Long haul to Edinburgh with Qantas/BA
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Topic: Long haul to Edinburgh with Qantas/BA
Posted By: Lightning McQueen
Subject: Long haul to Edinburgh with Qantas/BA
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 9:34am
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Hi
We’re travelling to Edinburgh later this year to visit family. T will be 15 months when we go, but we’re going to get him a child’s fare so he gets his own seat. The cheapest fare I can find is with Qantas/BA. I was wondering if anybody has flown with them long haul recently with a baby or toddler? The last time I flew long haul with Qantas it was the worst flight of my life in terms of service, and I swore never again. But that was 10 years ago (and their fares are a lot cheaper) so I’m thinking it’s time I moved on! 
Also, I’m thinking of getting the flights over as quickly as possible and flying through direct, with no stopovers. A couple of people have said it’s a really good idea to have a stopover. Does anyone prefer one way or the other? Finally, I’m looking at a CARES harness for T as we’ll have a car seat to use in Scotland. Has anyone used on of these before? Thanks ETA: spelling |
Replies:
Posted By: mountaingirl
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 4:12pm
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We haven't done really long haul with Qantas in a while but travel with them quite regularly between WA and NZ, which is still a 15hr flight from where we live. To be honest they are a bit hit and miss, especially with kids (our DS is 20 months and we have been travelling with him since 7 months). AirNZ is generally far superior in my experience.
But money talks I suppose and if it's only a day of bad service to save some money maybe it's worth it? In terms of stopovers - I definitely prefer them. Travelling with a toddler is exhausting and it may be hit and miss how much he sleeps? You will probably know him best but sometimes just to get off a plane, stretch, run around and get some sleep before the next leg is worth it's weight in gold when you are cooped up for 12 hours at a time with a toddler! |
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 5:12pm
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I haven't heard mixed reports about Qantas but have never flown with them personally. We always go Air NZ or Singapore Air. We half of one trip with Lufthansa when my twin DDs were 11months and swore never again.
Personally we prefer to get the trip over and done with and suffer the consequences at the end. (Or offload the kids to the grandparents while you recover  )
I haven't used the CARES harness but I would have if I'd known about them. If anything else it would prevent them from falling off the seat when asleep. When we flew to Ireland last year I got woken up a few times upon hearing *thump* on the floor 
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Posted By: sbeach
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 6:20pm
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I havent travelled with children yet but I know that the qantas/BA flights go through LAX and I have heard that is a nightmare, even with no kids...you have to do the fingerprint thing even if you just have a stopover. Not to mention collect luggage and re-check it in a different terminal, well my sis did when she came back from London with them...
Just something to think about... may be better to go through asia and have a stopover... Korean Airlines do a good deal, the way their flights line up is than on the way there you have to have a night in Seoul and the cost is built into the price of the ticket. They put you in any good hotel where beds are free, my friend got the hilton twice!! ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: yermasyada
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 6:37pm
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Hi there,
We did this exact trip at Christmas.... except it took 4 days and a stop over in Cyprus 
I utterly detest BA, but they were the cheapest fare by FAR! so needs must and all. We went straight through (well, that was the plan) and I'd do this again. Stopovers just delay you getting there and are just another thing to think about. My airline of choice would be Air NZ followed by SIA, but as I said, we saved a substantial amount going with BA, so it was a no brainer. Highly recommend a Quick Smart travel stroller which folds down and fits in the overhead lockers. We had no issues with this on any flight. Any questions, just ask
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Posted By: Rainbow
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 8:16pm
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We have done this recently too. Personally with a child I think a stopover is a good idea. We did 2 nights in USA. It meant we all got at least some rest in a bed. Our DS was 17 months and there was no way he could have coped (or us!) with back to back flights. Hopefully your wee one will make use of the spare seat - I found that our son just wanted to be on us to sleep.
We flew Air NZ who were excellent. I have no experience of Qantas, sorry. Good luck! And seeing family will all be worth it! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 8:42pm
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We flew through LAX last year and didn't have to collect our bags. We did get back on the same plane however.
Have you looked at Emirates? From what I remember they always seem to have reasonable fares, |
Posted By: catisla
Date Posted: 26 March 2011 at 9:01pm
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sorry to threadjack, but Milliemoo can you tell me more abut your flight with the stop over in Cyprus? We may be going to visit my parents in the UK later this year and the in-laws have recently retired to Cyprus so just wondering what kind of ticket etc you got to get that. otherwise we would probably have to book cheap flights from the UK to cyprus as a separate trip . . .
oh - and second about avoiding los angeles if you can help it! only advantage i found going that way was you get a lot more baggage allowance ------------- |
Posted By: mumtooboys
Date Posted: 27 March 2011 at 12:14pm
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We are off to the UK in 2 weeks for the first time in 5 years and we were planning a stop-over for 3 nights in Singapore but we couldn't justify the expense and as we have a non-travelling child who can barely get from the top of the North Island to the bottom again without major drama, we decided it would create too much stress for what it would cost to do. DS2 is our non-traveller and he's 3.5 and DS1 is 7.5.....we worried quite a bit about how well DS1 would travel when we decided to come out here and he was great for the most part and he was only 2.5 then and had never flown before.
