Four; free toys in-flight; and a book of tips on how to make a family flight as hassle free as possible.
At the same time BA introduced a Feed Children First policy so youngsters are served before their parents, leaving them free to help their children and still have their own hot meal waiting.
Most scheduled carriers provide special children’s meals at no extra cost, although these must be pre-booked.
These usually include fish fingers or chicken nuggets, ice-cream and fruit juices. Virgin also provides Virgin Aviator snack boxes filled with fruit, chocolate and crisps on the return journey, and serves ice-creams during movies.
BA’s kids meals are served in tuck boxes and include sausages or burgers and chips, and sweets.
Some airlines provide food and bottles for infants, plus baby packs and skycots for babies up to 18 months old.
Qantas, for example, carries a range of tinned baby food, baby bottles and rusks. Cabin crew will prepare, heat and wash bottles and dummies on request. It also gives away baby packs including a changing mat, bib, nappies, wipes and a soft toy aeroplane.
Virgin provides complimentary baby packs in Upper Class and nappies, bottles and baby food in economy.
It has baby-changing facilities on all aircraft, and skycots, which have to be pre-booked. Virgin was the first airline to introduce safety seats for children aged six months to three years, but these must be pre-booked as there are a limited number and they cost 10% of the adult fare.
Keeping children occupied and relaxed during long flights is the most difficult task, but many airlines have entertainment packs.
Virgin offers KiDs reusable backpacks containing sunglasses and baseball cap, sweets, a story book, puzzle book, KiD magazine and a collectable item such as a Wallace and Gromit figure.
Qantas has an entertainment pack which includes a deck of cards, a trip diary, stickers, a pencil, a baseball cap or wallet and a postcard.
For older children there are colouring books and pencils, finger puppets, books and magic slates.
BA’s cabin crew give every child a toy and book as soon as they board and offer a further selection in-flight from a toy chest designed by toy store Hamley’s.
Also many airlines, including Virgin, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, BA and Emirates, have children’s audio and visual entertainment channels which include cartoons.
TRADITIONALLY, parents travelling with young children used to board the aircraft weighed down like donkeys, carrying everything needed to keep their kids fed and entertained in the flight.
Thankfully, airlines have recognised the need to woo the increasingly lucrative family market and are finding ways to make life easier for parents and their offspring.
Families flying long haul can travel light as most airlines provide free children’s entertainment, special kids’ meals, skycots for babies and even free nappies.
As part of the £150m revamp of its World Traveller service last year, British Airways began a Family First policy, with several innovations designed to make flights less stressful.
These included a fleet of pushchairs to wheel toddlers through the airport on arrival in London; a pay-as-you-use creche at Heathrow’s Terminal Four; free toys in-flight; and a book of tips on how to make a family flight as hassle free as possible.
At the same time BA introduced a Feed Children First policy so youngsters are served before their parents, leaving them free to help their children and still have their own hot meal waiting.
Most scheduled carriers provide special children’s meals at no extra cost, although these must be pre-booked.
These usually include fish fingers or chicken nuggets, ice-cream and fruit juices. Virgin also provides Virgin Aviator snack boxes filled with fruit, chocolate and crisps on the return journey, and serves ice-creams during movies.
BA’s kids meals are served in tuck boxes and include sausages or burgers and chips, and sweets.
Some airlines provide food and bottles for infants, plus baby packs and skycots for babies up to 18 months old.
Qantas, for example, carries a range of tinned baby food, baby bottles and rusks. Cabin crew will prepare, heat and wash bottles and dummies on request. It also gives away baby packs including a changing mat, bib, nappies, wipes and a soft toy aeroplane.
Virgin provides complimentary baby packs in Upper Class and nappies, bottles and baby food in economy.
It has baby-changing facilities on all aircraft, and skycots, which have to be pre-booked. Virgin was the first airline to introduce safety seats for children aged six months to three years, but these must be pre-booked as there are a limited number and they cost 10% of the adult fare.
Keeping children occupied and relaxed during long flights is the most difficult task, but many airlines have entertainment packs.
Virgin offers KiDs reusable backpacks containing sunglasses and baseball cap, sweets, a story book, puzzle book, KiD magazine and a collectable item such as a Wallace and Gromit figure.
Qantas has an entertainment pack which includes a deck of cards, a trip diary, stickers, a pencil, a baseball cap or wallet and a postcard.
For older children there are colouring books and pencils, finger puppets, books and magic slates.
BA’s cabin crew give every child a toy and book as soon as they board and offer a further selection in-flight from a toy chest designed by toy store Hamley’s.
Also many airlines, including Virgin, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, BA and Emirates, have children’s audio and visual entertainment channels which include cartoons.