HKG-USA With a Toddler - Flight Timing & Tips

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NoName

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Hi all,
I’m going to be travelling with a 26 month old child from HKG to west coast USA (most likely LAX) and am looking for any suggestions on which departure time would be best from a toddler sleep/timezone adjustment point of view. Suggestions for what point of the flight to get him to sleep and what time after arrival to sleep would also be welcomed. I realise that all children are likely to be different so YMMV will come into it but all the same, any tips would be great. Do sleep drugs help with jetlag recovery for children or have no effect on this at all?

Travel will be on CX in J. Departure/arrival time options at the time of year of travel are:
10:15/06:50
13:05/09:40
23:55/20:35
14:10/10:15 into SFO
01:00/21:05 into SFO

Any tips for the return trip timing would be great too.

Not interested in any comments that children shouldn’t be in the J cabin but happy for anyone who has this opinion to message me and I’ll provide the flight details once booked so you can avoid them.

Thanks
 
You are travelling East so none are ideal.

I would probably be thinking the 1305/1410 flight, and try and ensure they are somewhat tired from the night before and will sleep on this flight (and/or use drugs if you want to)

Then you land in the morning.
Check into hotel, go out and see some sites etc, and hopefully some adrenalin kicks in.

Then a normalish (hopefully) sleep that night in the right timezone.


Generally find for anyone (children or adults) that landing in the morning and forcing yourself to adjust during daylight hours is the easiest way.
 
Why.... why do parents make me do the math? Just say the kid is 2yrs old.

And personally Im pro/not bothered by kids in J so hope you have a good flight. I would take little ones lead and let him play or sleep when he/she needs it. Once you have landed, outside in fresh air and sunlight and get into the timezone.

Im not a fan of drugging kids in general, especially on flights. Too far away from everything in case he/she reacts badly to it. I have friends that might give cough mixture to make them drowsy but not my kid, not my choice.
 
Last edited:
Hi all,
I’m going to be travelling with a 26 month old child from HKG to west coast USA (most likely LAX) and am looking for any suggestions on which departure time would be best from a toddler sleep/timezone adjustment point of view. Suggestions for what point of the flight to get him to sleep and what time after arrival to sleep would also be welcomed. I realise that all children are likely to be different so YMMV will come into it but all the same, any tips would be great. Do sleep drugs help with jetlag recovery for children or have no effect on this at all?

Travel will be on CX in J. Departure/arrival time options at the time of year of travel are:
10:15/06:50
13:05/09:40
23:55/20:35
14:10/10:15 into SFO
01:00/21:05 into SFO

Any tips for the return trip timing would be great too.

Not interested in any comments that children shouldn’t be in the J cabin but happy for anyone who has this opinion to message me and I’ll provide the flight details once booked so you can avoid them.

Thanks

Another AFF member wrote a trip report about their trip PER/HKG/LAX on CX in J with a baby and a toddler so they may be able to suggest the best choice of seats in J for your needs.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ip-photos/perth-vegas-4-adults-2-a-63797.html

I know some people have said they've kept their child up (no afternoon nap) in the hope they'd sleep well on an evening flight but apparently that was a disaster as the child was overtired and cranky.

An early pm flight ex HKG would mean you'd have use of your hotel room until checkout then head to the airport where you can have lunch in the lounge prior to your departure. Flying eastbound from HKG (like Australia) it will be daylight for 2-3 hours prior to sunset so when the cabin gets dark it's easier to persuade the little one that it's bedtime.

A pm departure from HKG means an am arrival in to West Coast USA so you wouldn't be able to check in to your hotel until 1500 ish unless they were able to provide you with an early checkin.

The reverse would apply if you left HKG at night ie you'd need a late checkout but on the plus side you'd arrive in the US mid-evening so would get immediate checkin at the hotel so you can go straight to bed on arrival.

Try not to overthink it but I'd do what's best for your schedule as I'm sure your child will adapt either way.
 