We are flying Singapore Airways, who we used when we emigrated out here 5 years ago, because they are so kid friendly...plus for us it was only about $50 extra to go with them over BA anyway. Like anything, a 'bad' experience could just be a fluke and one you might never experience again...but if you do, it can be made all the harder when travelling with small children. If it is more important to save money, depending on the price differential, you'll just have to take a punt and hope for the best. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: yermasyada
Date Posted: 27 March 2011 at 2:15pm
*insert manic nervous laugh* We didn't plan on stopping in Cyprus. Just after we left Singapore, Northern Europe aire space basically shut down due to the snow, so we were diverted to Cyprus overnight.It took us 4 days door to door, Auckland to Edinburgh. Good suggestion about checking out Emirates. You could fly to Glasgow and miss out the dreaded LHR all together. I would *seriously* consider doing this next time. Oh, just a wee note about stopovers. I do think it's a very personal thing. All our friends thought we were mad not stopping, but we used the money saved from stopovers to upgrade our flights
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Susiec wrote:Posted By: yermasyada
Date Posted: 27 March 2011 at 2:17pm
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Forgot to ask Toby's Mum.... whereabouts in Edinburgh are you from? We stayed in Corstorphine before we moved out here
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Posted By: catisla
Date Posted: 27 March 2011 at 5:14pm
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ah well - thanks anyway Milliemoo! sorry to bring back traumatic memories! ------------- |
Posted By: Lightning McQueen
Date Posted: 27 March 2011 at 5:44pm
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Thanks everyone for your feedback!
I think I will take the plunge and book with Qantas/BA – they are quite a bit cheaper (like $1K) than Singapore, Air NZ, and Emirates. After all, it’s only 30 hours (how bad can it be, right???), and think of all the shopping I can do with the money I’ve “saved”.
Millemoo – I’m from NZ, but my husband is Scottish. He’s from the Boarders, but was living in Edinburgh when we met. We lived in Newington by the Meadows, and then just off the top of Leith Walk (near Valvona and Crolla – one of my first stops when I'm back!). I looked into the Auckland to Glasgow flight, but unfortunately on the way home there’s a 10 hour wait in Dubai for the connecting flight. |
Posted By: shesmiles
Date Posted: 27 March 2011 at 6:26pm
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We just flew to Glasgow (and visited Edinburgh) in Feb with our 10 week old. Flew with Cathay Pacific, which was fine and LHR was all good too. I found Auckland airport more annoying with baby and bags as it turned out.
We stopped off in Hong Kong for 2 nights on the way back and I so glad we did. We slept until about midday on our first day in HK but didn't feel like we were 'missing;' any of HK by sleeping as everything is open so late. I sort of wish we had on the way over as well. 5 or 6 hours in an airport waiting for a connecting flight can be grim. At the very least, take fresh clothes so you can shower at the airport. So many parents were getting thrown up on.
There were so many strollers waiting at the gate each time we landed. You can hire them - but you have to carry your wee one to that location and try and find it etc. Bleh. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Turtle
Date Posted: 28 March 2011 at 2:10pm
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We have family who do the Emirates flight from Glasgow on Emirates and then with the 10 hour layover get a room at the airport. But I would still be inclined to go with the cheaper option, although I've never heard a bad word about Emirates
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Posted By: jaz
Date Posted: 29 March 2011 at 9:49pm
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We went to the US when DS was 22 months and it went remarkably well. The overnight flights worked for us as he had a big day with no sleep so was happy to have his dinner, watch some TV, have a bottle then went to sleep. He was then well rested up for getting through customs and get to our accommodation. The problem with going on to the UK would be that you only have a couple of hours off the plane then you have to repeat the process with a lively toddler that now expects to be up and active. A stopover would only work if you were then getting on another overnight flight.
I flew Qantas and Air New Zealand a few weeks ago without children and what stood out with Qantas is the ability to check in online and print your own boarding passes up to 24 hours in advance then walk straight through to immigration. This would be a huge advantage if travelling with young children. They also seemed quite quick onboard to hand out activity kits and child meals. And the kids around me seemed quietly amused by the individual TV screens. It's hard to know if this was good service, good parental organisation or just happy kids. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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