mom's "let" dads take care of the children on flights.

sigh.

[nonlineargirl]

The "sit together" charge is a new one for me, but I like your solution. I'm sure whoever gets the seat next to Madeline won't mind.

I'm with you on the fear of solo plane parenting. Ada and I are going to Colorado next month for a wedding (Chris has an unalterable commitment elsewhere). My sister will meet us in Colorado, but I'm nervous about everyone on the plane hating us and throwing those bags of peanuts at us when we get up AGAIN so that A can crawl around. Oy.

[jessica]

I hadn't even imagined what it would be like on an airplane with a toddler. I'm tired thinking about it!

[laura]

Miah, my Chris wouldn't be flying business class to avoid Madeline (that's something that only *I* would think of - hee hee!). It's that he's going on a business trip, I guess (and his company allows employees to travel in business class if the trip is longer than seven hours). Madeline and I would just be tagging along for convenience :) I'd prefer to go home later in the summer, but if it means that I don't have to fly solo the entire time, I'd be happy to be flexible!

[Chantal]

I'm totally going to remember this when we fly with our kids next. The youngest is 3.5, he's well old enough to sit along!

[September]

I've flown back and forth to Brasil from Newfoundland a couple of times with 3 kids and a dog by myself! (32 hr flight) Let me know if you need any tips, lol!

[Brandi]

I'm surprised they'd charge you the $15 to sit next to your toddler. How about buying Madeleine her own seat? I know Abby does much better if I can strap her into the car seat instead of sitting on my lap. One thing I found that was the only thing that kept her entertained once she tired of her toys, books and movies were those cups they serve drinks in. Seriously, a couple of those (empty) cups bought us a good hour.

[laura]

Oh, those little plastic cups are fabulous! Madeline even liked them when she was four months old and we took her to Australia. I think that we'd have to buy her a seat - she'd be two. Air Canada just charges everyone buying a seat $15 if they want to pre-select their seats to guarantee to be sitting together. I'd be curious to see if they actually would allow parents and their kids to be split up (ie. not paying the extra).

[Helen]

I find that when you get to the check-in counter at the airport, the ticket agent does his/her best to seat people together. I've never bothered to pay the $15 online surcharge.

When I flew to Cancun with Benjamin (no spouse with me), I took the overnight flight. Sure, it sucked for me because I hardly got any sleep, but the plus side was that Ben DID sleep for most of the flight.

[laura]

I think that we'll for certain be on an overnight flight to get back to St. John's ... Madeline slept a little bit when we flew out here to move. Poor thing.

[Jaime]

those new colour wonder finger paints are great that make a no mess. A bit more expensive but for something like that might be worth while. Other entertaining ideas... have you thought of games, some little game that you and her could play, like kerplunk or something like that?