The first time we travelled to Australia with 2 under 5's people thought we were mad. “ How will you manage?” they said. The journey went smoothly but we had been organised before we set off.
When booking with an airline it is important to check that they have booked each child a child meal. You might think that this is done automatically but this is not the case. When the meal comes, encourage the child to open all the packets and eat as much as they can. This also breaks the time up. Ensure you have your own supplies in addition to the food provided on board, even if used in bribery! Also it helps if you travel with an airline that has individual screens in the back of the seats. Even with younger kids it helps if they can watch a cartoon channel for part of the journey.
Pack a rucksack for each child with crayons, paper, books etc to keep them occupied. Don't worry about the times they fall asleep, if they want to sleep let them, it will give you a break, when you finally get to your destination they will adapt very quickly, it will be you that is tired!
We used to put "pull up nappies" on the kids, even when they didn't normally wear a nappy, so that we wouldn't be worried that they would wet themselves and the seat if they fell into a deep sleep.
Try not to worry about your child crying and disturbing other passengers, the more you try to stop them crying the more they will.
Most importantly, try to share the child-minding so that you arrive having had a little rest, your children will not be affected by the time difference, but you will!
