Flying with a toddler using MiaMily luggage: a gate-to-gate plan

Toddlers rarely mind the flight; it is the waiting, the carrying and the standing still they find hard. A travel day has several waits before the plane moves, and your MiaMily case can turn each one into a sit.

Before you leave home

• Pack a reach-first pocket with snacks, a drink, wipes, a small toy, the tablet and passports.
• On the Carry On Plus, use the front pocket and put the bottle in the thermal pocket.
• On the original Carry On, use the outside pocket of a backpack slid over the handle.
• Check your airline's cabin size and weight limits. Australian domestic limits can be tighter than international ones, and a packed 43 litre case adds up.
• Arrive with time to spare.

Through the airport

1. At check-in and bag drop, belt your child onto the seat, hang your bag on the hook and let the queue move you.
2. At security, park the case (brake on if you have a Plus) and lift your child off before the conveyor. The case goes through the scanner and your child walks through with you. A three-digit TSA lock means there is no key to find.
3. At the gate, seats fill early. The MiaMily seat holds 100 kg, so when your child is tired of sitting, you can sit. Give your child a job, such as counting planes, holding the boarding passes or watching for the gate number.
4. At boarding, fold the seat flat and the case is a cabin case again.
5. On arrival, put the seat up again for the long walk to the taxi.

At the hotel

A top-opening Plus case opens vertically, so it takes a strip of floor rather than the whole room. If you are moving between hotels and apartments, the seat on the Check In Plus is also a stable place to stack extra bags.