The top 20 family-friendly airlines have been named by the website Play Like Mum after they looked at the facilities for traveling families on the worlds top airlines.
The website looked at criteria such as in-flight entertainment for kids, early boarding, free checked luggage and being able to take pushchairs without extra fees.
British Airways (BA/BAW) came out on top of the list with Emirates (EK/UAE) and Virgin Atlantic (VS/VIR) making up the top three places.
One of the key factor for travelling families is being able to sit together without incurring extra charges, something that only 7 of the top 20 airlines offer. Notable UK airlines that don’t include this for free are Flybe (BE/BEE), Jet2 (LS/EXS), Norwegian, TUI (BY/TOM), Easyjet (U2/EZY) and Thomas Cook (MT/TCX).
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair are the UK airlines in the list that do offer free family reservations.
Only the top 4 airlines in the list have zero lap fees meaning that babes in arms will children under 2 years of age who don’t travel in their own seat will still be charged on most UK airlines.
British Airways was helped to the top of the list by its dedicated family check in area and security lane in Terminal 5 at London Heathrow, a facility that has so far been used by 150,000 passengers.
Speaking about coming top of the list, Tom Stevens, British Airways’ Head of Customer at Heathrow, said: “We know how daunting the experience of flying with children can be, and all the extra stress that comes with it. We’re delighted with the great feedback we’ve been hearing from families who are really pleased with the changes we’ve made to make their journeys more exciting and less stressful from start to finish.”
Infographic by Play Like Mum
