This Mom’s Thrifty Hack Could Save Travelers A Wedge Of Cash On Plane Tickets

this mom's thrifty hack could save travelers a wedge of cash on plane tickets [Music] but before we start please make sure to subscribe to m r tv and hit the bell so you never miss any upload from us also leave a like right now if you're a frequent long-haul flyer you'll certainly be aware of just how costly those trips can be but should you be looking to save a bit of cash a blogger named adele barbaro might have a solution in fact after sharing her discovery on social media in august 2019 the hack quickly went viral while it might not be everyone's favorite form of travel airplanes are invaluable if we want to see different parts of the world unsurprisingly that can put a strain on our collective wallets especially when it comes to the longer journeys to give you a better idea of the costs here's an example for instance if you were traveling from los angeles california to sydney australia the round-trip ticket could be pretty expensive indeed with american airlines in march 2020 a premium economy seat would cost you over twenty six hundred dollars and as for a spot in business class that's priced at more than six thousand three hundred of course the prices do vary from airline to airline but it can still leave a dent in your finances however as we mentioned earlier barbaro shared a tip that might save you a significant amount of money according to the blogger families could be the big benefactors of this particular hack hailing from melbourne australia barbaro and her husband paul are the proud parents of two young children named chloe and harvey barbaro went on to create her blog a few months after the latter was born calling it the real mama prior to starting her family though the mother had been a keen traveler so with that in mind travel formed the basis of the blog as barbaro shared her experiences of flying with the family alongside that she'd also write about toys and cooking on her webpage but the real emphasis was on plane journeys and how fellow parents could make the trips a lot easier for themselves in fact barbaro wrote a lengthy post for other moms and dads out there that revealed some clever travel hacks she covered a number of different points in that particular blog entry including stuff about restaurants and hotels however the majority of the piece was focused on the journey itself before diving into the tips though barbaro shared some more information about herself the australian mom wrote i have done my fair share of traveling i'm the person that chose to travel over having a career and got it out of my system in my 20s at that point she touched upon the jobs that she took on during her time abroad barbaro continued i've been a tour guide in europe worked in hotels a travel agent in both business and leisure and helped people grow their travel franchises now that we have the kids the way we travel has completely changed it can be difficult if you're not organized and there is a lot to consider from there barbaro started to reel off her list of helpful tips her first point covered passports she advised parents to keep their eyes on the expiration dates in addition to that the blogger reminded everyone that young babies were required to have their own travel documents as well after that barbaro made an interesting suggestion that moms and dads might want to take on board going forward given how stressful air travel can be for young children she hinted that a later flight could be a better option that way they were more likely to fall asleep during the journey barbaro's advice didn't end there either as we're about to discover the mother wrote flying direct is great to get it over and done with but for long-haul flights have a look into different layover options with different airlines a stop in singapore dubai or auckland can be fun for a night or two for example meanwhile barbaro then shifted her focus to parents who planned to take their babies on a plane she continued if you have a newborn or baby a stretchy wrap or carrier can be handy for navigating the airport and on the flight you can have them sleep in it and still use your hands and sleep too but if the children are slightly older than that barbaro proposed a hack that could keep them occupied throughout the journey indeed she claimed that a homemade bag of fun containing snacks and games might do the job the mom of two also hinted that a tablet computer full of downloaded content could be just as helpful as for the seating situation barbaro wanted to make something quite clear according to her you should probably avoid a certain area of the plane when traveling as a family she advised if you don't want a bassinet stay away from the bulkhead seats front row seats if your children are older than one year old you can't raise the armrests barbaro explained which means you can't allow your toddler to lay their head on your lap stretch out legs and go to sleep plus this is where they put most of the babies on long-haul flights too and you don't want babies keeping toddlers awake furthermore barbaro raised another important point that parents should consider ahead of long-haul trips during a flight our ears can be subjected to some uncomfortable conditions due to the cabin pressure yet there are ways to lessen the impact on younger children with the blogger sharing a few examples barbara revealed feed your babies on the way up and on the way down to help their ears adjust to the cabin pressure with toddlers make sure they are eating and drinking so that they are swallowing and chewing do this until they turn off the seatbelt sign you want to reach altitude it's not just the takeoff alongside all of those tips barbaro touched upon some other bits of advice too including information about snacks and staying active on the plane but to round everything off she had two final hints for traveling parents in her mind these measures were non-negotiable musts in the interests of ensuring a smooth journey barbaro added before you get off the plane make sure every nappy is changed and every adult has been to the toilet trust me and most of all try to keep calm if i get anxious the kids then get all revved up so i try to be really chilled and make