한국어
Christmas Day Flight from Australia to Korea
Long-Haul Travel with My 5-Year-Old
December 2025
Why We Chose a Christmas Day Flight to Korea
We decided to take a Christmas Day flight to Korea to spend 44 days there during Liam’s school break. The biggest reason for traveling at this time was Liam’s Korean language development.
Last year, Liam spent about three months in Korea and attended a local kindergarten.
During that time, his Korean improved tremendously, and the experience was so positive that we wanted him to enjoy Korean kindergarten life once again this year.
Since he already attends school in Australia, we couldn’t travel during the school term.
Fortunately, Australia’s summer vacation lasts around six weeks, which made it the perfect opportunity for a long stay in Korea.
🎟 Booking Peak-Season Flights Using Korean Air Mileage
Christmas season is one of the busiest and most expensive travel periods in Australia.
Flights are usually fully booked, and fares rise significantly.
Even though airfare becomes slightly cheaper right after Christmas, we decided to use our Korean Air SKYPASS family mileage to book one-way tickets for both Liam and me.
Using miles during peak season felt incredibly rewarding—almost like we got extra value from our points.
As a multicultural family, we’ve been using and earning Korean Air mileage for years, so this was the perfect time to make the most of it.
An Unexpected Addition: Thailand
Originally, our plan was to return from Korea with Singapore Airlines, which offered a reasonable price—around AUD 500 for a one-way ticket.
But our trip took an exciting turn.
We decided that after finishing our stay in Korea, we would meet Eddie in Thailand, spend time traveling together, and then all fly back to Brisbane as a family.
And just like that, our 2026 holiday destination naturally became Thailand, completing our route:
👉 Brisbane → Korea → Thailand → Brisbane
What started as a simple Christmas trip turned into a longer, richer, and more meaningful family adventure.
🕔 Heading to the Airport on Christmas Morning
The flight from Brisbane to Seoul takes about 10 hours, and our Christmas Day started early.
After a simple Christmas morning gift-opening at home, Liam and I left for the airport at 5 a.m. We said goodbye to Eddie and headed to Brisbane Airport together.
We landed in Korea a little after 5 p.m., and thanks to the taxi we reserved in advance, we were able to go straight to my mom’s house without any delays.
Even though it was a long travel day, arriving in Korea on Christmas Day made the whole experience feel extra special.
For transportation, we booked our ride with Mirimiri Incheon Airport Taxi, the same reliable service we used last year.
✈️ Christmas Day Flight : Our Experience Onboard
This year’s Korean Air children’s gift was a cute airplane plush toy, and it was a perfect hit for kids.
As soon as we boarded, Liam loved it—it was such a great way to start a long-haul flight with a 5-year-old.
💺 How a Last-Minute Aircraft Change Earned Us the Best Seats
About a week before our trip, Korean Air switched us to a larger aircraft.
The aircraft model was technically the same, but the new configuration had more available seats.
Originally, the flight was almost fully booked, but after the change, a pair of two-seat rows at the very back became available.
As soon as I saw that those seats were unassigned through the automatic seat allocation, I immediately changed our seats to the very last row.
And honestly? It was the best decision for traveling with a child.
✔️ Why the last row is perfect when traveling with kids:
Only two seats, so you don’t sit next to strangers
Extra space near the window where a child can stand or move around briefly
Much easier to manage little ones on a long flight
Another tip:
Choosing seats close to the restroom can be helpful when traveling with young children.
People often worry about noise or smells, but in reality:
There was no noticeable smell
The flushing sound can be a bit loud, but with headphones on, neither of us heard anything
For solo parent + child travel, this seating arrangement was incredibly convenient.
🎬 Long-Haul Flights Are No Longer a Problem
With more long-haul travel experience under his belt, Liam now handles flights much better.
As long as he has something to watch, he has no trouble sitting still for long periods—something I’m very grateful for during a 10-hour Brisbane to Seoul flight.
Surprisingly, I no longer feel nervous traveling alone with him.
Instead, I actually looked forward to the flight, thinking, “I might even get some rest on the plane this time.”
We downloaded plenty of kids’ shows onto the iPad just in case, but the aircraft we flew on had a large in-flight screen with tons of content.
There were plenty of movies and series for both adults and kids, so we barely used the shows we prepared.
Last year, Liam would usually fall asleep for 2–3 hours near the end of the flight,
but this year he stayed awake the entire 10-hour flight watching videos until we landed in Korea.
Definitely a big sign that he’s growing up.
🔌 Power Outlets on Board
Some aircraft only provide USB charging ports, but the plane we flew on this time had a full power outlet, which was extremely convenient.
Since everything we use daily now is USB-C, I brought extra adapters just in case.
But thanks to the power outlet and the fact that we mostly used the in-flight entertainment screen,
we barely needed to charge our devices at all.
🛂 Automated Immigration vs. Family Lane: Still Better as a Family
Liam is now at the age where he’s sometimes guided toward the automated immigration line, which can be confusing.
We tried going that way at first, but I quickly felt he wasn’t quite ready to handle the process alone.
So we ended up returning to the family immigration lane, which was a bit inconvenient but definitely the safer choice for now.
Faster Than Expected at Incheon Airport
When we arrived at Incheon Airport, both the automated and family immigration lines were long—
long enough to make me think, “Are we going to be here forever?”
But surprisingly, the line moved faster than expected, and we were able to finish immigration in about 30 minutes.
After a long Christmas Day flight, stepping into Korea felt both surreal and meaningful—
the start of a long and memorable winter stay.
How to Register and Use Korean Air SKYPASS Family Miles as a Multinational Family
