Guest guest Posted January 9, 2006 Report Posted January 9, 2006 I hate to fly and swore I never would again but my uncle will be celebrating his 90th bday in April-the last time we saw him was at his 80th! Every time we speak he asks us when are we coming to visit(Florida). Bob and I decided to make the trip. I've been looking up flights/costs etc. Should I wait until it gets closer to the date or book now, or doesn't it matter? I've never had to do this on my own before. Di Quote
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2006 Report Posted January 9, 2006 Di- ask for the bulkhead seating area - lots more room. When we flew from Vegas to Chicago - we were lucky to get those seats. Some old Italian lady was mad at her son because " you fly all the time, why didn't you get us those seats? " ...lol.......it's definitely not first class but better if you need the leg room (or in our case, kicked, hit and threw beanies towards the seat in front of him)! Re: OT-booking flights > > southwest has flights from Philly to Tampa. Get on their email list for > " CLick N Save " updates > (http://www.southwest.com/hotfares/) > _http://www.southwest.com/email/emailSubscribe.html_ > (http://www.southwest.com/email/emailSubscribe.html) > Each week they feature a discounted destination city. If either Tampa or > Phila shows up you can get a great rate if you book ASAP. > > - Becky > > In a message dated 1/9/2006 8:35:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, > drf218@... writes: > > the party is 4/15 I'm off the whole week so we were thinking of going > about > the 11th or 12th. We are flying out of PHL to Tampa > > Thanks > Di > > > > > > > Quote
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Posted January 10, 2006 How old is he? Does he have problems with new environments, claustrophobia? has had problems in the past with new environments, but is an old hand at flying. I'll give you a rundown of the things we have done (successfully!) to make it work. - Becky In a message dated 1/10/2006 8:51:34 AM Eastern Standard Time, drf218@... writes: Thanks, I will. This will be Nic's first flight....I'm nervous about how he'll react. Di Quote
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Posted January 10, 2006 Thanks, I will. This will be Nic's first flight....I'm nervous about how he'll react. Di Re: OT-booking flights > > >> >> southwest has flights from Philly to Tampa. Get on their email list for >> " CLick N Save " updates >> (http://www.southwest.com/hotfares/) >> _http://www.southwest.com/email/emailSubscribe.html_ >> (http://www.southwest.com/email/emailSubscribe.html) >> Each week they feature a discounted destination city. If either Tampa or >> Phila shows up you can get a great rate if you book ASAP. >> >> - Becky >> >> In a message dated 1/9/2006 8:35:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, >> drf218@... writes: >> >> the party is 4/15 I'm off the whole week so we were thinking of going >> about >> the 11th or 12th. We are flying out of PHL to Tampa >> >> Thanks >> Di >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Quote
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Posted January 10, 2006 He'll be 9 in March. I'm worried about him getting restless and wanting to bother people. He's ADHD too (but will be medicated) so sitting is a problem. The non-stop flight is 2 1/2 hours. Di Re: OT-booking flights > > How old is he? > Does he have problems with new environments, claustrophobia? > > has had problems in the past with new environments, but is an old > hand at flying. > I'll give you a rundown of the things we have done (successfully!) to make > it work. > > - Becky > > In a message dated 1/10/2006 8:51:34 AM Eastern Standard Time, > drf218@... writes: > > Thanks, I will. This will be Nic's first flight....I'm nervous about how > he'll react. > > Di > > > > > > > Quote
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Posted January 10, 2006 (11) loves to fly. Bring his favorite snack and a portable DVD with headphones. He'll think he has died and gone to heaven! in Dallas Re: OT-booking flights > > > > > > How old is he? > > Does he have problems with new environments, claustrophobia? > > > > has had problems in the past with new environments, but is an old > > hand at flying. > > I'll give you a rundown of the things we have done (successfully!) to make > > it work. > > > > - Becky > > > > In a message dated 1/10/2006 8:51:34 AM Eastern Standard Time, > > drf218@... writes: > > > > Thanks, I will. This will be Nic's first flight....I'm nervous about how > > he'll react. > > > > Di > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Posted January 10, 2006 Di, We went to Florida this past summer and the flight was over 4 hours. It was 's first time flying. He is 8yrs old. I brought a backpack and filled ziplock bags with snacks. Had paper, pencils, water bottles, quiet game, etc. (magnadoodle). basically made friends with everyone on the plane within 2 rows of him and actually did surprisingly well. We talked ahead of time about what would be happening. (We will go on the airplane...we will wait in our seats...when we start to go, you can have a snack. You can color, play, yada yada...) It was really funny, because we weren't sure how much he had listened to us. But when we got onto the play and sat down, he started opening his back pack and said, " snack now " . heehee. I am sure Nic will do great. Kym...mom to (8ds) and 4 others. Quote
