Flying with kids sucks. I’ve said so many times before. Since we have family out of state we end up flying with the kids often and I’ve made the trip as a solo parent a few times as well. I don’t enjoy being the person who brings kids on a plane. But I definitely have it worse than the people who are annoyed that I’m bringing kids on their plane.
So how did I handle it this time? It was a rough go, I won’t lie. While Graham is old enough to sit still, now Tessa is a squirmy worm who must be kept busy. I knew it would be hard. I packed a whole carry on full of snacks and swiped Eric’s work iPad for the week. I figured between our supplies and the JetBlue tv screens we could at least survive.
But this trip was full of obstacles. When you’ve already got more than you can handle, obstacles can mess everything up.
I got up for our flight to Texas at 4 a.m. I figured I’d get the kids up at 5 and we’d get out the door at 5:30. It didn’t work out so well. The kids were up at 4:30. We got out the door late. I left the house a total disaster.
We got to the airport late. And then the parking lot was full. Nowhere to park meant we had to go curbside. Which meant I didn’t have my husband to walk us in. So there I was: two roller bags, one carry on without a shoulder strap because I have no clue where it is, a camera bag, a purse, a baby in a stroller and a 3-year-old.
I got all the bags, but that left the kiddos. We stood there in the lobby. Actually, not even the lobby. We stood in between the two sets of doors that go outside.
So there I was, asking my autistic 3-year-old if he could push his sister’s stroller. He’s never done it before. I’m sure he could, but he was terrified. A meltdown was blooming. People walked by us and I just kept hoping someone would stop and help but no one did. Graham was getting more upset. Now not only would I need to move the stroller and all the bags, he was going to need me to hold his hand through the terminal. It was getting worse by the minute.
And then, finally, the first of many saviors. I doubt the TSA guy who came to our aid just felt like wandering so I think someone must have told him about us. But he came, he got our bags and he walked with us over to the check-in line at JetBlue. He was kind and gracious and I wish I remember his name (I made a note of it at the time but I’d forgotten by the end of the day) so I could tell him thank you yet again.
But our troubles weren’t over. While we were in line and ready to go with our bags, we were still late. As we hit the check in we had exactly 30 minutes before flight, which is the cut off time for check in. I was freaked about losing our seats, missing our flight or landing without our bags.
Savior #2: the JetBlue check in agent. She not only got us on the plane, she grabbed our carry-ons and walked us right past the security line. And it’s a good thing she did, running on low sleep and trying to manage a freaked out kid, I was not on my game. Two of my bags had to get checked and re-scanned because I was an idiot.
After we got everything back together, we booked it to our gate. Cue savior #3: the gate crew, who got our stroller gate-checked, hurried us to the front of the line and got us on the plane ASAP despite the crowd pushing to get boarded.
Phew.
Oh, but that wasn’t the end. Because that was just the airport. Then came the flight. The plane to Austin used to be just two seats per row, now it’s 3. Which meant some poor soul would be stuck sitting next to us on our full flight. Oh, and did I mention that those TV’s in our row (that are one of the main reasons you take your kids on JetBlue to keep them entertained) broke about 5 minutes into the flight?
Enter savior #4: the saintly woman who sat on the aisle. Her husband and two kids were on the opposite side of the row. She told me how her kids were, an older boy and younger girl, were the same space apart as mine. She held Tessa when I had to take care of Graham or run him to the bathroom. She and her daughter not only got our bags off the plane but carried them all the way to security where we met my mom.
After our flight out I felt like the whole world was a wonderful place full of wonderful people. I felt good about my choice to fly JetBlue.
But we still had a flight home.
On the way back, my Mom was able to walk us in and got a pass to go with us to the gate. So our time going in went super smooth. We had great ticketing agents who made it really easy and moved us to a row with an empty 3rd seat.
Then we got to the gate. I went to find an agent but no one was there. I saw a group in Priority boarding including a wheelchair and a service dog and saw an agent talk to them but then he was gone again.
I took Graham to the bathroom and when we got back, the Priority group was boarding. We walked up to go on with them but the agent was already gone again. When he came back he insisted there was no boarding. I told him I needed special boarding and had an autistic child. He insisted no boarding and I said I’d just seen a group go on. He said something about “required by law” and instead of listening to me, he got on the intercom and announced that it was time for people in the more-room seats to board and that I’d have to wait.
Finally he got tired of me hassling him and let us go on with the more-room seating group (a passenger said, “Come on, just let her go,” while we were waiting). But no help that time. Mom handed me the baby, I got the bags, I folded the stroller and I urged Graham to go down the jetway. Luckily he wasn’t in freakout mode and walked with me without needing his hand held. I got the stroller dropped off, got Graham across the “big step” on to the plane, got all the way back to our row and finally had our seats.
I wasn’t thrilled. Our boarding had taken longer than it needed to since the front and middle rows were already full of people and it was tough keeping Graham with me with all the people in and out of the aisles trying to get their bags up.
At least, I thought to myself, the TV’s work. Then the stewardess came over and said that since another row’s TVs weren’t working, that someone may come to take our extra seat. And instead of apologizing about it, she got kind of pushy. I’ve never had airplane employees ever be anything but nice and helpful when I have the kids, so I was not super thrilled.
Luckily the people with no TVs weren’t absolutely insane and would rather deal with the blank screen than with my children. So, happily, things settled down. After some initial squawks and general crankiness, Tessa fell asleep about 90 minutes into the flight and Graham followed an hour later.
When I landed I got a text from my Mom that she’d complained to the ticketing agent and they’d be sending us a credit. I was glad to hear it, it helps me know that JetBlue does value customer service and my experience. They told her to have me go online and submit my concerns and I’ll be linking this post when I do.
I have to say that I hope someday I can be the person who helps a parent with small children through an airport. I’d love to hear your experiences of helping or being helped.
And if you’re a blogger who has similar tales of woe or just avoids travel all together because it’s too much of a hassle, I want you! I’m starting a network called FAMILIES WITH BAGGAGE where we write about travel for high-maintenance families. Special needs, food restrictions/allergies, single parents, multiples, teenagers, grandparents, etc. We will link up posts and we’ll also be looking for campaigns together. If you’re interested, please apply!
