You're Really Going To Travel with 7-Week-Old Baby

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Geo: 39.0095, -77.4647

We left late on Thursday night; our flight for Istanbul didn't depart until 11:30pm. That timing worked out well, as we were able to work and go to school that day as usual, and then we had plenty of time to finish packing and eat dinner, before leaving for the airport around 9:30pm. As it turned out, my new group's annual off-site in Williamsburg was scheduled for the same week. I arranged to leave a day early, and drove home Thursday afternoon. We still had plenty of time, but I would have preferred to have not been away up until the day of departure.

The airport was busy, but nothing too bad. Security and passport control seemed a little tighter, but we still ended up with time to kill at the gate before boarding. Our flight was completely full, including several student groups. This was my first experience with Turkish Airlines in more than 20 years, and I was very pleasantly surprised. They have consistently been ranked in the Top 10 of global airlines, and it showed in their service and aircraft. One of the last people to board was a young woman carrying an infant child (7-weeks old) who ended up sitting directly in front me, in the bulkhead seat. The three of us exchanged knowing looks when we saw them, expecting the worst during the 10-hour flight. We could not have been more pleasantly surprised. After takeoff, they installed a bassinet on the wall in front of the mother, and her baby slept in there for nearly the entire flight. The baby literally did not make a single sound during the entire flight -- we were all amazed, and it seemed to portend good omens for the trip to come.

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