[Trace7]

My trip to Hong Kong last week got me REALLY thinking about our trip home from China when we finally get our baby.

For those who have BTDT, how did you come home (as far as seating) - did you have two economy seats and hold the baby on your lap? Did you have 3 economy seats? Did you have bulkhead seating? Did you bring a car seat for the plane? Is a car seat required? If so, what type? Or did you get two business class seats and hold the baby?

[SofiasMom]

I decided not to buy a seat for my 11 month old - we went business class (one up from economy). And were fine but that's because she was content to be on my lap. Although I might have been more comfortable with her in her own seat, I was so into holding her at that time.

A few in my group got bulkhead seats and the little bassinette. No one brought a car seat.

[Trace7]

Originally Posted by SofiasMom

I decided not to buy a seat for my 11 month old - we went business class (one up from economy). And were fine but that's because she was content to be on my lap. Although I might have been more comfortable with her in her own seat, I was so into holding her at that time.

A few in my group got bulkhead seats and the little bassinette. No one brought a car seat.

Good to know - thanks. I flew economy to HK and then I got bumped up to Business on the way home, which was QUITE nice. However, I was talking to my brother (he lives in HK and travels often with their daughter), and he thinks 3 seats in economy (bulkhead seating) will be best. Also - we will probably not be on a flight with lots of other families bringing their babies home as we plan to fly out a week early and stay a couple days in Hong Kong after leaving Guangzhou - so we will not be with our group coming or going, as I believe our group flies to and from Beijing and does not go to Hong Kong. So getting bulkead seating should not (hopefully) be an issue for us.

[Sheba]

I brought Kennedy home on my lap and was fine. We were traveling with my son and only wanted 3 seats, so it worked out great. Plus I wanted her to depend on me and have to be held. It help her bonding and she was happy to play on my lap. I should mention she was only 10mths old. We did want bulk head seats but they were unavailable at the time. Next time I will try for bulk head again but may buy an extra seat so that a stranger is not sitting with us on the way home.

[waiting07]

I've read before that if you buy the seat for them then you will be able to bring more back as far as luggage.

[oleson1]

My daughter was 13 months old when we brought her home. We only had the 2 seats with a lap ticket for her - we regretted not spending the extra money for a ticket for Jasmine. It wasn't so much an issue of her sitting in the chair alone, she would have probably sat on our lap the majority of the time anyway, but the extra room would have been greatly appreciated.

[L_M_D]

We just returned from China 3 weeks ago, and we flew China Southern Premium Economy/Business class. After much discussion, we decided to spend the money and buy our daughter (13 months) a full-fare seat for the trip home.

It was the best money we spent. We held her part of the time, but she actually slept about 9 hours of the flight, and it was so nice for her to be able to spread out and sleep comfortably in her own seat. It was much more comfortable for us as well! We were also able to get some much needed sleep, and the whole family was all the better for the remainder of the trip since we were better rested.

Even if you fly coach, get the extra seat.

Also, I am glad we purchased it ahead of time as the flight was full, and a few people that wanted to buy an extra seat at the airport could not.

[Happy2Bhere]

HI!
We aren't even logged in yet- just dtc, but for us, we will be traveling not only with our newly adopted daughter from China, but also with our other daughter. She's 3 now, so she'll be 4-5 range. Not only for us, but for the sanity of the person who might get stuck in our row (lol) we will be getting a seat for each person.
I believe someone said it is 18 hours in the air, that's a long time for a lap seat, although I'm sure I wouldn't be complaining. :-)
Hopefully we get the chance to worry about this issue- we're preparing ourselves for a 24 month wait.
Melissa

[Lissa]

We bought an extra seat and it was worth every penny. We held her the entire time, but we had room to operate--put diaper bags--etc. Plus with a seat we got the following perks. Extra luggage, more food and hence more food variety so she could eat solids (baby food was never a big hit with Lydia and once we gave her table food in China there was no turning back) plus it kept the row to just the family. Best thing we did was buy that extra seat!

