Survived: The MileCub’s first flight!

Earlier this month, The MileLion’s new CEO completed a fact-finding mission to Bali, where the fact found was that the MileLioness and I can indeed survive international travel with an infant- provided it’s a short-haul flight within the same time zone, with extensive parental and domestic support, on an itinerary that doesn’t involve anything more than lazing around a villa. 

Well, you gotta start somewhere, right?

Truth be told, the MileCub’s first overseas trip was a lot less painful than I feared. She had her first swim, tried fancy Indonesian avocados, got to stay up past her bedtime, and was extensively fussed over by everyone in close proximity. I’d say she had a good time!

I’m writing a separate post on the process of booking an infant ticket, but for now I wanted to share some thoughts on the trip itself. I’m sure seasoned parents will find nothing surprising here, but keep in mind this is all uncharted territory for me…

Packing is like going to war

Infants get their own checked baggage allowance of up to 10kg (or 23-32kg if flying to Canada and the USA), and trust me, that isn’t nearly enough. You’ll probably end up using some of your own baggage allowance, because babies don’t travel light.

The MileCub’s packing list read like Taylor Swift’s ex-lovers. 

It’s probably just first trip paranoia, but pretty much every discussion with the MileLioness went something like: do you think we need this?/ better bring just in case. And all this for four nights!

Thankfully, the Terminal 2 porters at the First Class reception didn’t bat an eyelid when we pulled up with enough luggage to emigrate (to be fair, there were six adults in the MileCub’s retinue).

Check-in was quick, and I saw an infant boarding pass for the first time. It’s just like a regular boarding pass, except instead of a seat number you have INF printed. Incidentally, the lack of a seat number also means that infants don’t get their own Wi-Fi allowance. No screen time for them!

The luggage situation would have been even worse had we decided to bring a stroller and car seat. We decided against the former because it wouldn’t be of much use in Bali; a baby carrier would be a more sensible option. As for the latter, the villa driver said he had one, only to show up with a front-facing car seat.

So en route to the villa we had a frantic discussion about how to source a rear-facing one, and whether by placing an underaged infant into a forward-facing car seat we were in fact the worst parents in the universe. Just then, a helmetless European lady zoomed past on a scooter carrying her untethered toddler in her lap.

It’s all about perspective.

No automated clearance

Because the physical and biometric features of children below six are still developing, their passport doesn’t embed any biometric data in its chip. Consequently, you can’t use the automated clearance lanes, which may be for the best anyway- good luck trying to get the baby to hold still for the camera.

So for the first time in decades, I used the manual counters at Changi. There was no wait, since there’s a priority lane for families.

Lounge access is a lifesaver

Our flight to Bali was departing from Changi Terminal 2, and even though I’d normally head to the much-superior Terminal 3 lounge, I figured that with a baby in tow it’d be wise to minimise our movement.

Lounge access has always been a nice-to-have thing, but with a baby it becomes practically essential. It brings together most of the things you might need: hot water for milk, bowls for baby food, high chairs for feeding, easily-accessible changing rooms, and wine for dad. 

We ended up spending all the pre-boarding time here feeding the MileCub. The lounge staff were excellent, bringing us a high chair automatically and finding a pillow to help her fit more snugly. 

First to board

I’ve often written about the challenge of getting “clean” cabin shots with no other passengers in them, which typically involves being that guy who hovers around the gate well in advance of boarding calls, brisk walking down the jet bridge at a speed just shy of arousing suspicion, and getting weird stares from the flight crew when you snap everything like it’s your first time on an airplane. 

So in that respect, a baby is the best hack ever because you always board first, period. I had a five-minute window where we were the only ones on the plane, which allowed me to document the proceedings at a leisurely pace.

Onboard baby amenities

Upon boarding, each baby receives a welcome gift. On my flight, it was a Disney 100 soft rustling book with a delightfully authoritarian illustration of a red mao mouse and an Orwellian “he always makes you happy” slogan.

The MileCub displayed her disdain for such corpoganda by bashing it against the armrest and spitting up all over it. I was so proud. 

In addition to this, every flight is loaded with diapers and wet wipes, though not the gentle sort. These are antiseptic wipes which may not be suitable for your baby’s skin. 

Milk powder and baby snacks are not loaded, so you’ll need to bring your own. I thought a baby would be a guaranteed way to get some more SIA teddy bears, but was told they aren’t loaded on short-haul flights!

