The airlines I gravitate towards are Delta, JetBlue and now British Airways (BA).

Flying BA, yes, some longer flights can be expensive, but for me I’d prefer BA over some of the others just because it is reliable!  Another good airline is Norwegian if you are trying to get from the US to Europe or vice versa. This is a lower cost, no frills option.

Things I love:

• When using BA in London, families are given special check-in, separate lines and a lot of desks, they get it.
• Families board (if they want) first, with people needing extra help..
• Going through security in Heathrow and other airports separate lines so aren’t rushed
• Flight attendants help you if you have kids.  I had a BA flight attendant take my child for a walk on the plane cause I was busy with the other one and colored with her since she was restless.
• The bassinet/chair seats in the bulkhead in both first, business and economy.  They really do only let infants or parents with kids sit here.  It is also labelled on the seat map so if you don’t want to sit near a baby don’t sit near the baby icon.
• Even in Economy they give you a meal and if you are travelling during the day after lunch as a snack they give you mini magnum ice creams!
• Most flights have the tv’s, which are more of a luxury since most likely with young kids at least you won’t be watching that tv. Most parents bring their own iPad because you can’t risk it or need the kids favorite movies!
• If you have any type of frequent flyer status, Bronze is their easiest to achieve you still get priority boarding and check-in which is great.

Areas of Improvement:

• London is great in terms of flying with kids, but make all other location have a separate family check-in line if that is something your airline values
• Put something in your welcome video about sitting near babies and helping parents out or don’t look annoyed, the parent isn’t asking for their kid to cry!  Make it light hearted since all safety videos these days are turning into movie/comedy productions.. add in parents!
• Give all parents priority tags if they have kids – it makes it a better experience for all if the families traveling with kids are in and out of airports, lines, etc.
• You could even make a section of the plane designated for people traveling with kids!
• Note that if your toddler is drinking milk, they don’t carry a ton of it on the plane so buy some at the convenience store in the airport!!! Don’t get stuck!
• Also a note to the flight attendants, I believe like any airline they are hit or miss and that is unfortunate cause there should be a common standard!

Any airline I take I always look to see how they prioritize families