Flying as a family can be uncomfortable at times. The level of stress of flying as a family may vary based on the airline you choose.
These factors are emphasized: how easy the airline makes it get seats together in advance without having to pay extra, availability of built-in entertainment, kid-friendly snack and meal offerings, and new boarding procedures, like 'Do families get to board early?
"Families have slightly different priorities when they travel compared to the average traveler," The Points Guy's director of travel, Summer Hull said.
If you are booking a trip for the whole family, these airlines have reasonable accommodations and policies:
1. JetBlue Airways
The New York-based airline has spacious seats, unlimited kid-friendly snacks, and DirecTV with choices like Cartoon Network and The Disney Channel.
Onboard entertainment is available at every seat with either 36-plus channels or 100-plus channels of DirecTV. Lots of complimentary snacks and soft drinks are available.
JetBlue also offers unlimited juice and free snacks for children. In 2016, during Mother's Day, the airline launched their first-ever "FlyBabies" flight, where passengers got 25% off of their next ticket every time a baby cried. EatUp boxes are also available for purchase for young ones with big appetites.
2. Southwest Airlines
If you are hoping to score a free open seat for your lap baby, Southwest does not assign seats in advance at all. To ensure that your family gets seats together when flying Southwest, purchase an early bird check-in. While Southwest flies Southwest, they also fly up and down the East Coast, Midwest, and Southeast United States.
When you travel as a family, you always consider how much time we have and whether it's cheaper to fly or drive. The larger your family, the more expensive it is to fly as a family.
When you are flying Southwest Airlines, you won't have assigned seating, so this will work for families traveling with kids, mainly when the kids aren't old enough to sit separately from their family members.
3. Delta Air Lines
"Families who have flown Delta in recent years know that the airline has a solid onboard product, good on-time arrival rate and the free Biscoff cookies certainly don't hurt in the efforts to keep kids happy," The Points Guy said.
The process of getting seats moved together on your flight is thankfully straightforward, which is an important first impression of flying Delta with kids.
Children must be more than 7 days old and under age 2 to fly free. Breast pumps and breastfeeding are allowed.
Delta offers Speakaboos, an app designed for kids ages 2 to 6, with audiobooks and popular kids' TV shows.
4. Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines have their trademarks: The island music is playing as soon as you board, the soap in the bathroom smells like coconut, and the cookies are shaped like pineapples.
If you have big legs, the Extra Comfort package includes priority boarding, complimentary in-flight entertainment, a power outlet ,and nearly a meter of wiggle room between your seat and the one in front. Hawaiian Airlines has now increased Extra Comfort capacity to 68 seats on every flight from Sydney or Brisbane because the demand was so high.
If you are traveling with an infant or child, you can contact their Reservations department to make your infant or child reservation.
Your family bonding surely won't be problematic with these airlines.
