Child-Friendly Airlines and Airports
By: Colleen Lanin, The Travel MamaApril 20th, 2009
As parents we often endure long flights, layovers, and unexpected delays with squirming, whining children and the stares or comments from less-than-sympathetic fellow passengers. Don’t despair! Airports and airlines are offering additional services and facilities to help parents make it through, and even enjoy, flying with children.
Travel Daddy Sean Huet from New York asked Travel Mamas if we could put together a list of parent-friendly airport facilities to help during long layovers.
Well, Sean, you will be happy to know many airports now offer play areas and even babysitting services. Boston’s Logan International Airport offers play areas with a baggage-claim-style slide and climbable make-believe air control tower. San Diego’s Lindberg Field offers rocking chairs for parents. Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport provides “baby care” rooms with nursing seats and vending machines stocked with diaper-changing necessities. Some airports, like Athens International and Munich International, provide supervised childcare facilities to give traveling parents a break during layovers. To read more on airports that cater to kids, read Cookie Magazine’s Airport Survival Guide by Christina Ohly Evans.
Airlines are getting in on the child-friendly trend, too. Air France offers an in-flight kids’ channel that plays cartoons for the little ones. Virgin America has teamed up with Disney, the Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. for travel entertainment. Lufthansa offers its young passengers toys themed around its mascot, Lu the traveling stork. Scandinavian Airline provides children with Pippi Longstocking travel kits.
United Arab Emirates fulfills any parent’s needs with on-board baby changing tables and bassinets, kids’ television and movie channels, special children’s meals, and Emirates’ own online and paper magazines for kids. They will even provide children with a birthday cake if flying on their birthday!
Sean also said, “The other thing we have struggled with when traveling is finding decent kid food because restaurant kid menus are all breaded chicken nuggets, fish sticks and spaghetti with nary a fruit cup or organic anything in site.” I hear ya, Daddy! Here’s an article on the best eats in airports, Eating Well on the Fly, by Joe Brancatelli, Conde Nast Portfolio.com.
What is your favorite airline or airport for children? Leave a comment about it below!
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Tags: flying with children, restaurants, travel entertainment
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Very informative. Thanks!!
Great article. If your bringing a big car seat on plane – we found a great wheel set that straps on so you can use it like a luggage carrier.