I’m live-blogging my SAS EuroBonus SkyTeam Million Mile challenge this week. Click here for background and route information.
Oh goodness, I hope this is just a result of two redeyes and not a harbinger of what is to come…Augustine and I have had our first major “squabble” and the trip has only just begun.
I really debated whether or not to bring Augustine along on this trip. It wasn’t so much about the extra $3,500 for a million SAS EuroBonus miles (I still maintain that is a great value), but whether it was wise to take an 8-year-old on a week-long journey of 21 flights with very limited rest in between.
I guess we’ll know more later in the week, but August had a little meltdown when I told him we needed to board our SAS flight to Copenhagen. He said he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. I told him he could sleep on the plane, but he did not want to move…and parked himself in a chair in the Singapore SkilverKris Lounge (a lounge I had just stopped at to take a few post-refurbishment photos).
Ugh…
I finally got him up and he started to cry.
“I’m tired! I’m tired! I don’t want to go!”
I’m not writing this to embarrass him now or if he reads this years down the line, but merely as a reflection that he is still only eight years old and maybe I am asking too much of him. I somewhat expected this, but I did not expect it on the second day of the trip, especially as he slept fairly well on both the JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic flights.
It’s daunting, though, because we now have three flights ahead of us today…to Copenhagen and then Malaga on SAS followed by a flight to Madrid on Air Europa.
At least we will be in a hotel tonight…I’m thankful for the chance to rest and a late start tomorrow.
But first we have to get through this day…
Good luck mate!! He’ll bounce back im sure!!
It’s tough because you want to treat them with snacks etc but they’ll also get grouchy from too much sugar. Ah the joys of travelling with kids.
Hopefully the hotel has a pool. I always find that’s a great way to deal with jet lag and exhaustion
I think it would have gone smoother if having budgeted in sleep time stops for your son. The mix of dealing with time zone differences and a lack of proper sleep opportunities is hard on young adults. It’s even harder on kids who need more sleep than adults.
Or budgeted business class. There’s no way I would do this run without business-class on any flight over 3 hours.
Oh, that sounds really tough for little kids, but I know it will be a worthwhile and lifetime experience for both of you. Stay safe and travel well! 🙂
More sleep time stops.
Whilst I understand wanting to bring them along, it’s important to remember that kids are not just mini-versions of us : they are their own people, with own wants / needs / likes / dislikes. And even at age 8 many still have trouble regulating and articulating emotions.
Wow, when you said you were doing this with your son I had assumed you’d be doing it somewhat leisurely. Trying to speed-run the challenge by doing 21 flights in a week with an 8 year-old seems insane. Even the Frequent Miler people took over a week to do this with the fastest taking 9 days and the longest at 11 days and counting. And, it seems like you’re spending much less than them so I’m assuming your itinerary is almost entirely in economy.
I desperately wanted to do the million miles promotion, being based in BUD, I even had slightly cheaper options. Interestingly I made almost the same plan as you did…
But my wife is 22 weeks pregnant, she didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t leave her home, so we had to make the decision to skip this.
It comes to my mind every day, that I could still change plans and start the journey. There are some very sweet spots for redemptions (TUN-JED-CGK-SYD 85.000 miles in business). But your post is a reminder that I made the right decision.
I hope Augustine will enjoy the rest of the trip.
I would argue even that’s not much of a sweet spot. Sky miles is 85k or 90k from Europe to Australia with quite a lot of Vietnam availability. I am based in Sydney and thought about the challenge purely to get some syd to Asia flights. Flying blue only charges 31k miles in biz syd to Bali. But SAS seems to charge a lot more.
This is child abuse, albeit not intentional. If it were a marathon trip with sightseeing stops along the way, even seeing a site for 10 minutes, it would have been an adventure.
This trip is not much different from flying back and forth between LAX and JFK for several days without rest.
If there’s a break of 3 hours, consider hiring a taxi to show you something other than an airport lounge.
Oh, why am I not surprised? This itinerary is absolutely brutal. Most of the flights are in economy with almost no space to rest appropriately, most of the food you will eat is processed or unhealthy and add the time zones and jetlag and you are asking his and your body to go through a lot. Sending you positive energy but you should have expected this from him. Not his fault at all.
Augustine, you can do this. Remember to use your power for achieving the most important things. Just put one foot in front of the other and you will feel better soon.
It’s tough with kids. I just flew syd to HND with my 11yo. So many ups and downs. Almost melted in the (long) arrival queues. Then was fine 30 mins later. Auggie will be fine.
What did you expect? I’m 40 and I would never want to subject myself to a week of nonstop flights. Of course an 8 year old is going to hate it!
Reading many of the comments on your blog over the months, I’ve seen you handle grumpy 8 year olds before.
Give him a little sherry or port and he’ll fall right asleep. Tell him it’s cough syrup.
Hang in there. I remember returning from Europe after a marathon hop through 6 countries with my son who was about that age. He completely lost it at JFK as we were in transit. I was dragging him through T5 as he screamed “I need water!” We laugh about it now but in the moment it was tough.
It’s borderline criminal to subject this poor kid to this absurd journey. For his sake and your own leave him at home. Isn’t he supposed to be in school anyway?
Can’t say I’m even remotely surprised. I have two little ones myself (2 and 7) and would never even consider a trip like this. It has to be absolutely exhausting for him. Know you meant well and travel a lot, so probably wanted to take some of the burden off your wife, but this just makes no sense to me. Are the miles really worth all this? Regardless, hang in there and I hope he bounces back soon and starts to enjoy himself again.
Maybe a good haircut would help
Omg remind me did u ask him if he wanted to do this?
Poor baby!
Why would you do this to an 6-8 yo??
Even grown ups have a hard time adjusting.
When your son is older (and has his own child) he will appreciate how special it was to navigate the planet with his father. The reward for this (sharing experiences with a loved one) will be realized down the road.
Exactly. My dad dragged me on some crazy adventures as a kid and I’m sure I had my moments, but I only remember the time we spent together.
The picture of your son reminds me of my most recent Icelandair flight…wrapped up like a pretzel just to fit in the seat.
I hope he enjoys the adventure, this is a trip of a life time!!
I wouldn’t have done a schedule like that with a child at that age for my own sanity (that meltdown is totally predictable), but once they get to the tweens, they will probably love this kind of thing albeit begging to spend more time in certain cities. For now, file this under “things we will laugh about some day”.
I am curious on what he’s heard from his wife about this.
Oh, the stories this will make. And just wait until he tells his friends in school after he is back. He’s old enough to tell kids to check out this blog. 😀
I don’t know why you would bring a child on a trip like this. They will not enjoy it, and they will not remember it.
Why make something that is already unpleasant and uncomfortable like all these back to back flights, and make it even more difficult by throwing a child into the mix?