Our First Flight

So now it’s time for us to take our first trip to Copenhagen as a family.  As Will is already working, I have to travel alone with the two children.  I’ve never flown with the kids on my own, so I’m a little apprehensive.  It’s only a 2 hour flight, however, so it shouldn’t be too difficult, I say slightly tongue in cheek!  Our eldest will be seven in December and she’s never caused a problem when travelling, however, we now have a son who’s almost two, and he’s a different story!  I’ve always said that if you need an area checked for baby-proofing, Cormac should be sent in.  He will find any hint of danger within five minutes of entering a room :)  He also has a terrible temper, so it doesn’t bode well for a peaceful flight.  We flew with SAS, and the experience couldn’t have been more pleasant. 

I stayed landside in the airport as long as possible in order to keep the kids occupied.  We had some brunch in Alcock & Brown.  The coffee was fantastic and the staff ultra-friendly.  There were plenty of planes around to keep the two year old amused, so we could enjoy our food in peace for almost an hour.  When it was time to board, we went through the Special Assistance Lane and got through Security in less than fifteen minutes.  Again, staff in DAA were very helpful and it was a very stress-free experience.  We arrived at the plane just in time to board and brought the buggy right to the steps of the plane. 

Once on board, we found our seats quickly and I stowed our bags and coats.  I had prepared thoroughly for the flight with plenty of snacks that I could break open as soon as things started to get difficult.  The Air Stewards were really friendly and provided colouring packs for the kids to use.  I also had games and books to keep them entertained.

I tried to keep things relatively healthy - I bought popcorn kernels, which I cooked the evening before with some rapeseed oil and left without salt – precooked popcorn is extremely salty.  We had oat biscuits with dark chocolate chips, which went down a treat, as well as chocolate and coconut rice cakes, yoghurt covered rice cakes, and raisin, apple and cinnamon bread with poppy seeds.  We also brought bananas and apples and scotch crumpets.  Finally, in case of an emergency, I brought a bag with some jellies, mints and marshmallows. 

The children were both really well behaved, singing, playing and colouring their way through the flight.  We ate some snacks and suddenly we had landed.  The kids didn’t even know there were sweets in the bag!!

The queue through security was quite long and we hadn’t got the buggy for the wee one, so I had to hold onto him while he struggled to get down and we were quite hot and bothered by the time they opened a seconded checkpoint and we got through.  However, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment, I had successfully brought the two children on a flight alone!  My husband met us at arrivals and we got the Metro from the airport straight to Christianshavn where the apartment is.

 

On our trip home to Dublin, again we had no difficulty getting through security in Copenhagen, staff were friendly.  The two children were extremely well behaved once again and on board the flight, staff helped us to our seats and provided activity packs again.  We moved around the flight a little when we could and as the flight was relatively empty, we could sit in other seats for a change of scenery.  Changing nappies also provides a break for ten minutes!  On arrival at Dublin Airport my two-year old was so taken by the service that he kissed the Air Stewardess!  Passport Control in Dublin Airport was pretty empty and we were through very quickly.  I would highly recommend SAS as a child-friendly airline.