light of it with the passengers around me while those suggestions might make a world of difference for stressed out moms and dads the booking process can be just as challenging like we highlighted earlier airplane tickets can be very costly especially if you're catching a long-haul flight pleasingly though barbaro had a potential solution for that as well as it turns out if you book a flight with an airliner such as air new zealand you'll have the opportunity to make a surprising upgrade dubbed the sky couch this option comes into play when you've bought one or two seats in a single row for a reduced cost you can purchase the remaining space or spaces once you've done that the three seats can be transformed into a makeshift sofa adding some extra comfort to the journey if you're wondering how that actually works it's pretty simple the chairs are fitted with foot rests which you can raise up to the desired level fully extended they form the appearance of a couch in terms of the cost sky couch could save you quite a bit of money when booking the seats for you see in some cases the comfy option will only set you back by an additional 200 barbro got to experience this during another trip with her family in august 2019 when they packed their bags for california barbaro then shared a few details about their flight on social media specifically they made a post on the real mama's facebook page which boasts a sizable number of fans indeed it has garnered more than 178 000 followers and in excess of 172 000 likes since its launch in february 2016. going back to the post itself barbaro didn't waste any time in mentioning the upgrade she wrote we have arrived in hollywood safe and sound we got to experience the air new zealand sky couch on our way here and for those that don't know what it is it's a unique economy option where your entire row becomes a bed from there barbara confirmed what we already know about the sky couch she continued so if there are two of you traveling you can purchase the third seat at half the price and you will get the entire row to yourself the leg rests all rise to meet the chair in front and create a completely flat large player sleep area following that description barbaro revealed that the sky couch was incredibly beneficial for her family normally a flight from australia to california lasts over 16 hours so that can be quite testing for young passengers but thanks to the air new zealand service the blogger's clan could enjoy the journey in relative comfort barbaro wrote paul and harvey had a bed and so did chloe and i it's the next best thing to business but way cheaper and perfect for long-haul flights with young families and we all slept we're a little thrown by the time difference but it's nice to arrive and start our holiday without being sleep deprived at that stage barbaro concluded her facebook post by recommending air new zealand to any other travelers summing up the sky couch rather succinctly the parents simply added it was so comfy and in addition to her words she also included some photos of her family on the plane's makeshift sofa too before long barbarous post went viral after newspapers such as the sun metro and the daily mail all covered it on their respective websites meanwhile her message was a big hit on facebook earning over 37 000 likes and in excess of 4 500 shares it went on to generate more than 37 000 comments as well in those messages social media users shared their reaction to the sky couch with some wishing that they could experience it firsthand one individual wrote this sounds amazing i've never heard of this before ever we've just flown to bali nine hours direct i wish we'd known this was available so at least our baby could have slept better those words were somewhat echoed by another facebook user who made an interesting point they said i wish every airline would allow this as it would be very handy when traveling to ireland which is two flights for me the first one is 14 hours and the second one is eight hours but unfortunately they won't let us use them elsewhere a couple of different users shared their own stories about the sky couch in the facebook comments section the first person mirrored barbaro's overall feelings on the clever upgrade hailing its use for long-haul flights however they also highlighted a potentially negative aspect that you might want to consider the social media user recalled we booked this from los angeles to auckland it cost an additional six hundred dollars after paying for two adults it was a great experience however when the row and front reclined their seats it dramatically decreased our area even with our seats reclined making it difficult to sleep lying flat it would be good with young kids the user added but it's not as ideal for two adults as some photos on the air new zealand website lead you to believe all in all it's a good product for parents and kids as for the other person they shared a similar opinion when talking about their time with a sky couch unlike the previous user this individual was traveling from new zealand to california but the same issue came to light they explained one sky couch for two full-sized adults did not work we were with our adult children who had one small child each so it was perfect for them i probably wouldn't do it again but definitely fly with air new zealand some social media users with young children backed up those claims revealing that the space was ideal for them on that note one individual looked back on a journey they took alongside their family according to them the sky couch accommodated their needs over the course of their long-haul flight the facebook user wrote oh we've had this before and we loved it it was just us and one baby a much better option than the bassinet seats as i could lie down and feed my baby both me and the baby could sleep on the sky couch while his dad binge watched movies keeping all that information in mind you might be wondering if any other airline offers a similar service in the past china airlines planes were equipped with something called the family couch mirroring the sky couch air astana was much the same with the economy sleeper so the idea has certainly spread and given more passengers a chance to enjoy some comfort you