[TaraL]

We had an extra seat for the way home and it was wonderful. Olivia was 13 mos and although she didn't mind being held sometimes, other times she wanted to sit on her own. She was very independent and still is. WE got coach and we were in a 3 seat row. I wouldn't ever go without the extra seat. We did not get bulkhead as the arm rests don't come up. It was nice to put the 2 inside arm rests up and spread out. 16 hours is long flight to be uncomfortable.

[prechrswife]

We flew coach on United, and we did spring for the third seat for our daughter. We did not take a car seat. We held her in our laps some of the time, but she was also able to nap in her seat, and even sat there and played some. (I have to admit that we also used it for a couple of diaper changes, as the changing tables in airplane restrooms are not easy with a very wiggly baby, and there is no way for 2 adults to get in there to change a diaper. They have no safety straps on those changing tables.--Please excuse the tangent.) Anyway, even when Mary Joyce was in one of our laps, the extra seat provided a good place for stuff and gave us the space that we needed for making bottles and everything else that we needed to do. It was definitely worth the money. (By the way, it also gave us access to an aisle seat, which we did not have on the flight over. We flew Chicago to Beijing on the last row of the plane in the middle 2 seats. Talk about miserable. The flight home was much better, even with a 9 month old. )

[sak9645]

I used Korean Air from Hong Kong to Los Angeles and United from Los Angeles to Washington, DC.

As I traveled without a companion, and took a very large suitcase, a carryon, and a stroller, it would have been very difficult to bring a car seat. Car seats are not required on the planes, and are pretty much useless in China, since many of the vehicles don't have seat belts. Also, if your child travels on a lap ticket, you may not even be able to use the car seat on the plane, since a seat is not guaranteed.

For the flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, I flew coach. I used a lap ticket for my daughter. I requested a bulkhead aisle seat and a bassinet.

It worked out just fine. From Hong Kong to Seoul, the wonderful Korean Air people were able to arrange to keep an empty seat open next to me, so Becca could recline or sit in the bassinet, sit on the empty seat, or use my lap.

I lost the empty seat in Seoul, because more people boarded the plane. However, it really wasn't a problem. There was a Korean family in my row. Although the wife did not speak English, she was able to communicate her willingness to watch Becca while she slept, so I could use the bathroom if I needed to go. And Becca played with her three year old in the aisle for a while.

The nightmare began when I reached Los Angeles and found that my United flight to DC was canceled. The airline claimed that there was a mechanical problem. However, experienced travelers tell me that United does this frequently when the flight isn't full, and they suspect it's to avoid losing money. Becca and I, and another single Mom and her new daughter, were booked on a flight leaving several hours later.

I had not slept a wink the night before leaving Hong Kong, because Becca had a tummyache and was up all night. I also had not slept a wink going from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, because I simply don't sleep well on planes. Also, Becca didn't do a lot of sleeping; she was too curious about everything. As a result, by the time I got to Los Angeles, my eyelids kept falling down.

I suppose I should have broken my journey in Los Angeles, gotten my luggage, gone to a hotel, and rebooked us on a flight the next day. However, both Becca and I were ill, and I really wanted to get us home and to our doctors. And the United people made lots of promises about how they would try to leave an empty seat next to me, etc.

So I hung around the airport. I was afraid to doze on a bench, lest someone kidnap Becca! And the other single woman was busy washing her dress in the ladies' room and drying it with the hand dryer, because her daughter had overflowed her diaper, all over her.

When I finally boarded the flight, I quickly learned that the plane was full to the gunwales. There was exactly one empty seat on the whole plane, and it wasn't next to me. And as you can't get bassinets on domestic flights, that meant I would have to sit in a cramped coach seat with Becca on my lap, all the way to DC.

Fortunately, the man next to me did not like the notion of spending several hours next to a rather pleasant baby and her cranky Mom, so he moved to the vacant seat. That did give me an empty seat for Becca. I felt sorry, though, for the other single Mom, who did not have this luxury.