The bassinet is awesome, but…

The MileCub fell asleep during take-off, and once the plane reached cruising altitude we transferred her to the bassinet. It takes less than a minute to install, and the crew do all the work, including draping it with blankets. No baby pillows are provided, and the regular pillow is a bit too big to fit, so bring your own or roll up a spare blanket for padding. The bassinet has a “seat belt” of its own (more like an overhanging flap) that you need to fasten whenever the baby is inside. This protects them from being flung into the air in the event of severe turbulence. 

The bassinet’s open design means that your baby will still be exposed to the light and sound of the cabin, but I have seen products like Cozigo which fit over the bassinet for better isolation. It’s probably overkill for a short flight, but it could be useful on a long-haul journey. 

The biggest issue was the seat belt sign. As an adult, it’s a mild inconvenience. As a parent, you pray it won’t come on, because that means you have to lift the baby out and hold them in arms. And if your baby is a light sleeper, it’s hard to get them back to sleep again. 

That was our experience. No sooner had The MileCub settled down for a nap in the bassinet that the plane encountered some mild turbulence and the seat belt sign came on. Even though we lifted her out as gingerly as we could, she still woke up and started offering her opinion on what was going on.

Five minutes later the seat belt sign went off, and though we put her back inside immediately, she refused to go back to sleep for the rest of the flight. Great.

If only we could build stronger, turbulence-approved bassinets. I mean, the baby enjoys some light rocking anyway, right?

Baby food

After waking up, it was time for food. 

One thing that surprised me (and not just me apparently) is that infant meals aren’t automatically catered- you’ll need to pre-order it at least 24 hours before departure. Fortunately, the customer service agent prompted me when adding an infant ticket to my award booking.

There’s two types of meals you can choose from.

I went with the BBML, which consisted of three jars of Heinz baby food:

• a starter of parsnip carrot and sweet potato
• a main of pumpkin and potato with beef
• a pear and banana dessert

From what I understand, it’s the same three jars regardless of which cabin you fly. No HiPP organic or Gerber for Suites! Jars are served cold, but the crew can warm it up if you prefer. 

Since The MileCub had already began to take solids, the CHMLI might have been more interesting for her, though apparently the items are seasoned so you might need to exercise some caution. Here’s some photos, courtesy of The MileLion Community:

It doesn’t look particularly appetising to me, but then again I’m not the target audience. You’re also at liberty to bring your own food onboard if you wish; this isn’t subject to the usual restrictions on liquids, aerosols and gels.

Milk is still the MileCub’s primary nutrition, so the baby food was more like an additional treat. I believe she rated the meal a solid 3/5, though she kept making a face at me like she was waiting for the lobster puree and caviar rusks to come. 

I certainly hope the Yummy! menu makes a return by the time she’s two…

Performance envelope

I had a ton of concerns heading into this flight. I was worried that the new environment would be too much for the MileCub, that the pressure difference, the dry cabin air, the unfamiliar sounds and the inability to nap were a guaranteed recipe for a meltdown.

I was worried she’d have the mother of all poops in the bassinet, or refuse to drink her milk, or launch into a diatribe about how Singapore Airlines standards have gone downhill and the airline is a shadow of its former self and the ME3 are going to eat it alive. 

Thankfully, none of those concerns materialised. In fact, the MileCub seemed to thoroughly enjoy her flight. After her brief power nap and feed, all she wanted to do was explore. She flipped on her tummy, poked the screens above the bassinet, started a cooing contest with the baby seated across the aisle (which she comprehensively won), and strengthened her immunity by chewing the bassinet sides. 

So all in all, this was a stellar performance from her. I still have reservations about bringing her on a longer flight, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Conclusion

The MileCub’s first flight was by all measures a resounding success. No meltdowns, no poonamis, no drama- what more could you ask for?

The next challenge will be bringing her on a trip where we spend substantial amounts of time out and about. I’ve discovered that I have a bad case of “range anxiety” when it comes to the MileCub, because I know that as soon as I remove her from her charging station (crib), a timer starts counting down to the time she needs a nap again. And unlike a car, the MileCub doesn’t have a clear readout of how much battery life she has left- you need to watch for cues like yawning and eye rubbing. Miss them and she’ll get overtired, and that makes for a very miserable afternoon for everyone concerned.

That naturally limits how far from the villa/hotel I’m willing to stray, though I suppose we could manage that with naps in a car seat or baby carrier. Anyway, that’s another problem for another time. All I know is that Singapore Airlines has its newest frequent traveller, and it’s a shame the Young Explorer Club is kaput!