I think the 10:15 ....... allows for the lunch to be served and afterward the cabin normally quietens down
 
I've just done these flights with a 1 year old and almost 3yo....

We did the midnight from Perth Into Hong Kong and freshened up at The Wing lounge then did the 10:15am from Hong Kong to LAX.

On the return we did the 22:30 flight from LAX to HKG and then the 3pm back to Perth.

The 22:30 flight home was great as both girls slept for around 10 hours from take off then again for an hour or so before landing.

On the flight over, we kept them awake for 6 hours then they slept the rest on the way.

We actually landed around 7am and headed straight for Disneyland that day!
 
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Also all in J.

There were 4 adults, 3 yo and infant so we had seats 15a, 16a, 17a, and 16d, 17d :)
 
Thanks for the tips all. Particularly Mumfreqflyer. Your review was brilliant and somewhat relieving some of the worry of travelling that far with a toddler. While we might give Disneyland a miss on the first day, we’ll definitely get out and about.

I was leaning towards the 13:05 or 14:10departure and glad to hear that people seem to think the same. We will be flying from SIN-HKG that morning so I would think he would be a little tired from that. Hoping a few hours entertainment on the HKG-LAX/SFO leg will have him ready for sleep.

Any suggestions on what seats to choose in the CX J cabin for 2 adults & child? A window & 2 in the centre of the same row or 3 windows in consecutive rows?
 
15a, 16d, 16a is where we sat but I think I would choose the mini cabin if I flew again and would have 2 window seats and 1 middle seat.
 
phenergan is your friend :)

Just make sure you test it before flight, can have the opposite effect on some children.

(i say this having recently traveled with a 15 month infant BNE-AKL-NAN-LAX in a single day - all was sweet, just use your brain when to administer given timezones upon arrival).

We traveled quite a bit internally to the US as well (JFK, DFW, BOS, ORD), zero dramas & TSA were great.

Enjoy your trip.
 
Each to their own but Phenergan shouldn't be given to any child under 2.....

Miss almost 3 has done over 30 flights and never had to give her any....be prepared, know when they need to sleep and in cx J there is so much more room to spread out you will be fine!

Must admit though, travelling to Bali each Xmas in economy is only 3 hours but does my head in as she can't 'spread' out like she is used to and hates that she is restricted.

The kids channel on the IFE is great on CX....my daughter never got bored of watching Aerial for the 20th time :/
 
I would take the mid-morning or early afternoon flights. Start offering food when taxiing and once you're at cruising altitude, start thinking in USA-time for sleeping and eating. Plenty of walks up and down the aisle and chats in the galley.

We took our 18 m.o. son and 4 year old in 2011 to HKG and Europe (BNE/SYD/HKG/LHR/HKG/MEL/BNE) all in J (well, F for mother and daughter on return); there were no issues sleeping. Admitedly, my son slept in my seat with me (he had a better sleep than me), so you are fortunate to have individual seats; but had no issues on either CX HKG/LHR or QF LHR/HKG). Agree, the inflight entertainment channels had him happy (along with the kids pack drawing).

Upon arrival, try to manage their sleep as best you can, it took our kids 4-5 days to get back into arrival city timezone.
 
Each to their own but Phenergan shouldn't be given to any child under 2.....

Without a doctors authorisation, which we obtained (from the children's hospital in fact :))...very low dosage, just to help sleep come on.

But as you have indicated, each to their own.
 
All good :)

I just see too many people saying give phernergan without saying but speak to your dr first or make sure over 2...

Some people might not be aware of the risks....lots of water in between hkg - lax if something was to ever happen :)
 
Yes, it can have the opposite effect on some people. Those people are tortured by it's effects of not being able to sit still or stop moving. I took it once and had a minor car accident.
All good :)

I just see too many people saying give phernergan without saying but speak to your dr first or make sure over 2...

Some people might not be aware of the risks....lots of water in between hkg - lax if something was to ever happen :)
 
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