Whether you are frequent or first time fliers, I highly recommend starting a “passport” for your kids. A “passport” is a logbook so you can record each flight. I received a pre-printed one on one of my flights, but it would be easy to make your own. Just staple some papers together, draw some dividing lines for recording each flight, and you have a “passport”! Let the kids decorate theirs with airplane stickers.
I regret not recording each of Ella’s flights. I never realized just how much I would be traveling with her, and it really would be fun to say exactly how many miles she has traveled. Of course we know her credited miles since we join every airline’s mileage program, but since I work for an airline we also have logged many standby flights, whose miles are not recorded. Now that I have the “passport”, which stays in our travel bag so I always have it, I remember to log every flight Ella takes.
Another benefit to having a logbook is that it gives a great opportunity for your child to meet the pilots on each flight. It’s exciting for the kids to pop into the cockpit before a flight to ask the Captain and First Officer for their signature. Our logbook has columns for Date, Flight #, Aircraft Type and Tail #, City Pair, Nautical Miles(pilots fill in), Pilot’s signatures, and Comments. The pilots who have kids themselves know how to impress a kid and will turn on all the lights in the cockpit and maybe even make the airplane “talk”. (“Pull Up! Pull Up! Terrain, Terrain! Wind Shear”… I don’t want to hear these in-flight, but it’s fun for the kids to hear on the ground.)
If you want to visit the cockpit, remember that they are in lock-down mode in flight and you cannot visit then. The best time is before a flight, during boarding. Board as early as possible and stop at the cockpit before going to your seats or you’ll be trying to swim “upstream” against all the passengers boarding. Make sure you don’t leave luggage blocking those trying to board the plane. Have your camera out! When there is time this is a good photo opportunity!
(Remember, if there is not time for visiting the cockpit, you can kindly ask the flight attendants if they could pass the logbook up to the cockpit for you.)
(This post is part of the Photo Friday fun at DeliciousBaby.com. Check out the other fun travel blogs participating. Don’t forget to follow Cloud Surfing Kids on Facebook, Twitter, or by subscribing to email notifications of blog posts. We’re gearing up for another fun giveaway soon!)
