Hatley has been manufacturing clothes in India since 2003, and I have been commuting back and forth between India and Montreal over the last 8 years. This makes for one of the longest commutes to work in the world. So after 8 years of travelling back and forth, I have decided to take my whole family with me and stay for a few months. My wife Anthea and I packed up our 2 kids, Jasper (3) and Freddy (16 months), and made the trek here. We arrived mid September and I’ve decided to share this experience.
The Flight
Considering I had flown here about 30 times, I thought that I knew all the ins and outs of travel, but there was one big difference from all of my previous flights and this one was… KIDS! Yes, KIDS. I had never been on a long flight like this with my children and needless to say, it’s a lot more work than travelling on your own. Bringing your kids on a 19 hour flight is like being drafted to go to war: it is something you HAVE to do, not something you want to do.

Jasper has a snack while watching a movie
Our checked in luggage comprised of 7 duffle bags filled with clothes, sippy cups, bed sheets, a “Pack n’ Play”, boxes of mac n’ cheese, toys, diapers, more food, baby blanket and the list goes on… Why did we pack so much? Well, my wife had a mission to take the maximum amount the airline would allow us to check in, which was coincidently 7 bags. Never in all of my trips had I ever even checked in one bag, so needless to say this was already a whole other ballgame.
Our carryon luggage was a war chest of games, toys, snacks, baby wipes and diapers. However, no amount of planning and smart packing could equip us for the flight. It all starts with the arrival at the airport and everyone looking at you, hoping they don’t have to sit by THAT family. I have learned that after a terrorist, a crying baby is the greatest threat to a nice pleasant flight.

Freddy takes an in-flight stroll
After check in, there is the mandatory security screening. Usually quite routine for me, but when you bring an entire cooler of kids food and milk, the security process is a little different. Considering liquid is banned for all travelers except for infants, they treat this “life sustaining” substance with great suspicion.
After an hour long wait that felt like an eternity, it’s finally boarding time, and we are the first ones on. I’m not sure why they want the families on first considering it would be in everybody’s interest to keep the babies off the plane as long as possible, but I guess this gives everyone an opportunity to walk past you on the plane, stare at their boarding pass and pray that they are not sitting near you….
The flight takes off and so begins the endless journey of negotiating my kids to sleep, eat, not pay friendly visits to all of our fellow sleeping passengers, or storm the cockpit.