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Posted January 10, 2006 Di, Trent's first flight was when he was around 10 years of age (may have been younger can't remember), we went to Queensland and return in one day. 2 hour flight there, 2 hours in Brisbane then 2 hour flight home. He loved every minute of his day. The only 'special' thing I did was let him have the window seat. In those days, kids were given colouring book and pencils from the airline, along with morning/afternoon tea and a meal if a lunch/dinner flight. (Still do, unless the cheaper subsidiary of Qantas). Unless Nic, doesn't normally enjoy travel, I wouldn't worry, feel he will really love the experience. Trent loves flying and nags all the time about going on a plane, if he could have it his way he would fly overseas on a weekly basis! Keep smiling Jan, Mother of Trent 21yo w/DS from the LandDownUnder Re: OT-booking flights Di, We went to Florida this past summer and the flight was over 4 hours. It was 's first time flying. He is 8yrs old. I brought a backpack and filled ziplock bags with snacks. Had paper, pencils, water bottles, quiet game, etc. (magnadoodle). basically made friends with everyone on the plane within 2 rows of him and actually did surprisingly well. We talked ahead of time about what would be happening. (We will go on the airplane...we will wait in our seats...when we start to go, you can have a snack. You can color, play, yada yada...) It was really funny, because we weren't sure how much he had listened to us. But when we got onto the play and sat down, he started opening his back pack and said, " snack now " . heehee. I am sure Nic will do great. Kym...mom to (8ds) and 4 others. Click reply to all for messages to go to the list. Just hit reply for messages to go to the sender of the message. Quote
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Posted January 10, 2006 DItto on this kind of stuff... The most difficult flights I took w/kinds did not involve either my child w/ADD or my child w/ DS... it was flights across the US (6+ hrs) with my oldest when she was 14 - 18 months old. REALLY tough age because they need to get up and run! I must have driven everyone around me bonkers by reading the same story over and over about 30 times (!) So here's what I suggest for your 8 year old ... 1. Talk through what will happen several days in advance. Talk about when this will happen ( " 3 days from now we will go on an an airplane to see Grandpa " , " 2 days from now we will go on an an airplane to see Grandpa " , etc) 2.If he has claustophobia issues, or issues with crowds, ask to get on board first. (Tell the attendant at the gate that you need " special boarding " when they call for boarding those passengers with young children). Getting on and settled before the plane fills up will help. If he doesn't have claustrophobia issues, but has issues staying still for long periods of times, get on LAST. Use the last 20 minutes before loading to walk up and down the terminal as much as possible to use up excess energy! 3. Have him carry a backpack with snacks, drinks, activities, books. Pack this ahead with him. 4. Carry a couple of surprises of your own to pull out if necessary. 5. Make it an adventure! - Becky In a message dated 1/10/2006 10:29:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, mymacfamily@... writes: Di, We went to Florida this past summer and the flight was over 4 hours. It was 's first time flying. He is 8yrs old. I brought a backpack and filled ziplock bags with snacks. Had paper, pencils, water bottles, quiet game, etc. (magnadoodle). basically made friends with everyone on the plane within 2 rows of him and actually did surprisingly well. We talked ahead of time about what would be happening. (We will go on the airplane...we will wait in our seats...when we start to go, you can have a snack. You can color, play, yada yada...) It was really funny, because we weren't sure how much he had listened to us. But when we got onto the play and sat down, he started opening his back pack and said, " snack now " . heehee. I am sure Nic will do great. Kym...mom to (8ds) and 4 others. Quote
