If you travel with kids and have ever begged an air hostess to let your child sleep on the floor, you will understand that it is a brilliant mind that has come up with portable sleeping quarters for children that happens to fit into an economy seat.
It took two Californian mothers, Kate and Winnie – who are both keen travellers – to come up with a plan that could help children get comfortable enough to lie down and sleep soundly on a plane.
"The idea for Fly-Tot came after travelling on numerous sleepless flights across the Pacific Ocean with two little ones," says Winnie.
"While many infants and toddlers can sleep peacefully on long flights, my girls could never sleep more than a couple of hours at a time. And, since the girls wouldn’t always sleep at the same time, I got virtually no rest on these cross-Pacific flights."
Winnie designed the Fly-Tot - an inflatable cushion that allows children to lie down on a regular economy seat - with her mechanical engineer husband and then her good friend and product designer, Kate, got on board.
Many mothers know the pain of a long-haul flight, especially when little ones get too big for the in-flight bassinet.
After travelling with a toddler from London to Sydney - the longest of all long-haul flights - I would have been thrilled to find a simple cure to creating a child sleep space on a plane.
The makers say it can be inflated in under three minutes and can be squashed into the tightest spaces.
It is not officially approved by airlines, but nor is sleeping on the floor.
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Top Comments
"If you travel with kids and have ever begged an air hostess to let your child sleep on the floor"
Who does this? What if there is unexpected turbulence, an explosion, sudden drop in altitude or engine problem? Your child would probably end up on the ceiling with multiple broken bones.
Great idea but what if the person in front reclines their seat? And when that fasten seatbelt sign pings on you have to wake them up.
My friend was flying alone with her 5 month baby on her lap, and the family behind her had one of these sorts of things for their toddler and tapped her on the shoulder to say she was not allowed to recline her seat at all for the entire 10 hour flight!!!
12. Can the Fly-Tot be used if the person in the seat in front of you reclines his/her seat?
Yes! The Fly-Tot is designed to mold into the space, so if the person in front of you sits back, the Fly-Tot will squeeze down with the space. Don't worry, the Fly-Tot is made of a highly durable material and will be fine in snug spots.