Tips for Smooth Air Travel with Twins

We took a plane trip to visit family over the holidays and all in all it went quite well. When you travel with a family - especially in the wintertime - schedules and logistics can get messed up pretty quickly. But we had very smooth travels so I thought I would share a few tips & tricks for air travel with twins.

1) Make sure to get at least 3 seats together - or - book the EXIT row
Have a parent sit between the twins so you have the most flexibility for handing out snacks, etc. If the airline tells you they don't have 3 seats together, then book yourself in the exit row. This gives you the BEST bargining power when it comes to rearranging your seats at the gate.

2) Get a portable movie device of some sort - preferablly TWO
We had a portable dvd player and switched to my ipod nano when the batteries died on the dvd player. Most airplane movies - even though they are edited - aren't really age appropriate for kids under 10 or 12 years old. Make sure you have an audio splitter and two sets of headphones so both twins can listen.

3) Have your kids wear slip on shoes

Slip on shoes makes the taking on/off of your shoes in the security line go much faster - especially for twins that don't know how to tie shoes yet!!

4) Bring powdered drink mix in a pouch

You can't bring liquids through security and the airlines have mostly carbonated drinks on board. We packed crystal light powdered drink mix and got water for mixing during the drink service. This worked great and my twins didn't end up drinking the high sugar apple and orange juices on the plane.

5) Pack Snacks - lots of snacks - that travel well

Airport food is outrageously expensive and there aren't many healthy options. I packed apples, gold fish and rice krispie treats. That allowed us to snack on the plane and in the airports without spending the BIG bucks. And all of these snacks handled the ride in the carry on luggage quite well. Nutra grain bars and bananas get beat up and mashed in luggage and then the kids won't eat them. Stick with hardier traveling snacks.

And oh yes, if you have those wiggly twins that just won't sit in the lap belt only type of seat belt, then make sure you get the CARES (Child Aviation Restraint system) travel harness. Works great for kids 22 to 44 pounds and fits easily in your carry on luggage. Check it out at http://www.twinzgear.com/p-311-kids-fly-safe.aspx