Readers of my post about flight preparation may have gleaned that I perhaps overthought things a little. I like to plan ahead—I have two children (the small people), two businesses, and a husband who works as hard (sometimes harder!) than I do. Planning is essential.

But not everything goes to plan.

I thought long and hard about whether to share the difficulties with our outbound flight, but I promised myself when carving out my initials in this corner of the internet that I’d always be honest. And with that comes the lows as well as the highs.

And, well—it’s all a learning experience, right?

✅ Where we got it right:

• We had our PlanePal ordered (quite late, but should still have arrived in time—or so I thought);
• Online check-in was complete;
• We’d booked lounge access (we’ve found it the easiest and fastest way to feed small people, enjoy a drink, and escape the terminal chaos);
• We had snacks. Plenty of snacks.

❌ What we didn’t expect:

• Yodel didn’t honour the ‘next day delivery’—so the PlanePal bed didn’t arrive in time;
• British Airways issued a combined boarding pass for me and the infant Small-Small. Turns out, even if a child doesn’t have their own seat, every traveller needs a separate boarding pass to get through Heathrow;
• The Small-Small was somehow put on standby. No joke. It took quite a bit of time (and a lovely, calm BA staff member) to resolve;
• By the time we got through the check-in delays, our lounge access had expired, and sadly the hospitality at Club Aspire didn’t live up to expectations. I’m still waiting on a response from DragonPass+ to my complaint (and the chaser to my complaint!);
• No time to restock snacks—many had been consumed while resolving the standby saga.

By the time we finally boarded, we tumbled onto the plane with tired, hungry children and slightly frazzled nerves. It was a full flight, and the Big-Small didn’t have the more flexible comfort I’d hoped the PlanePal would give her.

When the food did arrive (British Airways do serve children’s meals first if pre-booked—worth doing!), it was a little too late to rescue us. The Small-Small was in mid-meltdown by the time the adult meals arrived. The crew kindly saved mine, and I even got a second serving—clearly the trauma was written all over my face.

Somehow, I got some sleep. The Small-Small slept the best of us—she’s always been a cuddler. The Big-Small struggled a bit more. But all said and done… it could have been worse.

✈️ Transit in Singapore: the sequel

I’d hoped for a reset in Singapore. Sadly, it was more rinse and repeat. With a two-hour layover, I’d imagined showing the Smalls a glimpse of this incredible airport. But we needed to get from Terminal 1 to the shiny new Terminal 4.

If you’re ever in this situation: allow at least 45 minutes. You’ll be directed to a lounge (no snacks, unfortunately) to wait for a shuttle to Terminal 4. Then it’s back through security—even as a transit passenger. It takes time.

Terminal 4 has a Food Hall, but it was heaving. We grabbed food to go, which helped a bit, but the Smalls were now a full 24 hours since their last proper meal despite some pretty major offerings. The short hop to Bali included a few meltdowns… and a few naps. But almost there!

🌴 Worth it in the end

It could have been worse. And despite the chaos, the holiday has been special. If you’ve been following on Instagram (if you’re not already, you really should – @sarahnity_travel), you’ll have seen some of our family moments. Jet lag with little ones is tough, but we’ve found a rhythm—and the days have been full of sunshine, splashes, and joy. Getting away for two weeks for a long haul has definitely been the best decision.

It just goes to show: you can plan everything right, and still face a domino cascade of delays and mishaps. But we survived. And so did our holiday.

I’m already planning our return. I love Bali, I love this trip—and the difficulty of getting here was already fading the moment I dipped my toes into our private pool.

Massive thanks to the British Airways staff and crew. Every single one we encountered was brilliant. I truly believe the issues came down to system errors, not people.