Unfortunately, I could not doze on the flight, as I feared that Becca would fall off my lap or the adjacent seat. And the flight attendants were about the worst I ever encountered, in terms of helpfulness. I could not even go to the bathroom, as it seemed that every time I wanted to do so, there was a cart in the aisle.

I was SO glad to arrive in DC. Fortunately, the friend who was going to drive us home had good sense. He collected the luggage, brought my car around (he used it because he had installed the car seat in it), got us settled, and headed straight to my home. He then brought in the luggage and the mail, said goodnight, and LEFT.

Within about 20 minutes, Becca was happily in her new crib, falling asleep. And without opening the suitcase or anything, I fell into my own bed.

No matter how you travel, the trip home with your new child won't be easy. But you WILL survive. And the joy of having your child will gradually erase your memory of the journey.

Sharon

[Shelley]

We we requested and received bulk-head seats when we returned from Korea with our first daughter. We just bought a lap-ticket, unfortunately we were in the middle of the plane with two of the middle seats right under the big movie screen. Needless to say we didn't get a lot of sleep. Our daughter didn't sleep much, but traveled well.This was NW.
When I traveled to China in Jan. to bring home our 4 yo the flight over was great. I was in coach on a 777, United. Aisle seat on the left side of the plane, Only 2 seats on the sides. Each seat has it's own t.v. screen and a fair amount of leg room. So when I confirmed our seats for the flight home, I didn't think to check what size the plane was and just assumed it was the same, requested the aisle and window and got stuck in the center and window seats on the plane. It was a 747 I think. It was pretty miserable. I let our daughter sit next to the window for the first few hours so she could look out, but when it got dark I made her move to the middle because I couldn't se me in the middle sitting next a very large man all the way home, which made her angry and she threw a glass of water at me. THankfully the man sitting with us was understanding and about half-way thru the flight I offered him the window so one of us could sleep as he was hunched over his tray on the aisle and we had to keep getting up.
I would say if you can afford the extra seat, do it. Wish we had with our first adoption, because even with the bassinet, which our daughter spent all of 30 mins in and extra leg room bulk-head gave us, it still would have made things much easier. Shelley

[sak9645]

Just a reminder.

Be SURE to RECONFIRM your return reservation with your airline, once you get to Guangzhou. (In other words, about 48 hours before you fly home.) This is especially true if you want a bassinet and bulkhead seat for coming home from China, but it is also true for any round trip flight that you cannot afford to miss.

I called Korean Air from Guangzhou, and found that my daughter's lap ticket reservation and my bassinet request were not in the computer. They somehow got deleted.

It was not a problem. The airline quickly checked and realized that I had, indeed, made the booking. The personnel promised that there would be a bassinet waiting for my daughter.

And they kept their promise. When I got to the Hong Kong airport, everything went very smoothly. Unfortunately, some people who did NOT reconfirm did NOT get bassinets they had ordered.

Sharon

[Trace7]

Originally Posted by sak9645

Just a reminder.

Be SURE to RECONFIRM your return reservation with your airline, once you get to Guangzhou. (In other words, about 48 hours before you fly home.) This is especially true if you want a bassinet and bulkhead seat for coming home from China, but it is also true for any round trip flight that you cannot afford to miss.

I called Korean Air from Guangzhou, and found that my daughter's lap ticket reservation and my bassinet request were not in the computer. They somehow got deleted.

It was not a problem. The airline quickly checked and realized that I had, indeed, made the booking. The personnel promised that there would be a bassinet waiting for my daughter.

And they kept their promise. When I got to the Hong Kong airport, everything went very smoothly. Unfortunately, some people who did NOT reconfirm did NOT get bassinets they had ordered.

Sharon

Thank you - yes, and we will be flying home from Hong Kong as our final flight to the U.S., and my brother will also help make sure all is fine from there (he flies quite frequently, and he knows people to call to make things happen if needed).