FAMILY&KIDS

Flying with children – Best practices

June 2023March 2024By 4 likes
Flying with children – Best practices

Flying with children can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. With time, you have your routines and the process becomes smoother and smoother. Here are some tips and tricks to make your journey easier.

Booking a flight for babies and children

Depending on the airline there are different regulations when travelling with children. One thing the all have in common: Children under two years need to be on the lap of an adult during taxing, take-of and landing. Consequently it is not possible to travel alone with “two under two”. There are special rates for children under two years. Ryanair and Eurowings for example charge 25€ per flight. As soon as they have reached the age of two they need an own seat and usually pay the full price.

In case you’re flying with Ryanair you can book an extra seat for children under two. Like this you have more space and travel more comfortable. When booking the flight on the Ryanair website you need to book for an adult and enter “EXTRA INFANT SEAT” as the name (first name EXTRA, surname INFANT SEAT). If the flight costs less than 25€ (which is not rarely the case when you’re flying to Mallorca) this option is even cheaper than booking the baby rate. As soon as the booking is complete you can change the name and the date of birth via the Ryanair chat.

Luggage regulations for babies and children

The luggage regulations vary from airline to airline. In any case, children under two years of age have at least one of the following items included: either a pram, a car seat or a travel cot. You can drop the pram off when boarding, but we usually check it in earlier and load the bag of the stroller with other things such as diapers, jackets etc. which saves a lot of space in the actual suitcase!

With Ryanair small children can even take two items with them. Eurowings allows one, but includes an additional check-in suitcase of up to 23 kg for free. Depending on what you need this one suitcase might even be enough for the whole family. Check the website of the airline for more detailed information about the luggage regulations for babies and children.

Best practices…

…when flying with babies

When flying with a baby I find it the easiest to carry the baby in the carrier. This way you have your hands free at all times. I usually check in the stroller (in a huge bag with loads of other things) and the car seat in a separate bag. On board I usually take carry-on luggage with clothes for both of us and a bag with everything we need on board:

  • Diapers and wet wipes
  • A change of clothes
  • Something to drink and eat (when travelling with a baby you may take liquids with you such as a water bottle or baby food)
  • Depending on the age a small toy or a book

…when flying with children

At some point your child might want to have its own luggage. The kids’ suitcases by Trunki are ideal because they are spacious enough to store all necessary things. The child can either pull the suitcase or sit on it and be pulled.

When flying with children the entertainment programme and catering on board is probably the most important thing. We usually take with us:

  • Snacks
  • Favourite book
  • Pencils and colouring book
  • iPad mini with travel case and headphones (we usually download some series at Netflix so they’re available offline during the flight)

If something doesn’t go as planned, stay as relaxed as possible. Because if you are, your children will be too. And so far, everything has worked out somehow in the end.

Read more about family life in Mallorca in my FAMILY & KIDS blog section.