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Posted January 11, 2006 Hi Di - I'm , mom to Jimmy (as well as two lovely daughters) - Jim has DS, autism and ADHD. When he was 10, I took him to Hawaii from Upstate NY, and he did GREAT! I managed to get my hands on a laptop computer (we had 2 pretty long layovers), and we brought his favorite games and earphones. The laptop my dh has now also plays DVDs, so that would also be helpful. I'm not sure that books and coloring books would've " held " him for the entire trip, but the electronics sure did! He had a fantastic vacation and loves going on plane trips. One thing that did happen, though, which I thought I'd pass along is this ... even though Jimbo was toilet trained, and had been for about 4 years prior to the trip, due to the excitement or maybe an excess of apple juice, he " forgot himself " and had a very messy accident on one of the layovers. In any event, I was totally unprepared - had no extra clothing or anything. I begged a diaper from the mom of the BIGGEST baby I could see in the terminal and just threw away his undies. It all worked out okay, but I would definitely suggest bringing a change of clothing in your carryon bag! Quote
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2006 Report Posted January 11, 2006 Gotta get into this. had his first flight when he was about 20. He spent a good part of his teen years having surgery and PT and stuff, and was still in a wheelchair. Still is. So it does get more complicated. Anyway, we had to be at the airport early so we got everything ready the night before. I had some old beat up shoes that I wore around here and specially outside and I put the better ones by the door to change as I went out. Well, you can guess. We were settled on the plane when I looked down and uh-oh. The old shoes. said, " Too late now! " . He was so right. That became our mantra for quite some time. He is very afraid of heights and was a bit concerned before hand but was fine as I knew he would be. The only thing was that we had to circle the airport before landing and it was tilted so he was on the down side, next to the window of course. Momentarily it scared him but then he was OK. And, lncidentally, I was kind of glad I had the old shoes as we visited relatives and they had a lot of rain. I just bought some new ones. Jessie Quote
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2006 Report Posted January 12, 2006 LOL that really scares me too! I HATE take-offs and banking!!! Di > The only thing was that we had to circle the > airport before landing and it was tilted so he was on the down side, next > to the > window of course. Momentarily it scared him but then he was OK. Quote
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2006 Report Posted January 12, 2006 In a message dated 1/13/06 12:20:48 AM Central Standard Time, janmarie21@... writes: > That reminded me of the time, we flew to Sydney with my sister-in-law - her > first flight which she wasn't enjoying. Preparing to land and the plane > tilts, so Sharon leans heavily the opposite way to 'steady' the plane! We > have never let her live that one down. > I'll bet she isn't the first one who has done that. She just got caught and will never live it down. LOL Jessie Quote
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2006 Report Posted January 12, 2006 > The only thing was that we had to circle the airport before > landing and it was tilted so he was on the down side, next to the > window of course. Momentarily it scared him but then he was OK. That reminded me of the time, we flew to Sydney with my sister-in-law - her first flight which she wasn't enjoying. Preparing to land and the plane tilts, so Sharon leans heavily the opposite way to 'steady' the plane! We have never let her live that one down. Di, have you talked to Nic in regards to flying - because of your fear you may be worrying more than necessary. I have that problem with who is scared of flying/travelling/heights you name it - he is always throwing up objections as to why Trent and I shouldn't do something or other - I have got to the stage where I don't listen to him and we do our own thing. Keep smiling Jan, Mother of Trent 21yo w/DS from the LandDownUnder Click reply to all for messages to go to the list. Just hit reply for messages to go to the sender of the message. Quote
Guest guest Posted January 13, 2006 Report Posted January 13, 2006 no but I got a tip from another listmate who suggested getting some Library books on flying...I'll start there. Di RE: Re: OT-booking flights > > >> The only thing was that we had to circle the airport before >> landing and it was tilted so he was on the down side, next to the >> window of course. Momentarily it scared him but then he was OK. > > That reminded me of the time, we flew to Sydney with my sister-in-law - > her > first flight which she wasn't enjoying. Preparing to land and the plane > tilts, so Sharon leans heavily the opposite way to 'steady' the plane! We > have never let her live that one down. > > Di, have you talked to Nic in regards to flying - because of your fear > you > may be worrying more than necessary. I have that problem with who > is scared of flying/travelling/heights you name it - he is always > throwing > up objections as to why Trent and I shouldn't do something or other - I > have got to the stage where I don't listen to him and we do our own thing. > > Keep smiling > > Jan, > Mother of Trent 21yo w/DS from the LandDownUnder > > > > > > Click reply to all for messages to go to the list. Just hit reply for > messages to go to the sender of the message. > Quote
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