The verdict upfront: Our daughter has flown from Europe to Singapore, Australia, Brazil, the US, and is heading to Korea in a few months. She took her first long haul before she was one. We are not experts in child development — we are parents who have worked out, through trial and error, how to actually fly long haul with a toddler. This is what we know.
The most important decision: flight timing
Pick your flight times before you pick your airline. Flight timing matters more than carrier. Getting the schedule right will do wonders for your journey.
For long haul with a toddler, the goal is to align the flight with their natural sleep window. A night departure — leaving around 7pm, landing in the early morning — means you board around bedtime, they fall asleep, and you cover the bulk of the distance while they are out. It does not always work perfectly, but it gives you the best odds.
What does not work: cramming 24 hours of flying into a single push. The instinct to get it over with in one go sounds efficient. In practice it means a child who is exhausted and dysregulated for the entire journey with no reset point.
Break it up — the Johannesburg method
When we flew from Brazil to Sydney, we routed through Johannesburg rather than taking the fastest (via Santiago) option. The outbound leg — GRU to JNB with South African Airways, departing around 7pm, landing around 5am — was nine hours. Our daughter slept roughly six of them.
In Johannesburg we had twelve hours before the onward flight to Sydney. We booked the Southern Sun OR Tambo, ten minutes from the airport. We checked in, showered, had a proper meal, let her nap in a real bed, and returned to the airport for the 5pm departure rested and reset. The Johannesburg to Sydney leg with Qantaswas long but manageable because we had exited the plane, had some normal time on land, and then re-boarded..
For really long flights, think of routing: if you can break a very long journey with a proper stop — not a four-hour airport layover, but an actual hotel with a bed and a shower — do it. The extra cost is worth it.
Cabin class: honest advice
Until they’re two years old, children can fly for free (or almost free) on a parent lap. We made use of that a lot, especially with business class. When they start paying full price, it’s a financial decision more than anything.
Business class is the right answer when you can make it work. The flat bed changes everything — for the child and for you. We try to book it when the price is justifiable (even though that has been more difficult lately with flight prices).
When business class is not an option, premium economy is worth the upgrade over economy on journeys over eight hours, depending on the airline. The extra space, the slightly better recline, the reduced noise — all of it matters when you are managing a small person for ten hours. On the JNB to SYD leg we flew premium economy and it was money well spent.
Economy is fine. We have done it plenty of times.
Pro tip: come back to check our review of the best business, premium economy and economy products with a child.
The bassinet: useful but limited
If your child is under roughly nine months or ten kilos, request a bassinet. It attaches to the bulkhead wall and gives the baby somewhere to sleep that is not on top of you. Book bulkhead seats specifically — you cannot use a bassinet from any other row.
The limitation: most airlines cut the bassinet off at around ten kilos. For many toddlers, that is gone by the time they are one. Do not plan a long haul trip around bassinet availability if your child is past that threshold.
Seat strategy
If three of you can sit together, make that the priority. On a three-four-three economy configuration, book the three-seat section — it keeps the family unit together without being split across an aisle.
On seat reservations: a lot of airlines charge for them, so always check first. When we fly economy, we always pay to reserve seats — we do not want to end up separated or stuck in the last row of the plane with a toddler. In business or premium economy, we tend to be less rigorous about paying for seat selection. Airlines will generally accommodate at least one parent sitting next to a young child even without a reservation, but if you do not want to leave it to chance, pay for it and know exactly where you are sitting. The risk in business and premium economy is lower — the configuration is more manageable and the airline has more flexibility.
Food and feeding
We do not time meals on flights. We feed her when she is hungry. That sounds obvious but it runs counter to the instinct to synchronise eating with the meal service — which often happens at times that make no sense for a toddler’s schedule.
Pack your own snacks. Pouches, fruit, small sandwiches, whatever they reliably eat at home. Toddlers often eat very little on flights — the environment, the noise, the disruption to routine all suppress appetite. That is fine. Have food available constantly so the option is always there, but do not stress if they barely touch it.
The tablet question
We do not time meals on flights. We feed her when she is hungry. That sounds obvious but it runs counter to the instinct to synchronise eating with the meal service — which often happens at times that make no sense for a toddler’s schedule.
Pack your own snacks. Pouches, fruit, small sandwiches, whatever they reliably eat at home. Toddlers often eat very little on flights — the environment, the noise, the disruption to routine all suppress appetite. That is fine. Have food available constantly so the option is always there, but do not stress if they barely touch it.
What to pack — the non-negotiables
Nappies even if they are potty trained. We have had accidents and illness on flights when our daughter was already past nappies at home. Have them.
Two full changes of clothes for the child. One for you. Turbulence, spills, and general chaos make this essential.
Snacks in a quantity you think is excessive. Bring more than that.
Small familiar toys — nothing with pieces that scatter, nothing that requires batteries and makes noise. Sticker books, small figures, a comfort toy from home.
A change of scenery trick: when they hit the wall on a long flight, a walk to the back of the plane and a conversation with a flight attendant can reset the mood for another hour. Use it.
Airports: survival mode
Some airports are genuinely good for families — Helsinki has an actual playground, Zurich has a dedicated children’s area. Look these up before you travel and build time around them.
Brazil has a dedicated family security lane at most airports. Make use of it. Most airlines also allow families with young children to board first — always ask, and always take it.
The goal in the terminal is simple: let them run as much as possible. Whatever energy they burn before boarding is energy that does not need to be managed at 35,000 feet.
Jet lag: the honest version
You are going to struggle with it. There is no hack that eliminates it, only strategies that reduce the damage.
Go with the flow in the first few days. Do not plan anything demanding. Do not try to force a normal schedule from day one. Let the child sleep when they sleep and eat when they eat, and adjust gradually.
The most important tip: sleep when they sleep. When we arrived in Sydney after flying from Brazil — a fourteen hour time difference — our daughter went down at 6pm. We went with her. She woke at 1am. Because we had rested, we could handle it. If we had stayed up trying to feel normal, we would have been destroyed.
Patience is the only real tool. It passes within a few days for most toddlers, who tend to adapt faster than adults.
The bigger argument
Long haul travel with a toddler is harder than travelling without one. It is also completely doable, and the experiences on the other side of those flights — Sydney Harbour, Iguazu Falls, the streets of Singapore — are worth every difficult hour in the air.
The parents who do not travel long haul with young children often cite the journey as the reason. The journey is manageable. The destination is the point.
The Maison Voyage Summary
| Best strategy | Night departure aligned with your child’s sleep window |
| Really long haul hack | Break into two legs with a hotel stop — not an airport layover |
| Stopover hotel | Southern Sun OR Tambo, Johannesburg — 10 minutes from the airport |
| Cabin class | Business when possible. Premium economy depends on the airline — research before booking |
| Bassinet | Useful under 9 months or 10kg — rules vary by airline, check in advance |
| Best seats | Sit together if possible. Book the 3-seat section on a 3-4-3 configuration. Pay to reserve in economy |
| Food | Pack your own, feed on demand, do not stress if they eat little |
| Screens | Yes. Download in advance. No guilt. |
| Pack | Diapers even if potty trained, 2 changes of clothes, excessive snacks |
| Airports | Use family lanes, board first, find the play areas, let them run |
| Jet lag | Sleep when they sleep. Patience is the only tool. |
| Verdict | Completely doable. The destination is worth every difficult hour in the air. |