Some great tips... I would definately agree with a test run for the drugs if you were to them. I it does not have the sedative effect and infact certain meds they have had when sick which people recommended for air travel makes them go the opposite way even worse for surrounding passengers.

I cant take the car seat with us but have brought one of the cares air travel restraints to try with out 2 year old. I have my sling for the baby as he will fall asleep if he is strapped on and a bit of walking up and down.

games and dvds and some drawing and lots of snacks hoping will keep them down.

I like that parents can board first as the point made earlier about luggage storage... the last easy jet plane they asked for children etc and the whole plane ran to the gate... there were no seats left and then people had to move so that my 2 year old was not forced to sit alone... Although a few rows in front would have been quite nice for me maybe not for the passengers next to him.... Although I did get the middle seat as i had the baby and felt so bad as i had to sit inbetween 2 brothers who i could see wanted to chat but were too polite to talk over me bless em! Or maybe they just didnt want to wait the newborn I had on my lap!
Also i think if they let the children get on first you can as a non child person search them out and pick a seat far away as I know when im travelling without them I would pick the furthest seat away...

When flying long distance it's a gamble for me. I always try and reserve a seat with extra legroom. As the emergency exit seats have usually gone to frequent flyers or people willing to pay a bit extra (some airlines allow this) I go for bulkhead seats. Which is prioritised for people with young children (as they have those clip-on cot things there).

The gamble is ... more legroom (plus people next to me being able to get in/out without me having to get out of my aisle seat) against having a crying baby next to me. So far it's always worked out ok; it seems babies can only cry for so long and are usually worn out and asleep before I've finished watching the films.

My last flight here I was "kind" enough to relinquish my seat at the back of the plane so that dad could say with the mom and the herd of cats she was dealing with. Clever of me to volunteer so quickly, you would think! Good karma! Nay! I ended up sitting right in front of the colicky baby who screamed the whole way.

I have never made an international flight of more than 12 hours. Your comments have been extremely enlightening.

But now I am wondering about what are the pluses and minuses of choosing the overnight flight as compared to starting the flight in the morning hours--say 9 a.m. approx.

I have limited funds so getting to Switzerland will probably mean coach travel. Unless I can flirt and smile my way to an upgrade at the ticket counter.....

There aren't many flights over 12 hours.

For long flights I always prefer to fly over night. Personal preference I guess, but once a flight is over around 8 hours long I find I can get enough sleep to survive the flight and timezone changes. Just.

I always fly economy (coach) even on business trips, unfortunately. It's very (very very) hard nowadays to get upgraded without there being some kind of booking disaster or you having millions of airmiles to be part of a frequent flyer high tier.