Airlines are constantly trying to find new ways to win customers. In this never-ending competition, carriers — mostly international ones — are now turning their attention to their youngest passengers, wooing children (and beleaguered parents) with new amenities such as toys, child-friendly toiletry kits, meals and increased seat back entertainment.
Paul Tumpowsky, a father of a toddler daughter and the co-founder and chief executive of the New York travel agency Skylark, said that these new amenities go a long way in keeping children occupied on long flights. "If children are happy, then parents are happy, and they associate the airline with a positive flying experience and are more likely to choose it for future trips," he said.
"Kids kits" keep children seated, happy and quiet
• Emirates recently introduced a kit that young passengers receive as soon as they board. It contains a travel-theme reusable bag or lunch box, a coloring book with markers and an arts and crafts project such as an origami kit. Older children get an animal backpack with a travel journal, and babies and toddlers get a stuffed animal such as an elephant or alligator.
In addition, the airline has an expanded menu of children's in-flight meals and snacks.
• Qatar Airways also has a new activity pack for children with crayons, coloring pages, stickers and a puzzle book. Infants get a stuffed toy, along with a plush book. The airline has also introduced new seat back entertainment aimed at children. It includes more than two dozen family-friendly movies that change monthly, and children's television such as The Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network and BabyTV.
• Qantas also offers a kit with an activity book with puzzles and word games and even an Etch a Sketch toy. On select international flights, youngsters get colorful antiskid socks that they can wear onboard.
• Turkish Airlines has several new onboard offerings for children. They receive a sack of three sustainably-made wooden figurines such as pandas and soldiers, and a backpack amenity kit that includes a child-size headset, a dental kit, socks and slippers. Parents with babies get a kit with a diaper changing mat, disposable bib, rash cream, baby lotion and shampoo, a packet of wipes and a breast pad.
Toys and videos keep children calm and entertained
• On Singapore Airlines the cabin crew gives out toys to children based on their age. Babies, for example, receive plush blocks, while pre-school-age youngsters get mini puzzles, and older children get a Monopoly Deal card game. The airline plans to change the toys quarterly.
Young passengers also get to pick from a children's menu with more than a dozen items, like a burger with fries, fish sticks with diced vegetables and pancakes with sausage.
• When it comes to domestic carriers, JetBlue recently debuted kid-focused videos from Headspace, a meditation service, as part of its in-flight entertainment. One of the videos, for example, is a 5 minute cartoon that teaches children how to stay calm on a flight. The airline also has a new "Party Up" food box designed with youngsters in mind. Sold onboard for $9, it includes M&M's, popcorn, Fig Newtons, Parmesan cheese crisps and salami slices.
Travel on 01/27/2019